John Goodman

Argo: the first Must See this fall

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Ben Affleck directs and stars in Argo, unquestionably the best Hollywood movie of the year so far.   In this true story from the Iran Hostage Crisis, a down-on-his-luck spy rescues six Americans hiding in the Canadian Ambassador’s Tehran home by pretending to make a cheesy Hollywood sci fi movie. The scenes in Tehran and Washington are pure thriller, leavened by the very funny Hollywood thread.

It’s a gripping story.  Setting up the audacious plan is only the beginning. It must be sold to risk averse government officials.  And it must be sold to the “house guests”, who clearly understand how risky it is.  The diplomats must learn their cover identities as Canadian filmmakers well enough to withstand interrogation.  And the team must be shuttled past layer upon layer of suspicious, trigger happy and completely unpredictable revolutionaries.  Helluva story, well told.

Thanks to director Affleck, editor William Goldberg and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, Argo is brilliantly photographed and constructed.It is economical story-telling at its best, with each shot revealing critical information – the lethal chaos in the streets of Tehran, the paralyzing fear of the house guests, the determination of Affleck’s operative.

It’s a deep cast.  John Goodman and Alan Arkin are hilarious as the movie industry guys.  Scoot McNairy and Christopher Denham are especially good as house guests.  Farshad Farahat is compelling as the commander of the final revolutionary checkpoint.  The rest of the cast is equally superb:   Bryan Cranston, Philip Baker Hall, Richard Kind, Michael Parks, Clea DuVall, Adam Arkin, Chris Messina and Victor Garber.  Watch for a bit role played by 80s horror maven Adrienne Barbeau.

This could have been jingoistic, but Affleck starts the movie with an animated historical primer to remind (or teach) the audience about why the Iranians were so angry.  And he generously included another American perspective during the end credits.  Much more nuance than the standard Hollywood movie –  good for Affleck!

Trouble with the Curve: an enjoyable day at the ballpark, but no surprises

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There isn’t a surprising moment in Trouble with the Curve, but as predictable as it is, the fine performances and the setting in an often obscure part of the baseball world combine to make it an enjoyable time at the movies.

It’s a story about a dad-daughter relationship.  The dad (Clint Eastwood) is a crusty geezer whose failing eyesight threatens his job as a Major League Baseball scout.  The daughter (Amy Adams) is an overachieving, workaholic lawyer who is unsatisfied with a relationship that her dad keeps as superficial as possible.  They are improbably forced together on a road trip.

Now you know that she is going to run the pool table at the hick roadhouse.  You know that the unlikely kid will turn out to be the real MLB prospect.  You know that the geezer’s insight will be proven right in the end.  And you know that the daughter will find closeness with the dad and a new boyfriend along the way.  As I said, there are no surprises.

Nevertheless, Eastwood and Adams are just perfect in their roles.  Eastwood’s graveside monologue and song are particularly moving.  Justin Timberlake and John Goodman are excellent, too.  Matthew Lillard is dead on perfect as a frat boy turned know it all baseball exec.

And then there’s the baseball setting.  The movie had me with the gaggle of elderly scouts traipsing through South Carolina from one high school baseball field to another, breaking each others’ balls at dive bars every night.  The Wife, who does not lapse into baseball reverie, didn’t enjoy it as much.

Why hasn't there been a good Babe Ruth movie?

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Babe Ruth as Babe Ruth in The Pride of the Yankees

 

Why hasn’t there been a good biopic of Babe Ruth?  The three extant have ranged from unmemorable (1992’s The Babe with John Goodman and 1991’s Babe Ruth with Stephen Lang) to execrable (1948’s The Babe Ruth Story with the remarkably unathletic William Bendix).

Here is the greatest baseball player who ever lived.  (Only Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays were in his league as a hitter, and Ruth was also a star pitcher in his early years – so there’s no argument that he was the greatest.)  Ruth transformed the game itself from station-to-station to the power game.

On top of that, The Babe was a great character:   a boisterous man of unrestrained appetites, a great athlete who did not look athletic, nevertheless charismatic and very funny.  He was made for the movies.  Unfortunately, the great Babe Ruth movie hasn’t been written.

Incidentally, Babe Ruth has been portrayed in 30 movies, the first seven times by Babe Ruth himself.

poor William Bendix