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Maybe the worst movie of 2001
By STEVE PERSALL
© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 23, 2001
Say It Isn't So (R)
[Photo: 20th Century Fo]
Heather Graham and Chris Klein would probably rather forget their roles in Say It Isn’t So.
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Small-town lunkhead (Chris Klein, American Pie) gets intimate with the new babe in town (Heather Graham, Boogie Nights) then gets the impression she's his long-lost sister. It isn't so, but lover boy's reputation is ruined, leading to a string of blush-inducing predicaments as he tries to win back her love. One of the most embarrassing is Sally Field's silly-shrill performance as Klein's wacky mother.
First impressions: ". . . a crude, pointless parade of freaks, geeks and grotesques screaming and leering at each other. The movie traces the outline of Farrelly-style fun, but there isn't a single sweet moment or character to balance the bile, to offer a reference point for what is supposed to be amusing. . .
"This is a movie in which a stroke victim (Richard Jenkins) is included because profanity heard through a metallic-voice activator is supposed to be funny. Because a person with minimal muscle control trying to fight or being helplessly covered with bees is supposed to be funny.
"Thing is, twisted ideas can be hilarious, if properly delivered in a well-composed context. Say It Isn't So is just clumsy and cruel."
Second thoughts: Still in the running for the title of 2001's worst movie.
Rental audience: Slumming fans of the Farrelly brothers.
Rent it if you enjoy: Roasting ants under a magnifying glass.
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DVD
New and noteworthy for digital players
'Silence' and 'Hannibal' are crisp, chilling on DVD
Hannibal (special edition)
The Silence of the Lambs (special edition)
[Photo: MGM-UA]
Anthony Hopkins is back for more in Hannibal, with co-star Julianne Moore replacing Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling.
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Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lecter inspires a smorgasbord of bonus material on two new DVDs from MGM Home Entertainment. Some extras are silly, others insightful, but combined, these discs are essential for thriller fans.
First, there's the clarity factor with digital reproduction sharpening the shadows, audio effects and neo-gothic settings of The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. These movies -- a bona fide cinema classic and its sequel -- look and sound as crisp and as creepy as they deserve.
Criterion produced a terrific laserdisc of The Silence of the Lambs several years ago with audio commentary and background information from director Jonathan Demme and FBI experts in serial murderers.
Unfortunately, MGM doesn't have the rights to use that material. Rather than an alternate audio commentary track, the disc features a one-hour documentary, Inside the Labyrinth, with Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster and screenwriter Ted Tally, plus the original 1991 featurette on the making of Lambs.
[Photo: Orion]
Jodie Foster earned an Oscar as FBI agent Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs.
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Twenty minutes of deleted scenes are for avid fans only, with such inconsequential segments as Starling on the shooting range. Not as clinical as Criterion's extras, but worthwhile. A few minutes of outtakes are interesting, if only to see Foster's stern performance crack with the laughter of a blown line. On-set photos and advertising materials are fine, but Hopkins' sinister telephone answering message suitable for home use is a killer.
Hannibal is even deeper with 35 minutes of deleted or alternate versions of scenes. One option allows viewers to see the ending director Ridley Scott chose to excise from the final print, along with his alternate-track explanation. Five featurettes, a gallery of advertising materials and Scott's full-length commentary bolster the set.
Two extras demand special attention. "Anatomy of a Shootout" provides footage from five cameras operating simultaneously during the early confrontation between FBI forces led by Starling (now Julianne Moore) against a gang. Using the "angle" button on remote controls allows viewers to toy with the editing process. I spent nearly an hour on this feature alone, learning action cues to create a pattern of edits reinventing Scott's scene.
The same sort of process works on Hannibal's fascinating title sequence, when pigeons in a Florentine square formed an optical image of Lecter's face. Multiple angles depict how this was accomplished, creating an overlay effect that explains it all.
The only drawback to the two-disc set is Scott, who continues to be one of the dullest commentators on his own art. His monotone and penchant for stating the obvious makes his narration here and on the Gladiator DVD nearly impossible to sit through without snoozing.
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REWIND
Videos worth another look
Kelly danced his way into our hearts
[Photo: MGM]
The unforgettable Gene Kelly in Singin’ in the Rain.
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Fred Astaire and Gower Champion were more elegant, but nobody conveyed an ordinary guy's fantasy of turning life into dance better than Gene Kelly. Everything about Kelly was masculine, even on tiptoes; a prowling, puddle-splashing hoofer whose athleticism redefined the art.
Kelly was born on this date in 1912, making him a ripe (for a dancer) 28 years old when MGM lured him to Hollywood from Broadway. The contract only called for one movie role and Kelly expected to be back in New York shortly. Co-starring with Judy Garland in For Me and My Gal changed his mind.
Over the next half-century, Kelly matured into a visionary choreographer -- witness the 17-minute ballet climax of An American in Paris -- and even a dependable actor and director in non-musical projects. See for yourself in these home video suggestions:
Take Me Out to the Ball Game -- Wiseacre baseball players circa 1900 (Kelly, Frank Sinatra) deal with a new team owner who's (gasp!) a woman (Esther Williams). Busby Berkeley directed.
On the Town -- Another Kelly-Sinatra pairing and a bona fide MGM classic. Three sailors have a 24-hour pass in Manhattan, squeezing every song and kiss they can into the day. It's a helluva town.
An American in Paris -- The American was a painter supported by an heiress but falling in love with a lower-class woman (Leslie Caron). Winner of six Academy Awards, including best picture.
Singin' in the Rain -- Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor play silent movie stars making an uneasy conversion to sound. Take your pick of favorite dance number: O'Connor's limber Make 'Em Laugh, Broadway Rhythm Ballet with Kelly and Cyd Charisse or the classic title number.
Marjorie Morningstar -- Summer camp counselor (Natalie Wood) loves a summer stock theater composer (Kelly) but he's too old and non-Jewish for her parents. One of Kelly's finer dramatic roles.
What a Way to Go! -- Lively comedy about a perpetual widow (Shirley MacLaine) whose husbands die after they become rich. Kelly was No. 4, a clown whose career takes off when his makeup comes off. Other husbands include Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum and Dick Van Dyke.
That's Entertainment! -- Kelly co-hosted this compilation of MGM's shining musical moments and added a few himself.
It's Always Fair Weather -- Army buddies meet 10 years after the war, each with a problem to be settled with songs. Darker than the usual musical, but still fun.
A Guide for the Married Man and The Cheyenne Social Club -- Two examples of Kelly's work as a director. The former is a madcap primer for 1960s-style adultery, the latter is a Western featuring cowpokes (Henry Fonda, James Stewart) inheriting a bordello. Both are preferred over the notoriously bad Hello Dolly!
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