The Last Elvis

This film surprised me (positively) with its sympathetic character, although as the film went on, I kind of expected how it would end.

The movie is from Argentina and is about an Elvis impersonator Carlos, although he insists on being addressed as Elvis at all times, even by friends and family. His "career" of playing weddings and similar events is pretty dependent on how popular his alter ego of Elvis is with the public. He pretty much lives his life as Elvis, eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches, manicuring his sideburns, rewatching old concerts on videotape. But we see he is living paycheck to paycheck as the agency/union that sets up gigs for various impersonators owes him for several performances. Elvis' persona is realized for us by his mantra that "I invented rock and roll"--implying that the Beatles or whomever may come and go, but Elvis is forever.

Elvis is divorced with a young daughter he has named Lisa Marie. His dayjob is at a factory assembly line. His ex-wife, whom he addresses as Priscilla although that is not her name, is fed up with his absent and impractical parenting and intends to take full custody of Lisa. But she gets into an auto accident and their daughter has to spend a few days with Elvis. Lisa is not very enamored of her father but during the visit he manages to win her over in small ways. She even gifts him an Elvis bobble head doll. We see that although he is usually absent, he is also caring and loving with her.

We also see Elvis seems to be planning for a trip and some kind of final performance. He sells his belongings, quits his dayjob, visits his mother for the last time, leaves a nest egg for Lisa, and trashes the agency office when they refuse to pay him what he is owed. He then spiffs himself up and travels to Graceland, where he celebrates his 42nd birthday alone and makes his final, true-to-life performance as Elvis.

Free event: Robin and the 7 Hoods

The Northbrook Public Library continues their film screenings with a run of Frank Sinatra films. Next on the list during April is Robin and the 7 Hoods. Along with his Rat Pack group of singers/actors friends like Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra plays a gangster in the Prohibition era. It is a swinging re-telling of the Robin Hood legend!

Robin and the 7 Hoods
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Northbrook Public Library
1201 Cedar Lane
Northbrook, IL 60062

Free event: Pal Joey

The Northbrook Public Library continues their film screenings with a run of Frank Sinatra films. First up for April is Pal Joey, where a night club singer has to choose between two women--a chorus girl or a rich widow. I will leave it up to you to guess which of the two costars, Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak, play which role.  The film also includes a song made pretty famous by Sinatra, The Lady is a Tramp.

Pal Joey
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Northbrook Public Library
1201 Cedar Lane
Northbrook, IL 60062

Free event: Swing Time

Get away from holiday stress today and catch a musical!

The Northbrook Public Library continues with another Fred Astaire film. Swing Time is one of the better known of the Astaire and Rogers films, but the premise is just as flimsy to build some songs and dances around. This film includes the Bojangles of Harlem song and dance routine, where Fred dances in blackface to copies of his shadow. It is meant to be a tribute to Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who as the song states, is more famous than the President (who, in 1936 when this film was made, was Franklin Roosevelt).

Swing Time
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Northbrook Public Library
1201 Cedar Lane
Northbrook, IL 60062

Free event: Roberta

The Northbrook Public Library seems to be starting a series of Fred Astaire screenings. This first film, Roberta, is a mishmash of characters, co-starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, although the main headliner is Irene Dunne, as you can see from the poster. The premise is that a football player (a wholesome Randolph Scott) has inherited his aunt's fashion shop, where he falls for the aunt's true designer, played by Irene Dunne. There is no character named Roberta in the film, in fact it is the name of the fashion shop (although the aunt who owns it is named Minnie--confusing, huh?) The original source material is a novel called "Gowns by Roberta."

Roberta
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Northbrook Public Library
1201 Cedar Lane
Northbrook, IL 60062

Free event: Holiday Inn

Sometimes these old musicals have such contrived plots, but great songs, that you don't mind the flimsy premise. In Holiday Inn, a singer (Bing Crosby) and a dancer (Fred Astaire) open up an inn which only opens on holidays. The musical numbers centers around these holidays. The enduring holiday classic song White Christmas (and other songs by Irving Berlin) were used in this movie. White Christmas was used again in a film of the same name, also starring Bing Crosby, in the 1950s. Interestingly, Irving Berlin was the one who came up with the idea of a hotel only opened on holidays.

Of course there is a romantic storyline for both characters as well, with ladies played by Virginia Dale and Marjorie Reynolds.

Holiday Inn
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Northbrook Public Library
1201 Cedar Lane
Northbrook, IL 60062

Free event: There'll Always Be an England

This one sounds like a concert documentary, about the Sex Pistols. As the poster to the right shows, there may be adult content (lyrics?) so viewer discretion advised.

There'll Always Be an England
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
7:00 p.m.
Delilah's
2771 N. Lincoln Avenue

Strictly Ballroom

Usually I am not a fan of really broad comedies. I think this '90s film comes from a time when Australia's comedies were mostly of the broad type, at least the ones I saw that came my way. But there is also a romance and music and dancing, creating appeal across many fronts. It is a film by Baz Luhrmann, part of his Red Curtain trilogy (along with Romeo & Juliet and Moulin Rouge), and based on a stage musical he made in the '80s.

The plot concerns the competitive ballroom dancer Scott (Paul Mercurio). For all his life he has trained as a ballroom dancer, a culture that is a big part of several generations of his family. His parents, Shirley and Doug (Pat Thompson, Barry Otto), also were competitive when they were younger and now run a dancing academy. Among the hopefuls is the amateur Fran (Tara Morice), an ugly duckling who knows she can never match the glamour of the ballroom. When Scott tries to include new showier steps in his performances that are outside of the standard rules of the ballroom community, he is pressured into following the rules by his manager Les (Peter Whitford), the competition head Barry (Bill Hunter), and other dancers.

But Fran sees him practicing his new steps and Scott is grudgingly convinced to have her as a temporary partner since no one else wants to risk dancing with him. He also meets Fran's father, a notable flamenco dancer (Antonio Vargas), who helps Scott perfect his paso doble. Scott later finds out something about his own father and a shared dream that he now has the opportunity to make real.

Free event: Kraftwerk and the Electronic Revolution

Every now and again I will find some place screening a movie that I’ve never been to before, much less heard of! Bars tend to fall into this category. This music documentary, about the electronica music group Kraftwerk, screens at Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar. (And what the heck are “packaged goods” anyway?)

Kraftwerk and the Electronic Revolution
Sunday, November 25, 2012
7:00 p.m.
Maria's Packaged Goods & Community Bar
960 W 31st Street

Free event: The Filth and the Fury

If you want some punk music in the middle of the week, check out this documentary about the Sex Pistols.

The Filth and the Fury
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
7:00 p.m.
Delilah's
2771 N. Lincoln Avenue

One From the Heart

This unusual musical drama was directed and co-written by Francis Ford Coppola.  The lore is this initially low-budget film ended up costing FFC $25 million, and many of his films in the next decade or two were used to pay off debts incurred in the making of this film.

Frederic Forrest and Teri Garr are an unmarried couple who are feeling the dullness of their relationship creeping up on them. The setting is Las Vegas, where Frannie works at a travel office. We see she fantasizes about the tropical locales she advertises, wanting a romantic holiday and a man to match. Although Hank works as a mechanic, he too has a dreamy side as he collects discarded casino decorations, his latest acquisition is a big ruby ring.

On the July 4th weekend, Frannie wants something romantic, but Hank can’t offer her much. They argue, and she goes off in a huff to commiserate with her friend (Lanie Kazan). Hank’s coworker (Harry Dean Stanton) also commiserates with him and they visit a casino where Hank sees a beautiful circus performer, Leila (Nastassja Kinski) who wants to escape the drudgery of her job. Frannie is swept up by an attractive man, Ray, whom she finds out later is a waiter with dreams of being a lounge singer (Raul Julia). Both Frannie and Hank have found an exotic and temporary lover, who might run away with them.

Sparkle (2012)

This remake of Sparkle is going to go down in history as being the last film which co-starred Whitney Houston. It follows the same general plotline as the original, keeping to its 1960s/70s timeline, with a story about sisters growing up as they find fame as a singing group.

There are three sisters--Sister (Carmen Ejogo) the eldest (real name Tammy) who had a failed affair and had to return home; Sparkle (Jordin Sparks), the middle sibling who writes songs but has little ambition; and Dee (Dorothy) who is expected to go to college and become a doctor, something pretty unheard of for a black woman living in this era--the late 1960s and Detroit. Sparkle convinces Sister to perform one of her songs at a club because she is not the performing type, or so she says. They are noticed by two men--Stix, a young manager, and Levi, who eyes the sexy Sister.

Replay: Hipsters

The movie Hipsters is currently playing locally.  It was in 2009 that I saw this story at the Chicago International Film Festival.

Two groups of 1950s Russian youths butt heads: the young Communists headed by Katya (Anton Shagin) who has a secret love for her colleague Mels (Anton Shagin), and the hipsters, a group who wants nothing more than to dance, drink and dress in decadent Western ways. During a raid, Mels sees the beautiful Polly (Oksana Akinshina) and it is love at first sight. He secretly becomes a hipster, pursuing her although she is at first coy and cold. He becomes more bold within the hipsters and no longer hides his secret persona among the Communists. Katya's revenge is just as much about Communism versus the West as it is that of a woman scorned.

There are a few songs and dance numbers but I am not sure that is enough to make it a musical. The film is a commentary about young people being individuals, as portrayed in the last scene where it takes us to present day with punk rockers, people in goth clothes, kids of all types.

This conflict continues even today but the film portrayed it in an exciting new way, with humor and music which is kind of unheard of. I liked the visual style and the musicality.

You Were Never Lovelier

This is one of the minor (pretty minor I think) musical comedies made by Fred Astaire in the later part of his musical film career. The story takes place in Buenos Aires, where he plays Bob Davis, a performer who needs money since he has lost his by gambling at the track. He hopes to get a job at the club owned by Mr. Acuna (Adolphe Menjou) but Acuna could care less about him. Currently Acuna is involved with marrying off his eldest daughter. He has three others, and insists on marrying them off in order, with Maria (Rita Hayworth) next on the list. This dismays his younger daughters who already have beaus and are anxious because Maria has no desire to be married. She apparently has romantic ideals and want a knight to carry her away.

Acuna hatches a plan with Maria’s namesake godmother, and writes his daughter anonymous love letters so that his daughter might be in the right frame of mind to accept a suitor. By chance Bob gets one of these letters and delivers it, and Maria mistakenly believes him to be her secret admirer. Acuna, seeing an opportunity, offers Bob a job at his club in exchange for Bob breaking his daughter’s heart, so that she will start looking elsewhere (Acuna doesn't consider Bob a suitable match), but his plan backfires.

Hipsters

Two groups of 50s youths butt heads: the young Communists headed by Katya (Anton Shagin) who has a secret love for her colleague Mels (Anton Shagin), and the hipsters, a group who wants nothing more than to dance, drink and dress in decadent Western ways. During a raid, Mels sees the beautiful Polly (Oksana Akinshina) and it is love at first sight. He secretly becomes a hipster, pursuing her although she is at first coy and cold. He becomes more bold within the hipsters and no longer hides his secret persona among the Communists. Katya's revenge is just as much about Communism versus the West as it is that of a woman scorned.

There are a few songs and dance numbers but I am not sure that is enough to make it a musical. The film is a commentary about young people being individuals, as portrayed in the last scene where it takes us to present day with punk rockers, people in goth clothes, kids of all types.

This conflict continues even today but the film portrayed it in an exciting new way, with humor and music which is kind of unheard of. I liked the visual style and the musicality.

Joyful Noise

i=Several storylines are woven together in Joyful Noise. It's main story is of a small Georgia town church choir trying to win a gospel singing competition, who has been trying to wrest the title from another church who has won with their flashy numbers. This year the pastor (Courtney B. Vance) decides it is the last time, as the big expense is too much for their little church.

Two ladies butt heads with their different personalities and approach to the choir. The traditionalist Vi Rose (Queen Latifah) is a single mother of two teens, Olivia (Keke Palmer) and Walter, who has Asperger's syndrome. Her estranged husband (Jesse L. Martin) is serving in the military and has been absent for several years. Vi Rose believes the church should stay old fashioned and sing hymns the way they were written. The affluent G.G. (Dolly Parton) on the other hand thinks they need to move with the times and is open to having dance moves and such in their church numbers. Her grandson Randy (Jeremy Jordan) who has a reputation as a troublemaker, returns and reacquaints himself with Olivia, something Vi Rose does not approve of.

Camp

Camp is about a performance arts camp in New York State. It's an indie film so production values aren't super high and there are no real stars. It is written and directed by Todd Graff, himself a student at the camp this movie fictionalizes (and is filmed on location there). He also wrote and directed the new movie Joyful Noise.

The film focuses on one summer, and specifically on three teens: Ellen (Joanna Chilcoat), the plain jane "fag hag" (straight girl who hangs out with gay boys, usually because she can't get her own boyfriend); Michael (Robin de Jesus), a gay boy whose parents practically disown him when he wears a dress to the prom; Vlad (Daniel Letterle), the new straight boy who wants to be an actor, whom everyone lusts after (gay boys and straight girls).  Also included is the camp's guest director, Bert (Don Dixon), who only had one hit show and is pretty bitter he didn't find more success.  Vlad manages to help Ellen, Michael and Bert work through their problems.

Newsies

This Disney musical film stars Christian Bale (around 17 years old at the time) as a parentless paperboy working for Joseph Pulitzer's paper (Pulitzer is played by Robert Duvall). Based on a real story, the paperboys strike when the big newspapers raise the prices of what they have to pay for the papers (the poor and often homeless boys would have to buy the papers to re-sell them, any they didn't sell they couldn't sell back).

West Side Story Pt. 2

Turner Movie Classics re-released this to theatres last week since it was the film's 50th Anniversary.  It was part of their film festival of earlier this year, where they go around the country and screen old classics on the big screen.  Here in Chicago we were treated to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.  Last year we got North by Northwest.  Both are great films to watch for the first, or the hundredth, time in the theatre, and it was great to see how these classics still attract new, younger audiences.

This was the case as well for West Side Story.  It truly is one to watch on a big screen.  There were trivia clips during the preview, then a recorded Q&A by TCM host Robert Osborne that took place during their film fest.  The guests were co-writer Arthur Laurents, Oscar-winning supporting actor George Chakiris, and voice artist Marni Nixon, who subbed for Natalie Wood in the singing.  Each talked about their experiences and enjoyment in working on the film, as well as the history of how each of them came to be involved in this iconic work.

This screening was one that really captured the audience's attention as well as what I could tell were their fond memories.  Throughout the film, their was a collective feeling of nostalgia among the audience, and if you know the film it is not hard to understand why for so many years its artistry has engendered such fond memories and tributes.  Its emotional ending still evoked strong feelings and tears, the songs still singable, the comedy and dancing still bringing out those old emotions time and again.

West Side Story

I appreciate that studios are re-screening old favorites on the big screen.  During this past year I have seen Ghostbusters (with an audience that was largely younger than the film itself, a surprise to me), Back to the Future, and Taxi Driver during a milestone anniversary year for each of those films.  So many films do not really need a big screen enhancement, but others, like West Side Story, deserve and is made better by seeing it on the big screen. 

It screens one day only in Chicago, see you there!