Welcome to the second installment of Verbosity's very own movie review column. This month, we're going to take a look at the movie which broke the Star Wars box office monopoly, Howard Stern's Private Parts. Also, we'll critique Dante's Peak, starring Pierce Brosnan along with with video release of Trainspotting.
This film,
starring Stern as himself, chronicles Howard's evolution
from a young boy, incessantly berated by his father, with a dream of being
on the radio someday, to a gawky college student, to a fledgling disc
jockey, and eventually to becoming the self-proclaimed King of All Media.
Along the way, he meets and marries a psychology student at Boston
University, comes into conflict with a number of station managers turned
off by the unconventional style, hooks up with the cast of sidekicks,
and slowly evolves into the Howard Stern we all know today. This may sound
like a lot of plot
for a couple of hours, but a well-written script (turned
down by Howard nine times before an acceptable draft was written) manages
to handle it exceptionally well.
Stern puts in a brilliant performance playing
himself. In his typical manner of self-depreciating humor, he become
an endearing character throughout the movie. Even more impressive, though,
are the performances put in by Howard's sidekicks -- Robin Quivers in
particular. They manage to bring across their often faceless roles to
the screen masterfully. Actress Mary
McCormack also does a nice turn as Howard's wife in
the film.
The secondary characters, especially Howard's
various managerial nemeses, are also well-portrayed in the film.
At times, the jokes get a little racy, but that's really
just part and parcel
of the Stern experience.
In final analysis, Private Parts proves
to be an enjoyable movie--to avid Stern-enthusiasts and those
who hold less interest in the Stern phenomenon alike. The acting is
better than in most movies today and the plot is both funny and captivating.
Howard repeatedly made the comment while hyping this movie that he hoped
it would get Hollywood to stop making big-budget, low-impact
comedies like Coneheads. If this really is the new face of
Hollywood, it might not be so bad after all. With careful consideration,
Verbosity gives Private Parts:
Dante's Peak
I think we all knew when
Twister came out that
we were in for an entirely new genre of films: the natural disaster
flick. Sure
enough, Hollywood made a psychic out of me with Dante's Peak
(along with the upcoming Volcano and Flood).
Although this movie
starred credible actors Pierce Brosnan (Goldeneye) as the
vulcanologist investigating the small town's troubles
and Linda Hamilton (Terminator and Terminator 2) as the
mayor of the town of Dante's Peak, it was depressingly hokey. Any
person who has watched National Geographic would find it hard to
believe
both the implausible and the outright impossible events taking
place on the big screen.
But, I digress. The movie is about a small town in the Nothern Cascade
mountains,
located at the foot of a dormant volcano. This picturesque
little village
has just been named one of the best
places in the United States to live and all seems well. Unfortunately,
the town's volcanic namesake has a little indigestion
and decides to blow off some steam. The US Geological Survey
notices a few early warning signs; hence,sees it
coming, enter Pierce Brosnan.
All in all, Dante's Peak is not worth
seeing in the theatre, but at the cost of video rental, you might
be getting your money's worth. Especially if you split the cost with a
friend. For the meantime, we give Dante's Peak:
Trainspotting
Admittedly one of the most-hyped films of 1996,
Trainspotting does indeed live up to its
advance billing.
Based on the cult novel by Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting
deals with a subject very much in vogue: heroin.
The story centers on four friends: Renton, Sick Boy, Begbie, and Spud. Three of them, Ren, Sick
Boy, and Spud are
heroin addicts, all just eschewing traditional roles in society and searching for the next hit, living moment to
moment. They lie, steal, avoid jobs, family, responsibility, family, and commitments to pursue the junk.
They also manage to destroy all of the things around them, friends, women, their parents, as well as, ultimately,
each other.
However, the movie is also massively funny. There are several scenes that'll make you
wet your pants, even if you aren't doing drugs. For example, Renton's classic characterization as the Scottish
being the lowest
of the low, or of another character, Tommy, sliding into junkiedom only because of a videotape. Speaking
of videotape, having a rewind button makes it easier to comprehend some of the more confusing bits of
Scottish brogue that gets thrown around when the film gets a little intense.
All in all, this movie is one of the best I've ever seen. The cinematography was exquisite,
the storyline engrossing, and the soundtrack classic, especially the appearance of the great Iggy Pop. If you
like the typical ID4-type movie, then Trainspotting is not for you. But if it's a well written, acted,
directed and produced film
you're after, then Trainspotting is the ultimate film experience.
Verbosity gives it:
Howard Stern's Private Parts
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the
world's biggest Howard Stern fan. From what I'd seen and heard of the man
(not living in a city where he was broadcast daily), the images of Fartman
were sometimes all I could call to mind. I promised myself, however, to
head into the screen adaption of Howard's biography, Private Parts,
with an open mind. I wasn't disappointed.
What a lot of people don't realize is that
this movie is not just about Howard chatting with lesbians and
saying "penis" on the air. It's a comedy about Howard's life.
Within the opening minutes, Howard has already won the audience's
sympathies. At times, the movie seems to be almost a big-screen love letter
to Howard's devoted wife Alison. At others, it is detailing Howard's tough
struggle to find the radio market that would accept his unorthodox
broadcasts. The primary thrust of the movie, however, is letting people
know that the Howard Stern on the air and the off-the-air Howard Stern are
two totally different entities. What the movie does leave you asking
is, "Which one of the two is the real Howard?"
of four possible stars.
Jess
Morrissette
Okay,
Dante's Peak has been out for quite a
while now. As a matter of fact, it has already left most major venues
at presstime.
You're probably wondering why Verbosity is bothering to review
it now Well, friends, the answer is simple: we want to warn you
about it for when
the movie comes out on video.
The acting in Dante's Peak is very
good, the cinematography is beautiful, and the special effects are superb.
However, when I drop $6.50 for a movie, I expect more than well-spoken
lines and some eye candy. The movie is a fun way to waste an afternoon,
but if Hollywood expects you to suspend your disbelief, they don't have
any faith in their audience. Dante's Peak is almost funny in the
stupidity of the characters and is entirely predictable in the plot. The
one saving grace of the movie was the truck owned by the US Geological
Survey. Not only did the vehicle have enough lights on the front to render
the darkest road bright as day, but the engine had a snorkel, enabling
Pierce Brosnan to ford a river deep enough to submerge the hood.
out of four.
Seth
Waddell
Some sections of society have criticized this movie as being too much in the way of
glamorizing heroin,
but I can't really see that. While the scenes showing the drug are pretty cool, with some quite snappy dialogue,
(including Sick Boy's James Bond fixation), the movie seems to be an anti-drug message. Some of the most
harrowing scenes are the ones in which Renton is trying to quit smack, and he is writhing in his bed, twisting
and contorting, having one long nightmare.
of four possible stars.
Kyle
Scanlan