Movies: Unconditional Love
Dec. 1st, 2003 07:57 pmUnconditional Love is the best film I've seen this week.
I liked Love Actually quite a bit in the theatre, then rented and enjoyed a vacuous two hours unashamedly ogling Angelina Jolie (for the second time, I actually paid to see it in the theatre as well) in the horribly badly written Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, and then slothed my way through two pointless hours watching the awful Keanu Reeves flick, Hard Ball.
Last into the DVD player was Unconditional Love, and we definitely saved the best for last.
First of all, P.J. Hogan has an amazing knack for creating a wonderfully surreal reality. I know that makes no sense, but his films "feel" quite unusual to me. Not as odd and amazing and unusual as Van Sant or Aronofsky, but still. Mind you this applies to Unconditional Love and Muriel's Wedding, but not so much to My Best Friend's Wedding, which had a more commercial feel to it (but which has more *Rupert*-ish characteristics in common with Unconditional Love).
Next, P.J. Hogan really loves Rupert Everett, to which I say, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES. (Not that anything will ever top Another Country in Rupert's body of work.)
On to the rest of the cast ... Kathy Bates never disappoints me. There are no words to describe her marvelous performance. And Hogan and Danny DeVito (in Death to Smoochy) are nearly alone in being able to write a part for a little person/"dwarf" that comes across as non-patronizing, witty, and full of acting challenges. Dan Akroyd was surprisingly good, too.
The plot itself is unconventional, hilarious, surpising, and exciting. That's enough adjectives, though. I highly recommend it.
I liked Love Actually quite a bit in the theatre, then rented and enjoyed a vacuous two hours unashamedly ogling Angelina Jolie (for the second time, I actually paid to see it in the theatre as well) in the horribly badly written Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, and then slothed my way through two pointless hours watching the awful Keanu Reeves flick, Hard Ball.
Last into the DVD player was Unconditional Love, and we definitely saved the best for last.
First of all, P.J. Hogan has an amazing knack for creating a wonderfully surreal reality. I know that makes no sense, but his films "feel" quite unusual to me. Not as odd and amazing and unusual as Van Sant or Aronofsky, but still. Mind you this applies to Unconditional Love and Muriel's Wedding, but not so much to My Best Friend's Wedding, which had a more commercial feel to it (but which has more *Rupert*-ish characteristics in common with Unconditional Love).
Next, P.J. Hogan really loves Rupert Everett, to which I say, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES. (Not that anything will ever top Another Country in Rupert's body of work.)
On to the rest of the cast ... Kathy Bates never disappoints me. There are no words to describe her marvelous performance. And Hogan and Danny DeVito (in Death to Smoochy) are nearly alone in being able to write a part for a little person/"dwarf" that comes across as non-patronizing, witty, and full of acting challenges. Dan Akroyd was surprisingly good, too.
The plot itself is unconventional, hilarious, surpising, and exciting. That's enough adjectives, though. I highly recommend it.
unconditional love
Date: 2003-12-02 04:23 pm (UTC)God, I still have my pictures of Rupert Everett from the 80s! I too, can remember a time when every actor I liked was British. Oh, the days of young Cary Elwes and Julian Sands! Oh, and Richard E. Grant in How to Get Ahead in Advertising.
Re: unconditional love
Date: 2003-12-02 05:02 pm (UTC)I love the fact that both Cary Elwes and Rupert Everett have played gay roles.
Re: unconditional love
Date: 2003-12-02 06:27 pm (UTC)Rupert used to call himself "ambisexual" back in the day, but I think he's fully come out now.
Re: unconditional love
Date: 2003-12-02 06:54 pm (UTC)