A Stink Bomb And A Recommendation

B is back and currently fighting some bug she picked up in China-- I swear, that country is one big petri dish; every time she heads over there, she comes back worse for wear.

My second-to-final entry from the Cinematic Titanic film fest I threw is the craptacular Ishtar (1987). Of all the films I picked to see this past week, I was most suspicious about this one. In fact, the only thing that made me pull the trigger and watch it was the rumor that writer-director and noted film geek Quentin Tarantino actually owns one of the original projectionist reels (the kind shipped to theaters) of this film, and is a big fan. OK then, how bad could this be if Tarantino shows this to his friends? Answer: Indescribably bad. At least Heaven's Gate, for all its flaws, can be seen as the passion project of a visionary director and screenwriter. Ishtar on the other hand is just plain miserable. The attempt to make a wacky Hope-and-Crosby style "Road" picture about the 2 worst singer-songwriters in the world (Dustin Hoffman, miscast as the ladies' man and Warren Beatty as a complete dolt who doesn't get the girls) getting mixed up in Mideast politics fails on its most basic level: It simply is not funny. At all. For a comedy, that's all that matters. Throw in a blank check budget ($51M in 1987-- that's $95M in today's dollars) and an indecisive perfectionist writer/director trying to rein in some of the most mule-headed stars in the business and that spells disaster. If you have 15 minutes to spare, there is this wonderfully written piece in Vanity Fair about the making of Ishtar that is well worth your time, even you have no intention of seeing the film but want an insight as to how Hollywood works.

On a whim and a half-remembered 3-year old rave review, I did manage to find a small delight in a little-known movie called The Grand. If you are a fan of the "Mockumentary" style of movies like This is Spinal Tap, Best In Show or Waiting For Guffman, then this is for you. A lot of well-known comic actors (Woody Harrelson, David Cross, Ray Romano, Chris Parnell and many more) are in this tale of a fictional $10 Million dollar poker tournament, and it's definitely worth seeking out-- I don't even play poker (ask anyone I've lost money to), and don't know the terminology but I was pleasantly surprised with this little gem of a film that rewards repeated viewings. This was an excellent way to end my off kilter movie week, and almost singlehandedly washed the stench of Ishtar away. Almost.