Category: Movies

Oh, God! (1977)

140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

Bet you haven’t thought of this one in forever, huh? Neither had I. Interesting to remember movies used to be this pace and no one minded…

Spoiler-free Movie Review of Oh, God!:

Would you believe I actually read this book before seeing the movie? It’s true. I saw the sequels as a kid, but I have just about no recollection of seeing the original picture. I do, however, remember finding the worn little paperback novel by Avery Corman in a used bookstore in Newton Highlands. It was probably age-inappropriate, but only barely – it’s not like this story ever goes very blue or very dark.

I haven’t read the novel since I was a kid, but watching Oh, God! now, it plays almost verbatim to my memory of the story. The original novel was adapted by Larry Gelbart, whose screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award.

It was actually really interesting watching this film series with my family. My daughter absolutely ate it up; I was quite pleasantly surprised. I knew she’d love Oh, God! Book II if we ever got to it, but that was far from a certainty. I really had no idea how she’d respond to something so dated. She’s watched older films, of course, but Oh, God! absolutely screams 1977 and I knew I’d need to explain about payphones, etc. She really enjoyed it, though…

It’s sort of funny to look back on this film. At the time it was a big hit; it was the sixth biggest picture in 1977. It made more than Annie Hall and The Spy Who Loved Me!

(Sidebar: what a mixed bag 1977 was – we got classic films like Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Slapshot, but it also saw the deaths of Elvis Presley, Groucho & Gummo Marx, Charlie Chaplin and Howard Hawks…)

The story is cute and covertly subversive. Not only were they able to talk about God in a feature film, they managed to get across huge section of preaching disguised as dialogue. George Burns is a real Trojan Horse – when he delivers the message, people listen…

Aside from Burns, it’s a bizarre cast. First off, John Denver is just not a lead actor. I like his everyman appeal and everything, but it seems as though every single line of dialogue is shouted. Terri Garr is well cast as his put-upon wife, or maybe I just love Terri Garr too much to be objective.

But the supporting roles: Donald Pleasence, Dinah Shore, and Paul Sorvino as a bible-thumping televangelist – it’s truly odd stuff. Barnard Hughes is a judge for goodness sake – that’s how stodgy it is…

I know it’s a cute little comedy and everything, but if God were to come to Earth and try to convince a courtroom full of people of his existence, I have a hard time believing he’d use card tricks. This movie came out five months after Star Wars – that’s just not going to get her done…

Oh, God! is a fun little picture. At 98 minutes it’s far too long to hold the attention of modern filmgoers. It was probably too long even then – the thing really creeps along considering how few actual events are pictured. But if you can slow yourself down and make time for it, Oh, God! really is a clever little film. It’s not as entertaining maybe as the sequels (to my eye), but there’s some really good dialogue. Recommended…

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

Fail

The Representation Test Score: C (5 pts)

(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

[schema type=”movie” name=”Oh, God!” description=”When God appears to an assistant grocery manager as a good natured old man, the Almighty selects him as his messenger for the modern world.” director=”Carl Reiner” producer=”Jerry Weintraub” actor_1=”George Burns”]

Main Cast	John Denver Jerry Landers George Burns God Teri Garr Bobbie Landers Donald Pleasence Doctor Harmon
Rating	PG
Release Date	Fri 07 Oct 1977 UTC
Director	Carl Reiner
Genres	Comedy, Fantasy
Plot	When God appears to an assistant grocery manager as a good natured old man, the Almighty selects him as his messenger for the modern world.
Poster
Runtime	98
Tagline	“It’s true. People have trouble remembering My Words. Moses had such a bad memory I had to give him tablets.”
Writers	Larry Gelbart (screenplay), Avery Corman (based on the novel by)
Year	1977

June 4, 2015

Ashanti (1979)

140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

Not nearly as crappy as it looks, this 1979 star-packed anti-slavery film could have actually been a good picture with a little more care…

Spoiler-free Movie Review of Ashanti:

A tale of modern day slavery (well, 1979 modern day). Don’t know how I’ve never heard of this before now. Starring Michael Caine, Peter Ustinov, Omar Sharif, Rex Harrison AND William Holden!

The film is based on the novel Ebano by Alberto Vázquez-Figueroa, which was itself based on a true story. Directed by Richard Fleisher, Ashanti is an absolutely horrific tale that doesn’t shy away from the most distasteful aspects of the sickening world of slavery.

Caine and model turned actress Beverly Johnson play Doctors David & Anansa Linderby who work for the World Health Organization (WHO) providing care in West Africa. When Anansa is kidnapped by slavers, David must traverse the continent to try and get her back before the party crosses the Red Sea.

It’s really great to see well-seasoned vets like Holden and Harrison. With their names in the credits I somewhat expected them to stick out like out-of-place cameos, but these are real (if small) parts. Ustinov is very interesting as the slaver Suleiman; it’s the first villain role in his entire career.

Michael Caine’s character is so bizarre. Out in a strange land where he doesn’t speak the language, know the customs or have any resources, he is deeply mistrustful and hostile to the few people who offer assistance. I get the lack of trust, his wife has just been kidnapped after all, but why is he pushing away the only people who want to help?

Good looking picture; well-shot, beautiful country. (Filmed in Kenya, Israel & Sicily.) Also well-shot ugliness at times. The seventies music is a drag, though, really making the project feel low-rent…

Things take a really weird turn past the one hour mark when one of the slaves proves himself to be a witch doctor. Truly bizarre and completely atonal considering the grounded quality of everything up to that point…

Kabir Bedi as Malik, a wronged husband and father seeking revenge on Sulieman has a wonderful intensity.

Even with Caine doing his version of phoning it in, he still burns with an intensity in many scenes. He’s such a fine actor that when he coasts he’s still leaving many others in the dust. Unfortunately I suspect he knows this. Caine has disowned this picture, shamelessly admitting that it was a paycheck project that he has no love for. Firstly, I resent actors pulling that crap; you took the job, you took the money, it’s bad form to deride the project. A lot of people work hard on even the world’s worst films. It’s insulting and disrespectful to their efforts to run down the picture just because you’ve moved on. I’m a firm believer that when you take on a job you have a responsibility to give it your best effort and far more importantly your best intentions. The producers aren’t simply paying you to show up and act – I believe there is a duty to try to make the picture work beyond your time in front of the lens. You should take your part in promoting the work; speak well of the film, or at least speak no evil. And even if you think you are above the project, don’t let it show.

Omar Sharif is such a great actor that they had to bulk up the part for him. I’m not complaining, particularly, as he’s always great to watch, but it does add a sort of unusual turning in the last 15 minutes of the picture.

The ending, with things tied up so neatly, is so pat and unsatisfying it nearly made me go back and remove anything positive I said about the rest of the film. The feel of the final shots is completely disrespectful to all of the characters who suffered and died in the story.

Despite the poster, Ashanti is not actually an exploitation picture. It doesn’t deal in casual, cruel violence, sexual or otherwise. There is casual, cruel violence, and there are definite trigger points for victims of abuse, but it is never glorified or presented in an voyeuristic or exploitative manner. This movie deals with hard truths and doesn’t flinch from showing them, but no more so than a documentary on the same subject – never for entertainment value or as a storytelling tool.

Ashanti is an interesting film. Very uneven, but there are some really interesting moments. Some of the chases through the Sahara are very fine. With some more work this truly could have been a good picture.