2004

#140RVW

It’s a gross-out stoner comedy – mileage may vary based on how much you like this sort of thing. I thought it was really funny. But gross…

What’s more:

Nothing you haven’t seen before, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle is still really damn funny and mostly works because:

• John Cho & Kal Penn are really fun, likable young  actors who you want to root for.
• It’s a road comedy, a genre that lives and dies by how funny the wacky adventures are. These are pretty good.
• Neil Patrick Harris plays an insane version of himself. This really kicked off the whole career revival for him.

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

Fail, although you could possibly argue that the two co-eds who engage in a game similar to Battleship qualify. I can’t get there.

The Representation Test Score: F (0 pts)

I think this may actually get 0 points, although I think you could argue for a D, as the question about racial stereotypes is a bit limiting.  (“Does the film include one or more men of color, in speaking roles, who are NOT reduced to racial stereotypes?) Harold and Kumar certainly are exposed to many racial stereotypes, but I’m not sure I’d say that they are limited or reduced by them.

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

Main Cast	John Cho Harold Lee, Kal Penn Kumar Patel, Ethan Embry Billy Carver, Robert Tinkler J.D.
Rating	Unrated
Release Date	Fri 30 Jul 2004 UTC
Director	Danny Leiner
Genres	Adventure, Comedy
Plot	An Asian-American office worker and his Indian-American stoner friend embark on a quest to satisfy their desire for White Castle burgers.
Poster
Runtime	88
Tagline	Fast Food. High Times.
Writers	Jon Hurwitz (written by) &, Hayden Schlossberg (written by)
Year	2004

#140RVW

The only thing surprising about this movie is it hasn’t been made before now. It’s such an amazing & inspirational story that tells itself.

What’s more:

The thing about inspirational sports movies is that if they are made well it doesn’t matter that you know the outcome, doesn’t matter that they are full of clichés. Miracle is such a case.

It hits all the marks, does everything you expect, yet is still good stuff because, hey, the story is fantastic.

Quick thoughts:

• Kurt Russell has a really good Minnesotan accent. Or at least what I think of as Minnesotan…
• Good young actors and the hockey action is perfection. So well executed.
• Interesting choice to retain the original commentary by Al Michaels & Ken Dryden. It works quite well, as the Michaels is a good play by play man and does well in the historic moment.
• The ending voiceover by Russell is totally unneccesary and pushes the schmaltz meter into the red, where it surprisingly really hasn’t been for most of the movie. The story is enough, you don’t need to tell us why it was important – we know.
• The end credits have a nice dedication to Herb Brooks, who died before the film was completed, and in a nice touch list what the players are doing now.

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

Fail

Main Cast	Kurt Russell Herb Brooks, Patricia Clarkson Patti Brooks, Nathan West Rob McClanahan, Noah Emmerich Craig Patrick
Rating	PG
Release Date	Fri 06 Feb 2004 UTC
Director	Gavin O’Connor
Genres	Drama, Family, History, Sport
Plot	Miracle tells the true story of Herb Brooks (Russell), the player-turned-coach who led the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to victory over the seemingly invincible Russian squad.
Poster
Runtime	135
Tagline	What America needed was a miracle. What it got was a hockey game.
Writers	Eric Guggenheim (written by)
Year	2004

#140RVW

Heavy-handed but very funny roasting of “Christian values”. Rookie feature filmmakers show inexperience; comes off as a bit mean-spirited…

What’s more:

First off, this is a very funny movie. You need to be willing to laugh, of course. The topic and comic treatment of Christian values will keep many potential viewers away and send a lot of those who stick around in a tizzy. I can certainly understand those who have no interest in seeing movies like this. If you think you’re going to be offended, you’re probably right and should just stay away.

It’s a message movie, clearly. And I think that’s the problem. The creators seem to have an axe to grind. It keeps it from being entirely great. It’s not the irreverence; the close-minded and judgmental views of those portrayed in the movie are ripe for satire. The issue is that because the creators appear to be so invested in their message that the whole thing comes off as a bit single-minded. It’s really a one note story; there’s no depth. The movie has one thing to say and does so – repeatedly. The characters are rather one-sided. It’s all send-up and no subtlety. Again, there’s nothing really wrong with this, it’s just a missed opportunity. This subject matter is such a great source of potential material, but it is handled much better in films like Easy A or Juno, where there is a much more full-featured story.

My exhaustive 10 minutes of internet searching indicates that this is the first feature film from director Brian Dannelly, who also wrote the film with partner Michael Urban (this is also their first feature film as writers). All of his previous experience was in short films, which I think may shed some light on the approach to story-telling. This highly focused story would probably have made a great short film.

I don’t want to be too hard on Saved!, though. I really did enjoy it. It’s simply that by the end I was really hoping for an opposing viewpoint or a devout Christian character that was a bit more textured and less of a caricature.

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

PASS