Djonn
Joined Jul 1999
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Reviews7
Djonn's rating
As a grownup in my mid-40s, I am not even close to any of "Nancy Drew"'s key demographics, but I was pleasantly surprised by the film this afternoon; so, I could tell, were the pair of sixtyish silver-haired ladies down the row from me. The older man who left the theater just ahead of me specifically praised the film to the 20-ish female usher (who said she'd seen the film the previous evening and quite liked it).
More to the point, however: In the row just ahead of me, there were nine -- count them, nine -- ten-year-old girls lined up next to each other, passing popcorn and hot dogs and candy back and forth and giggling through the previews.
Once the film began, they promptly settled down to watch....
....and didn't so much as peep till the closing credits began to roll.
This is not a perfect film; it doesn't quite pay off its high school subplots, it's not quite confident enough of its own tone, and its thugs are just a hair too far over toward critically inept at times. But the adaptation of the source material is essentially respectful, the plot hangs together fairly well, and it treads deftly between the sins of excessive cheesiness and excessive modernization. Last but not least, Emma Roberts carries the movie with startling grace -- Josh Flitter's superb timing notwithstanding, this is Roberts' movie, and she pulls it off beautifully. Her Nancy Drew is very much the direct ancestor of Kristen Bell's Veronica Mars, and the film is also a lineal descendant of Jodie Foster's early and underrated "Candleshoe".
In today's marketplace, it's a rarity: a family movie that respects its viewers' intelligence. As such, it won't be to everyone's taste -- but for what it is, it is the best movie of its kind in decades.
More to the point, however: In the row just ahead of me, there were nine -- count them, nine -- ten-year-old girls lined up next to each other, passing popcorn and hot dogs and candy back and forth and giggling through the previews.
Once the film began, they promptly settled down to watch....
....and didn't so much as peep till the closing credits began to roll.
This is not a perfect film; it doesn't quite pay off its high school subplots, it's not quite confident enough of its own tone, and its thugs are just a hair too far over toward critically inept at times. But the adaptation of the source material is essentially respectful, the plot hangs together fairly well, and it treads deftly between the sins of excessive cheesiness and excessive modernization. Last but not least, Emma Roberts carries the movie with startling grace -- Josh Flitter's superb timing notwithstanding, this is Roberts' movie, and she pulls it off beautifully. Her Nancy Drew is very much the direct ancestor of Kristen Bell's Veronica Mars, and the film is also a lineal descendant of Jodie Foster's early and underrated "Candleshoe".
In today's marketplace, it's a rarity: a family movie that respects its viewers' intelligence. As such, it won't be to everyone's taste -- but for what it is, it is the best movie of its kind in decades.
Is this a worthy remake of the McQueen/Dunaway film? I can't say; I haven't seen that one. Is it a new film classic? Probably not. But is it a reasonably entertaining high-class caper picture? Definitely.
Pierce Brosnan is as elegant and charming as ever as Thomas Crown, though one could wish for a bit more of the impish mischievousness that came through on the Remington Steele series of old. Rene Russo is attractive and clever as Catherine Banning, the high-powered insurance investigator recruited to look into a daring and dramatic museum theft. No one else makes much of an impression -- with the odd exception that the police detective loosely partnered with Banning reminds one of Remington Steele's sometime nemesis, LAPD's Inspector Jarvis.
When the film is concentrating on the art thefts, it's crisp and ingenious, though not entirely unpredictable. Elsewhere, it sometimes falters. The sexual chemistry between Crown and Banning is only about 60% "there" -- one can see the attraction, but not quite understand why it's working. And the core characters are not as well-defined as they should be, especially Russo's Banning -- a flaw in the script rather than in the actors' performances.
All in all, it's a fairly lively and watchable picture, but it doesn't realize its full potential either as a caper movie or as a Brosnan vehicle. The Bond movies have given Brosnan a good chance to show his "edge"; what's been left largely unexploited is his talent for romantic comedy. The Thomas Crown Affair doesn't give viewers enough of this lighter Brosnan; hopefully, future ventures will do more.
Pierce Brosnan is as elegant and charming as ever as Thomas Crown, though one could wish for a bit more of the impish mischievousness that came through on the Remington Steele series of old. Rene Russo is attractive and clever as Catherine Banning, the high-powered insurance investigator recruited to look into a daring and dramatic museum theft. No one else makes much of an impression -- with the odd exception that the police detective loosely partnered with Banning reminds one of Remington Steele's sometime nemesis, LAPD's Inspector Jarvis.
When the film is concentrating on the art thefts, it's crisp and ingenious, though not entirely unpredictable. Elsewhere, it sometimes falters. The sexual chemistry between Crown and Banning is only about 60% "there" -- one can see the attraction, but not quite understand why it's working. And the core characters are not as well-defined as they should be, especially Russo's Banning -- a flaw in the script rather than in the actors' performances.
All in all, it's a fairly lively and watchable picture, but it doesn't realize its full potential either as a caper movie or as a Brosnan vehicle. The Bond movies have given Brosnan a good chance to show his "edge"; what's been left largely unexploited is his talent for romantic comedy. The Thomas Crown Affair doesn't give viewers enough of this lighter Brosnan; hopefully, future ventures will do more.
Forget STAR WARS, ignore THE MATRIX, skip DEEP BLUE SEA. The best science fiction picture of 1999, bar none, is this quiet and well-rendered story of a boy and his robot.
The animation is good if mostly understated -- technical highlights are the opening starfield and storm at sea, as well as the sequence in which the Iron Giant finally shows its full range of abilities. But what shines is the writing. Brad Bird and Tim McCanlies have produced what may possibly be the best screenplay ever written for an animated feature film. As good as a few of the Disney features have been, and as good as Fox's recent ANASTASIA was, this is better. Add a solid, effortlessly smooth ensemble of voice performances, and you have a story that viewers will remember and return to with pleasure.
Look for THE IRON GIANT on awards ballots -- and not just for animated films or SF movies. The term "classic" is overused, but this is a movie that deserves the label.
The animation is good if mostly understated -- technical highlights are the opening starfield and storm at sea, as well as the sequence in which the Iron Giant finally shows its full range of abilities. But what shines is the writing. Brad Bird and Tim McCanlies have produced what may possibly be the best screenplay ever written for an animated feature film. As good as a few of the Disney features have been, and as good as Fox's recent ANASTASIA was, this is better. Add a solid, effortlessly smooth ensemble of voice performances, and you have a story that viewers will remember and return to with pleasure.
Look for THE IRON GIANT on awards ballots -- and not just for animated films or SF movies. The term "classic" is overused, but this is a movie that deserves the label.