Movie Movie

MOVIE, MOVIE is a forgotten gem from the late 70's which is an affectionate spoof of a 1930's double feature (there's even a preview of coming attractions)that is divided into two separate films that run about 50 minutes a piece. The first film, "Dynamite Hands" is a black and white "Golden Boy"-type spoof with Harry Hamlin as a young boxer rising to the top with George C. Scott as his manager, Red Buttons as his trainer, Kathleen Beller as his hometown girlfriend and Ann Reinking as a nightclub singer named Troubles Moran. The second film is called "Baxter's Beauties of 1933" and is a colorful spoof of films like 42nd STREET with George C. Scott featured again as the egomaniacal director, Barry Bostwick as the idealistic young songwriter, Rebecca York (who years later would practically steal the Broadway show VICTOR/VICTORIA from Julie Andrews) as the young Ruby Keeler type and Trish VanDevere as the bitchy diva who York eventually replaces. True movie buffs and fans of these kinds of movies will be in cinema heaven here...a loving tribute to a bygone era that works thanks to spirited direction by Stanley Donen and an energetic cast.

Affectionate parody of 1930's movies with Scott hamming it up perfectly in double roles. There's a boxing drama, then a corny musical, but it adds up to fun in this pleasant trip down Hollywood's memory lane.

A quick glance at the user comments will tell you that this film is worth seeing. I'm neither a musical fanatic nor a boxing enthusiast, but the numbers, performances and nuances were entrancing.

Somehow, Donen found the perfect blend for the self-reflexive genre picture, a combination that is exceedingly difficult for modern filmmakers to get a handle on. The viewer is watching a spoof yet all of the elements are still real. We feel for the pitifully archetypal characters because it seems that they realize their fate as symbols. George C. Scott's glances of reaction, just askew of breaking the third wall, depict someone who is aware of his limited fate, but still experiences with all of his emotions every situation as if he doesn't know it's coming. In this way, the actors, as in the Brechtian mode of theater, are somewhat like audience members themselves. They know the story and the ending, but they can't help suspending their disbelief, just for fun.

The musical numbers work in the same way. They are spoofs, fulfilling specific purposes and making all the proper illusions, yet are thoroughly enjoyable as musical numbers.

"Movie Movie" isn't necessarily a great movie, but it gives the illusion of greatness in its sincerity. In a medium where the audience often feels that they are the butt of a joke only the director knows the setup to, "Movie Movie" puts across the feeling that the director genuinely enjoys movies and expects everyone involved to derive the same pleasure from them.

"Movie Movie" is an absolute gem that few people have even heard of. It's a throwback to the days of old when you went to the movies and stayed all day long. In this film we are treated to two short films (one in color, one in b&w) that sandwich an assortment of coming attractions and other goodies from a bygone era.

George C. Scott stars in both short films. One is a boxing movie and the other is a musical. This film is hard to find but does pop up occasionally on cable. I suggest looking for this at your local video store. It's a real gem for anyone who ever loved going to the movies then and now.

Stanley Donen in 1978 was old enough to remember how Warner Brothers double features of the 1930s played, and he brings them pretty gloriously back to life in this affectionate double-bill-within-a-single-movie, helped by a knowing, funny script by Larry Gelbart and Sheldon Keller. The first, a Kid Galahad-type boxing melo reveling in bad Clifford Odets-style metaphors, looks wonderful in black and white and is superbly cast, with, among others, George C. Scott in what might have been the Walter Huston role, Red Buttons doing Frank McHugh, Harry Hamlin as Wayne Morris, and a very funny Trish van Devere lampooning Eva Marie Saint in On the Waterfront. The 42nd Street parody rounding it out has some curiosities--it's in color, which it wouldn't have been in in 1933, the songs aren't all diegetic as they would have been, the camera work's a little more sophisticated than it should be--but gets most of it right, including Barry Bostwick and Rebecca York doing Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler and Barbara Harris doing a Joan Blondell. The in-between preview, Zero Hour--War at Its Best!--is a riot, with Scott, Buttons, and Eli Wallach parading around as some hilariously overage young World War I fliers. This didn't make much noise in 1978, and it's hard to know why--it's marvelously entertaining, the cast is aces, and plenty of people around then remembered the originals it so expertly spoofs.