Bob Fosse: It’s Showtime!

All that jazz.

(2019) Documentary (Vision) Bob Fosse, Jason Solomons, Merritt Moore, Will Young, Vanessa Fenton, Geraldine Morris, David Benedict, Louise Redknapp. Directed by Lucia Helenka

 

Those who love musicals view the name of Bob Fosse with reverence. He may well be the greatest choreographer in Broadway history and remains to this day the only person to win a Tony, an Emmy and an Oscar in the same year (1973).

This British documentary examines Fosse both professionally as the innovative choreographer he was and personally, pulling no punches regarding the self-destructive tendencies he possessed. His semi-autobiographical film All That Jazz should give viewers an idea of the demons that haunted the man.

The footage of the films, television shows and Broadway musicals that Fosse was involved with is the best part of the film. The filmmakers and commentators do a good job of explaining how precisely that Fosse innovated dancing in musicals, with some very intuitive points about how his own body image influenced his choreography. For example, Fosse was born pigeon-toed which led to his celebrated turned-in knees style; his own discomfort with his baldness led him to using bowler hats in his choreography. To say that Fosse’s choreography was stylized is an understatement; there was a lavishness to his movements, an almost haughtiness to the way the dancers presented themselves.

American audiences may find the use of talking heads in the film to be somewhat dry. While the professions of those making the commentary are listed (film critic, actor/singer and so on), it is never really established what makes these folks expert enough in the life and choreography of Fosse to warrant inclusion in the film. They do talk intelligently about the subject but as someone who is relatively unfamiliar with the particulars of his work, it’s hard to know how valid the commentary is.

Fans of the late choreographer will no doubt find this fascinating, while tyros like me may be less enthusiastic. Clocking in at just over an hour, the film at least won’t take up an enormous amount of your time. I must say, however, that I learned more about Fosse from watching the dance clips than I did listening to the commentary.

REASONS TO SEE: The dance footage is a reminder of how great a choreographer he was.
REASONS TO AVOID: Relies far too much on talking heads.
FAMILY VALUES: There is some incidental smoking.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The film debuted on the British arts-oriented television channel Sky Arts in May 2019.
BEYOND THE THEATER: Amazon, Fandango Now, Google Play, Vimeo
CRITICAL MASS: As of 6/14/19: Rotten Tomatoes: No score yet: Metacritic: No score yet.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: If the Dancer Dances
FINAL RATING: 5/10
NEXT: Ice on Fire

Keep the Change

This isn’t your usual romantic walk on the boardwalk.

(2017) Romance (Kino-Lorber) Brandon Polansky, Samantha Elisofon, Jessica Walter, Will Deaver, Tibor Feldman, Nicky Gottlieb, Christina Brucato, Sondra James, Jennifer Brito, Jonathan Tchaikovsky, Tommy Beardmore, Alex Emmanuel, Luke Rosen, Charlton Lamar, Anna Suzuki, Mary Cassera, Evander Duck Jr., Lori Burch, Kennedy Hall, Yvanna Barktidy. Directed by Rachel Israel

 

Some movies are for everybody. Some movies are not. Some come easily to any audience. Others require patience. This film is one of the latter.

David (Polansky) is a man who yearns to be normal. He has some quirky mannerisms, the most glaring being his propensity to tell inappropriate jokes. Most are funny only in the abstract – “Why did the bum vote for Obama? He wanted CHANGE! Haw haw haw!” However, this mannerism has gotten him into trouble on a number of occasions, repelling first dates with jokes about rape and more to the point, making jokes about pigs to a cop. This lands him, very unwillingly, at the Connections program at the Jewish Community Center in New York in which people on varying degrees of the Autism spectrum are given the opportunities to socialize in a safe environment.

David isn’t having it. He’s just “passing through” as he tells one of the participants and is sure that he is far better than the weirdos (his word) that make up the program. However, he is paired up with the somewhat outgoing Sarah (Elisofon) who might break into song with little encouragement and who mostly communicates through clichés and aphorisms. This annoys David at first but when she proclaims that David is “real real smoking hot and sexy,” he takes notice.

This isn’t a match necessarily made in heaven; her affections towards other guys drive David crazy as he wants a normal girlfriend. David’s casual cruelty hurt Sarah to the core but often she is able to scrunch up and just keep going, having learned to endure anything the world can dish out at her. Autism patients often must in order to survive.

The plot isn’t anything to write home about. It’s standard rom-com stuff but of course with a difference; rather than attractive young indie types or Hollywood A-listers, the actors are mostly autistic themselves. Israel is to be applauded for this and as a card carrying lefty I have to give the movie points for this. That doesn’t excuse the movie for going the predictable route though.

I get that the intent seemed to be reminding us that for all the quirks and tics of the autistic they are just like us, and it’s a great message to send. Am I sure that Israel was 100% successful in getting that across? Well, no. I think I have to be careful here because I’m not trying to say that those with autism don’t have stories to tell; of course they do. I can only though react to what I see onscreen and I wasn’t altogether satisfied. Some of the plot points felt a little bit contrived and considering all the trouble the actors and filmmakers went to in making this as authentic as possible they seemed to sabotage their own film in that sense.

Elisofon is absolutely charming. She is guileless and if her character is a bit on the sexy Pollyanna side, there’s nothing wrong with that. You won’t find a character like her anywhere in the movies. Polansky has a much more difficult job; his character is largely selfish and unlikable and it is his character who has to undergo the most change during the course of the film. That’s not always the easiest thing to embrace for any actor. There will be times that he says and does things however that will make most viewers cringe. Even when the person who says something cruel has autism, it still hurts when he or she says it. David doesn’t see himself as autistic or if he does, as one who is above all the others in Connections. He wears sunglasses everywhere and when he gets flustered he makes a loud honking noise that’s a cross between a sneeze and clearing the throat and has his share of insecurities. His overbearing mother (Walter) likely contributes to that smug sense of self-importance. David’s family is wealthy which largely insulates him but his mother wants him to have a “normal” wife, one who can take care of him after his parents are gone. The thought of him pairing up with someone else who is autistic is about the most terrifying thing she can imagine.

There are some moments that will genuinely tug at the heartstrings and those folks who have some contact with the autistic community – whether or not a family member or friend – will look upon this film fondly. The rest of us will likely have to accept that this is an imperfect movie and be okay with that once we decide to pull the trigger and give it a view. One certainly has to applaud the efforts to bring this community onto the screen where they have largely been rendered supporting cast members or stereotypes. This is a breath of fresh air in that regard albeit one that could have used a bit of air freshener. There will be those who don’t have the patience to see this through to the end – and while the first instinct will be to look down on those people as bad people, I find myself having a hard time doing that. After all, asking those who have limitations to go beyond them is no easy task and just because some folks will have as hard a time with this as a certain segment will have with Love, Simon is not a reason for scorn; it’s an opportunity for education.

REASONS TO GO: There are some occasional moments of the warm fuzzies.
REASONS TO STAY: Not everyone will have the patience to watch this.
FAMILY VALUES: There is profanity as well as some sexual content.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The movie won the Best Narrative Feature award and Israel won the Best New Narrative Director award at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival
CRITICAL MASS: As of 3/17/18: Rotten Tomatoes: 100% positive reviews. Metacritic: 74/100
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Best and Most Beautiful Things
FINAL RATING: 6/10
NEXT: Maineland

Paris 36 (Faubourg 36)

The stars of Paris 36 take time out for a little dip.

(Sony Classics) Gerard Jugnot, Clovis Cornillac, Kad Merad, Nora Arnezeder, Pierre Richard, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Maxence Perrin, Francois Morel. Directed by Christophe Barratier

Paris in 1936 was a volatile place. The left-wing Popular Front held power and the nation seemed to be swinging towards socialism, but the rise of Hitler in Germany was fueling a fascist faction that was gaining more and more traction, particularly with those who had a lot of money which wasn’t a particularly large number in Depression-era France. It was a good time to be nervous; it was a good time to be in love. It was also a good time to put on a show.

The Chansonia Theatre regularly did just that, although their rent was in arrears to the point where the soulless blackguard of a landlord, Galapiat (Donnadieu) is threatening to seize the theater if he doesn’t receive his rent my midnight. The theater manager does what any good manager does in a situation like that; he shoots himself. The doors of the theater are padlocked and it seems, after all, that the show won’t go on.

The effects of this are devastating on those who work there. For Pigoil (Jugnot), a stagehand who’s given his life for the Chansonia, it means his marriage is over; his wife had been stepping out on him anyway, but out of work, he is unable to support his young son Jojo, a prodigy on the accordion. Jojo is sent to live with his mother, who has since remarried a much wealthier man.

Pigoil is heartbroken. He sees the soul having been ripped away from him, just as it was from the neighborhood when the Chansonia closed. But wait! If Pigoil can put together a show that would fill the tiny, decrepit theater, perhaps the neighborhood would be saved and Pigoil could get his son back. On board with the idea are Jacky (Merad), a man who wore a sandwich board to advertise the theater and who also fancies himself an impressionist. The socialist stagehand (and serial womanizer) Milou (Cornillac) also seizes upon the idea. Galapiat agrees to allow the show to go on – after all, the empty theater is generating no money for him. Then, the three friends discover Douce (Arnezeder), a singer with talent and charisma and they know they have a hit on their hands.

And they do. Douce turns out to be the best thing since Piaf and the theater is packed night after night. Even better, Douce and Milou fall deeply in love. Unfortunately, the rapacious landlord Galapiat has his own plans and they don’t include the happiness of others. Can this plucky troupe fight back and win the day?

This is the kind of movie they’re talking about when they say “they don’t make ‘em like that anymore” which is ironic since the movie proves that they are making ‘em like that anymore – only they’re making ‘em in France. Director Barratier had the Faubourg neighborhood built outside of Prague, streets and all and the set is magnificent. It evokes not only the period, but the place. There is so much rich detail that you can watch this movie several times and not pick up everything.

Jugnot is not what you would call a typical leading man from a Hollywood point of view. Overweight, middle-aged and not particularly handsome, he has a droopy-eyed charm that instantly warms you to him. In the United States, he would never see any sort of role other than comic relief. Thankfully, the French have no such strictures and give him a role that he makes rather memorable.

The structure of the movie recalls the films of that era. From the “let’s put on a show” pluckiness to characters like Monsieur TSF (Richard) who never leaves his room and just listens to jazz on the radio all day but turns out to be a world famous songwriter who is moved to leave his room by the charm of Douce. The musical numbers, particularly the last one, have the optimistic smile-though-your-heart-is-breaking-oh-you-kid quality that you would find in movies of the 30s.

And yet this is not all sunshine and crepes. The character of the landlord is far darker and more brutal than any you might find in movies of the time save for perhaps movies starring Jimmy Cagney and there is underlying darkness and impending tragedy as the war clouds that are swirling on the horizon begin to make themselves be known. This lends a particular poignancy to the film it might not have had otherwise.

My only concern here is that during the middle of the movie it seemed to drag a little bit, and I thought Barratier might have been better served to condense things somewhat. Perhaps that’s just my American-bred attention span (or lack thereof) talking though.

This is a marvelous movie that reminds me of a bygone era that I’m far too young to remember directly but one that I’ve come to know through watching movies of the time. The charm that Paris 36 possesses is the kind that you can’t manufacture with CGI or find with focus groups. This is obviously a labor of love, a tribute to the kind of movie that those who made it adore and respect, and their affection shows through in every frame. It won’t dazzle you but it will melt your cares away, and isn’t that what movies are supposed to be about?

WHY RENT THIS: Gorgeous period detail and a wonderful performance by Jugnot are buttressed by an Andy Hardy “let’s put on a show” mentality underscored by the darkness of the period.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: The movie could have used some plot condensing.

FAMILY VALUES: There is some nudity and sexuality, as well as a couple of scenes of violence. Probably okay for older teens and mature younger ones.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Monsieur TSF is named after a radio station in Paris that has broadcast jazz music since the era of Paris 36.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: None listed.

FINAL RATING: 6.5/10

TOMORROW: W.