Film Review: A LIFE LESS ORDINARY (1997)

Director: Danny Boyle
Writer: John Hodge
Running time: 103 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama
UK Release date: 24^th October 1997

Watched on Sky+ Thursday 5^th January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I have to admit that for some time now I have been a bit of a fan of the work of Danny Boyle. As such, I’m made it a bit of a mission to take a look at as much of his back catalogue as I can whenever they are shown on TV. So this is how I came to watch this one. I have to say it’s not the best film I’ve seen associated with his name, but it’s passable. More of my thoughts after this very brief summary.

We start in heaven (where else), where two angels, O'Reilly and Jackson, are given their last chance to, let’s say, facilitate a couple falling in love. It’s a tough case; two people from very different backgrounds. First there’s Robert Lewis who’s a cleaner (& a writer in his spare time) who has just lost his job and been dumped by his girlfriend. Then there’s Celine Naville a rich socialite whose father wants her to go to work for him. They are thrown together when Robert goes to see Celine’s father to demand his job back and things go slightly wrong. He ends up kidnapping Celine and taking her to a cabin in the wilderness. He really doesn’t have a clue and Celine ends up taking the lead; deciding she may as well try to get some money out of her father. Meanwhile, O’Reilly and Jackson are hired by Celine’s father to find them. As you can see, it’s getting a bit complicated already and we’re only part-way through! I’ll leave it there though or the Spoiler Police (confusing plots division) will have me kidnapped in amusing circumstances (again).

A well made film that has the beginnings many of the hallmarks of Boyle’s latter works. Some interesting ideas thrown in, some that worked and some that didn’t, but then I see it as a bit of a stepping stone for Boyle. Nice performances all round; Ewan McGregor did a decent job as Robert Lewis, although his haircut is pretty bizarre! Cameron Diaz did a great job as Celine; it’s the kind of role she’s pretty comfortable in. I thought both Holly Hunter as O’Reilly and Delroy Lindo as Jackson were excellent. Honourable mentions must also go to; Ian McNeice as Mayhew, Frank Kanig as Ted, Stanley Tucci as Elliot Zweikel, Tony Shalhoub as Al and Ian Holm as Naville (Celine’s father).

Although I’m a fan of Danny Boyle’s work, I’m afraid this one failed to hit the mark (for me). I found the plot far too over-complicated, almost like they were trying to fit far too many ideas in all at once. To me it would have been much more interesting to see the story from the point of view of O’Reilly and Jackson, but then I guess I’m not a screenwriter (yet). Yes, there were some nice touches, for instance, I loved the song and dance routine in the bar; very funny. Over all though, it’s one I’ll have to sit on the fence as far as recommendation goes; it’s kind of in the middle there somewhere.

My score: 5.7/10

IMDb Score: 6.3/10 (based on 20,915 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0119535/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 39/100 (based on 36 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 56/100 (based on 52,726 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/life_less_ordinary/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Celine: Remember what they didn't teach you at Harvard Business School.
Robert: I didn't go to Harvard Business School!
Celine: That's a figure of speech, Robert.

Celine: If word got around that I had been liberated for half a million dollars, I could never show my face in polite society again. Diamonds have no value except that which is placed upon them.

Tod: Do you think that I'd talk to a dog? Do you think I'd ask a dog whether you're good or evil? What do you think I am? Some kind of crazy backwoods lunatic with a barn full of human skulls and a scythe that I sharpen every day in readiness for Armageddon?
Robert: No, no, not at all, I'm sure you're just a regular kind of guy.
Tod: Right, I'm regular, I am a regular man. I want... but that's not the point! The point is, who are YOU? WHO ARE YOU?

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Trailer:

Film Review: RAISING ARIZONA (1987)

Writers/Directors: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen (Uncredited)
Running time: 94 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Comedy
UK release date 10th July 1987

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 13th February 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I do like the films of the Coen brothers, in particular their earlier works. This is one I have seen a couple of times before but this is the first time I’ve reviewed it. What we have is a brilliantly scripted piece with some great performances and a pretty crazy plot to boot! More of my thoughts later, here’s a brief summary first (summary haters please mind the baby while I write the next paragraph).

NOTE: Although every effort is made to give as little away as possible in my summaries, sometimes a little extra may slip out. If you feel you may read something here that may spoil your future enjoyment of the film then PLEASE DO NOT read the following paragraph. (I don’t know… one person whinges and you’ve got to put disclaimers all over the place!!)

H.I. McDunnough is a repeat offender; he robs convenience stores. He is often at the police station where he meets and falls in love with Edwina (‘Ed’ for short), a cop. They get married and live happily for a while… that is until they decide to start a family. You see, Ed discovers she can’t have babies and this dashes the hopes of the young couple. And then they hear of the ‘Arizona Qunits’; five babies born to Nathan and Florence Arizona. Thinking they’ve probably got more than enough to deal with, H.I. and Ed decide to steal one for themselves… and this is where it all begins. Now, in the interests of not giving too much away, and because I got whinged at (you know who you are) I’m not going to say any more here… although I would like to.

First of all, a truly excellent script, the Coens were really on form when they wrote this one. There is some tremendous dialogue, although the pacing does go a little awry in places. I think it’s one of the best performances I’ve seen from both Nicolas Cage as H.I. McDunnough and Holly Hunter as Edwina ‘Ed’ McDunnough. Also worthy of note are; Trey Wilson as Nathan Arizona, John Goodman as Gale Snoats, William Forsythe as Evelle Snoats, Sam McMurray as Glen and Frances McDormand as Dot.

The opening of this film is one of the best I’ve seen, beautifully paced, funny and it sets up the characters and the situation perfectly. Of course, this momentum cannot be maintained throughout and, although efforts are made to raise it, it never quite reaches the same heights. The characters are all fully formed and excellently portrayed, which seems to be a rare thing these days, particularly in comedy films. So, over all, a great script with some brilliant dialogue and excellent performances but the pacing is a little uneven… still very much recommended.

My score: 8.3/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0093822/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/raising_arizona/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/screenplay/vi1558512409/