Not Just For Colored Girls

I know Rotten Tomatoes is imperfect system, but it still seems absurd to me that For Colored Girls is at a 33% "Rotten" rating. Tyler Perry turns in his most mature, subtle, courageous, beautiful work to date, and people are going to smack it with a one-star rating? Surely there's some bias and denial at work here, for I went to see For Colored Girls this evening with a Tyler Perry hater -- I mean teeth-gnashing, head-smacking HATER -- who loved what he saw. Me, I don't hate Tyler Perry, so perhaps I have a different bias, but I also loved what I saw.

For Colored Girls is, of course, based on Ntozake Shange's for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, a collection of 20 choreopoems to be performed by seven women, all identified by a color. Tyler Perry writes much of his own material for the film, but incorporates the poems sometimes powerfully, sometimes out-of-place. Tessa Thompson's "graduation nite", for example, comes out of nowhere, with no one reacting to it. It's a long monologue set beautifully to some dance exercises, but the overall feel of the scene is off; it's a recitation. Compare that to her later "abortion cycle #1": her performance is natural, unforced, beautiful. The transition between Perry's dialogue and Shange's is fluid here, whereas in "graduation nite" the leap from one to the other is alarming.

That was always going to be the challenge. Shange's masterpiece is an abstract theatre piece, relying on dance and poetry, with the Ladies sometimes interrupting each other, taking over a verse, finishing a thought. Her poems are not always direct, but they are consistently moving. Perry, known primarily for his Madea films, is generally unsubtle and inconsistent, his broad comedy usually peppered with alarmingly melodramatic treatment of serious issues (the incest/rape dialogue in Madea's Family Reunion is a perfect example of this).

That he makes it work as well as he does is impressive. This isn't faint praise either, for Perry has upped his game considerably. Most of the poems do work with the rest of the film, and exposure to such complicated material has clearly done some good. In a typical Tyler Perry film, morality is black and white, the villains twisting their wicked mustaches as the damsel in distress waits for a man to save her from her plight. In For Colored Girls, there are no such clear divisions. One need look no further than the powerhouse scene between Thandie Newton and Whoopi Goldberg for evidence. Even Janet Jackson's two-timing husband is sympathetically, almost tragically, portrayed by Omari Hardwick. Jackson is fine, too, and her performance of "sorry" is layered and heartfelt. It's too bad she and Hardwick are saddled with the weakest  and least interesting storyline.

Let it not be assumed that this is merely a good movie for Tyler Perry; it's a great movie, period. Flawed, but fantastic. Perry never loses sight of the connection and sisterhood between these women. He even remembers to bring them together, as the play so often did, in dance: the film opens with Anika Noni Rose's ballet and closes with a party. The final shot of the ladies in their "layin' on of hands" is effective, and it is not clear that everyone will be okay. The layers each actress puts into this final moment is incredible.

Indeed, if one is to commend the film for anything, it is the performances: Phylicia Rashad, Whoopi Goldberg, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise, Macy Gray, Anika Noni Rose and Loretta Devine are unforgettable. Rashad and Devine have several poems apiece, and they are the most natural and entertaining of the actresses to watch. Certainly, every time Devine showed up, my entire theater was overjoyed. Goldberg is unhinged, delivering her most un-Whoopi'd performance in ages. She's frightening and pitiful, but the aforementioned scene with Newton adds so much to both characters. Newton, an actress I usually cannot stand, is sexy and angry, and though she just about straddles the line between camp and believable hysteria...she maintains a balance. Gray's cameo as a back-alley abortionist is creepy and genuine; her "i used to live in the world" is one of the stand-outs. Rose is beautiful, as always, but also vulnerable as the dance teacher raped by a man she trusts. And Kimberly Elise? Astonishing. She will break your heart and uplift it.

But again, it's not perfect. The journey to the back-alley abortionist is almost silly: gamblers, junkies, drug dealers, and a pit bull all congregate outside, played to the rafters by pantomiming actors in close-up. Truly a bizarre moment. The decision to intercut a rape scene with an opera is interesting, but the staging of the latter takes away the impact of the former; it also goes on for way too long. Jackson's character is underwritten, Thompson is inconsistent (though promising), and Kerry Washington is both. The editing is sometimes too abrupt. And while I usually commend a director for holding on a performance, Jackson's "sorry" monologue goes on for about three minutes without so much as a push-in. I admit, I started zoning out in the middle of it. Where utilized, the special effects are, shall we say, unpolished. This is no small matter, as it very nearly kills "a nite with beau willie brown", arguably the most important sequence in the film.

But then I come back to the score by Aaron Zigman, the costumes by Johnetta Boone, the production design and art direction of Ina Mayhew and Roswell Hamrick, the performances by Rashad and Goldberg, Devine and Elise. I come back to it all and think, "Damn!" It may not be completely successful in its attempt to bring Ntozake Shange's work to the screen, it certainly does the play justice.

"For Colored Girls" Trailer

Sorry, I am awful at embedding things. 'Til I figure it out, do follow the link:

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810076902/video/21894591http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810076902/video/21894591

For Colored Girls May Be For Me

Since it's announcement, I've been following whatever news I could find on the film adaptation of For Colored Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf. I keep silent here because I don't want to blow the proverbial load prematurely, but so much about it has me chomping at the bit. I'm familiar with the show from my days in high school theatre, and have recently re-read the original play by Ntozake Shange, who also wrote the screenplay. If anyone can bring this choreo-poem to the big screen, surely it would be the original author!

Oh, sure, there was the initial thought of "uh-oh" at the idea of Tyler Perry directing...but then I realized how unfair that was. I've never seen a Perry film, my only exposure to his work being the cliche-ridden trailers, his two awful and unfunny TV shows, and his performance in Star Trek. But I've never seen Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Meet the Browns, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, etc., etc., so to have a knee-jerk reaction against Perry just because the majority of the other cinephiles do is dishonest. Having decided this, I could continue on with my excitment.

Which, of course, is all about the cast. I love me some strong female performances, ever since I was in third grade and fell for Dianne Wiest in Edward Scissorhands (her performance, that is; I actually fell for Winona Ryder). To be able to see an actress-dominated film with strong roles is catnip enough, but to have those roles embodied by this legion of actresses?! What did I do to reap this reward? There's deserved Oscar Winner Whoopi Goldberg, Hollmann Award Nominee Anika Noni Rose, old favorite Loretta Devine, legendary MILF Phylicia Rashad, undervalued chanteuse Macy Gray (who was great fun in Idlewild), jaw-droppingly beautiful Kerry Washington...and, fine, there's Thandie Newton, who I've never seen deliver a good performance, and Janet Jackson, who I've never seen act. And, truth be told, I don't know who Kimberly Elise is. But look at the rest of that cast list! Amazing!

I was willing to wait until January to catch it, but when it was announced that For Colored Girls... would be released this year on November 5th? You better believe I texted my friends, e-mailed my professor (we're reading the play in her class soon), cleared my calendar! And there it was. Two months. I had to sit on this for two months, but I could do it. I could always read my copy of the play if the anticipation got to be too much, just to calm me down. I was excited, but able to keep it in check.

Then the posters came out. Lord, I want this movie now:

How excited are all y'all right now? Because I am PUMPED.

Casting Coup: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

It's incredible to think that Hag Horror actually had a place of respectability within the film community. It isn't always that an Oscar Winner can also claim Cult Status, but it happens. So before Who Slew Auntie Roo?, Strait Jacket, Night Watch and Berserk!, Hag Horror began with a bang, as well as a question: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

I recently wrote about my own relationship with this film. Suffice to say, it's one of my favorites, right up there with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in the genre of Ponderous B&W Films Starring Wrinkled Women Made in The Sixties. And since I've recently watched it, it's a natural candidate for a Casting Coup.

What can be said about this film that hasn't been said before? By me? For one, Jack L. Warner was completely against the idea of making a movie starring two actresses past their prime. This is especially interesting because, as much as we can bellyache about ageism and sexism in today's Hollywood, at the time of the film's release, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were, respectively....54 AND 57 YEARS OLD. By those standards, the following actresses are ripe for hag horror: Joan Allen, Kim Basinger, Geena Davis, Whoopi Goldberg, Amy Irving, Mary Steenburgen, Mary McDonnell, Oprah Winfrey and Kathleen Turner.

Actually, I guess Irving, Basinger, Davis and Turner really don't have the careers they had in their youth. BUT STILL.

Baby Jane was nominated for two BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globes, and the DGA Award. AFI named Baby Jane Hudson the 44th Greatest Movie Villain in 2003. The film was featured, very effectively, in House of Wax, and even referenced on an episode of "Seinfeld". It also led to a successful follow-up, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, which went on to be nominated for seven Oscars. In 1991, the Redgrave sisters starred in a made-for-TV remake, with Vanessa as Blanche and Lynn as Baby Jane.

Before all that, though, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? was nominated for five Academy Awards. Joseph D. Kelly, the head of the Seven Arts-Warner Bros. sound department, was nominated for Best Sound, losing to John Cox's work at Shepperton for Lawrence of Arabia. Ernest Haller's eerie Cinematography lost to Jean Bourgoin and Walter Wottitz double-teaming for The Longest Day in the Black-and-White category. I've not seen The Longest Day, but it better have some impressive camera work! Victor Buono, a newcomer to film, would later become known as the villainous King Tut on "Batman" starring Adam West; that night, however, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, which went to Ed Begley for Sweet Bird of Youth. Bette Davis should have won for Best Actress, but the award went to Anne Bancroft's admittedly strong work in The Miracle Worker. Joan Crawford, furious at her being snubbed, offered to accept on Bancroft's behalf if she didn't show. Well, Joan got her chance, and reportedly snapped to Bette, "Out of my way!" as she made her way to the stage.

But it won! Yes, Baby Jane, the grand guignol of hag horror, the movie where parakeets are murdered, maids are hammered, and a heavily made-up Bette Davis dances around a beach, Baby Jane won an Academy Award! In the category of Costume Design - Black-and-White, Norma Koch reigned supreme. She even beat out seven-time champion Edith Head's designs for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance! And when you see Bette Davis in outfits like this:

...you can see the appeal.

Besides, it's a subject that's still relevant. In the movie, Jane is a great child star, but no one respects her as a legitimate actress when she grows up. She takes to drinking, then tries to stage a comeback after forty years...a comeback which involves her wearing the wigs and costumes of her childhood. It's the cautionary Child Star Tale that we all know. Look at its effects on people like Brad Renfro or Lindsay Lohan. Look at the dangers of parents managing their careers, like the Culkins, Gary Coleman's family, or Dina Lohan. It's a subject we know all too well.

But how on Earth does one go about recasting this gem? Really, it all stems from the idea that older actresses should be BEGGING to take these roles. My God, they're the juiciest fun an actress could ever have! The only ones disqualified would be Judi Dench, because she did Notes on a Scandal, and Maggie Smith, because of Keeping Mum. But holy hell, older actresses playing older actresses trying to recapture their youth? YES, PLEASE!

That said, things are being done a little differently for this Coup. Read on...

RAY HUDSON
Who is He: The girls' father. Finding that his younger daughter, Jane, had golden hair and an ability for song-and-dance, he trotted her out to make money as a STAR. He was a promoter and manager first, a father fourth or fifth. Any frustration he took out on Blanche.

Originally played by:

Dave Willock (Revenge of the Creature, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte)

My Choice: Indie Spirit Nominee for Best Actor (Happiness)

Dylan Baker (Thirteen Days, Trick 'r Treat)
Skeezy schemer with a shit-eating grin. That's a face that belongs in a straw boater and pinstripes.


DEHLIA FLAGG
Who is She: The mother of Edwin. This English expatriate taught her son how to play music. She does not mind that he still lives at home, she's just glad to have her precious little boy around her.

Originally played by:

Marjorie Bennett (Man of a Thousand Faces, One Hundred and One Dalmatians)

My Choice:

Julia McKenzie (Shirley Valentine, Bright Young Things)
She's played slightly daffy women before. Besides that, though, she humanizes even the smallest of roles. Remember her brief but memorable turn as Dame Judi's sister in Notes on a Scandal?


MRS. BATES
Who is She: Neighbor to the Hudson sisters. Mrs. Bates is a big fan of Blanche's movies, and often sends her flowers and fan letters. Though put off by Baby Jane's bitter rudeness, Mrs. Bates is always trying to be neighborly.

Originally played by:

Anna Lee (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, In Like Flint)

My Choice: Indie Spirit Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Woman Thou Art Loosed)

Loretta Devine (I Am Sam, My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done)


ELVIRA STITT
Who is She: Maid to the Hudson sisters. She is great friends with Blanche, but fears that Jane is slowly losing her mind. Elvira and Blanche plan on selling the house, getting Jane help, and moving to a smaller place. She only comes once a week, so she is shocked to discover the torture that has been building since her last visit.

Originally played by:

Maidie Norman (Written on the Wind, Airport '77)

My Choice: Indie Spirit Winner for Best Supporting Actress (Lone Star)

Elizabeth Pena (Transamerica, D-War)


EDWIN FLAGG
Who is He: Dehlia's son. Edwin answers an ad in the paper looking for a pianist; it is Jane, seeking an accompanist for her comeback. But Edwin is not at all the charming young Englishman he makes himself out to be. He, too, is a drunk; worse, he's a scoundrel, exploiting older women's tenderness to make money off of them. He is not interested in Jane's comeback or friendship. He just wants her money. This is something flirtatious, sad Jane never realizes.

Originally played by: Academy Award/Golden Globe Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?)

Victor Buono (Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Beneath the Planet of the Apes)

My Choice: BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (The Queen), SAG Award Nominee for Best Ensemble (Frost/Nixon)

Michael Sheen (The Damned United, The Twilight Saga: New Moon)
"As for that silly Mr. Blair with his Cheshire Cat grin..." He does have a disarming charm to him, doesn't he? One that could hide his ulterior motives. I give him the role of Edwin because he has played schemers and charmers before, and he could have a ball with it.

BABY JANE & BLANCHE HUDSON
Who are They: The Hudson Sisters grew up in each other's shadow. As children, Baby Jane was a vaudeville star, with Blanche has the plain ol' brunette. As they grew older and went into film, Blanche's beauty and talent guaranteed her success in Hollywood; Jane couldn't act her way through an Ed Wood film, but Blanche always saw to it that Jane made a movie a year. The switch hurt Jane, and she took to drunken bitterness. Forty years later, after a car accident at the front gate of their home, Blanche is paralyzed, bound to a wheelchair, while Jane walks about in full makeup, caking more on every day. "Sister, sister, oh so fair; Why is there blood all over your hair?"

Originally played by: Academy Award Winner for Best Actress (Dangerous, Jezebel), BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Foreign Actress (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actress in a Drama (All About Eve, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) and

ALSO: Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy (Pocketful of Miracles)
Academy Award Winner for Best Actress (Mildred Pierce), BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Foreign Actress (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actress in a Drama (Sudden Fear)

Bette Davis (Now, Voyager, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte) as Baby Jane Hudson
Joan Crawford (The Unknown, Grand Hotel) as Blanche Hudson

My Choice:
Now, here's where things get a little different. I always like to post my definite performers, the ones I would hire first. But I have to admit, that when it comes to Baby Jane, I would hold final auditions. Provided these women would audition, of course. So, there's still the Two Hollywood Stars as Jane and Blanche, but I have two choices for each.

The Nominee Sisters:
Academy Award Nominee for Best Actress (Peggy Sue Got Married), Golden Globe Winner for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy (Romancing the Stone, Prizzi's Honor)
ALSO: Academy Award/Golden Globe/Indie Spirit/SAG Award Nominee for Best Actress [in a Drama] (The Contender), SAG Award Nominee for Best Actress and Best Ensemble/Academy Award/BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Nixon), Academy Award/Golden Globe Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (The Crucible)

Kathleen Turner (Body Heat, Marley & Me) as Baby Jane Hudson
Joan Allen (The Notebook, The Upside of Anger) as Blanche Hudson
Turner is an actress who, though still respected, was better known in the 1980s. Her sole Oscar nomination came in 1986. Even on stage, her successful, lauded work in The Graduate was ignored by the Tony committee, while she went home a bridesmaid the night she was nominated for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Meanwhile, Allen is always finding new areas of success. The last of her three Oscar noms was in 2001, she won a Tony in 1988, and she has that new TV Movie Georgia O'Keeffe which garnered some awards recognition. Seeing these two play off each other would be a dream come true.

OR

The Winner Sisters:
Academy Award/Golden Globe Winner for Best Actress [in a Drama] (Sophie's Choice) and Best Supporting Actress (Kramer vs. Kramer), BAFTA Award/Golden Globe Winner for Best Actress [in a Musical/Comedy] (The French Lieutenant's Woman), Golden Globe Winner for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy (The Devil Wears Prada, Julie & Julia) and Best Supporting Actress (Adaptation), SAG Award Winner for Best Actress (Doubt), Hollmann Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (A Prairie Home Companion)
ALSO: Academy Award/SAG Award Winner for Best Actress (Dead Man Walking), BAFTA Award Winner for Best Actress (The Client), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actress in a Drama and Musical/Comedy (Bull Durham, White Palace, Thelma & Louise, Lorenzo's Oil, Dead Man Walking, Stepmom) and Best Supporting Actress (Igby Goes Down), Hollmann Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (In the Valley of Elah, Speed Racer)

Meryl Streep (Marvin's Room, Prime) as Baby Jane Hudson
Susan Sarandon (Atlantic City, The Lovely Bones) as Blanche Hudson
Streep loves chewing the scenery while still giving dimension to her characters, so Baby Jane would be excellent for her. Sarandon is better in quieter roles, and that sex kitten voice would be purr-fect for the more soothing Blanche. I know Meryl has a smooth voice, too, but she also loes doing new voices.

Which of these pairings would you like to see? Or do you have some ideas of your own? Gimme the feedback below!

The SMACKDOWN Arriveth

I still don’t know if I should have given Shelley Winters the edge over Juanita Moore. Maybe it would have been more honest to keep them at a tie. But if I did, does that give Juanita five stars or Shelley four?

I had a lot of fun doing this first smackdown. Two limited roles, two Mommas, two sets of great gams, two ladies from Imitation of Life. They liked having it a certain way, I guess. And it’s hard for me to believe these came out at the same time as Ben-Hur. I mean, Pillow Talk? Competing at the Oscars? With Ben-Hur? So strange.

Now, if this whole category was a Casting Coup, subject….


Fran Drescher as Petronella Van Daan
She actually does quite well in drama. Her voice and mannerisms would help with the annoying aspects of the performance. She is also still attractive, so that we can hear remembering the boys and know what she’s talking about.


Loretta Devine as Annie Johnson
I love Loretta. There is a sweetness to her that I think few other actresses of her caliber have. She can play the good-natured Annie good-naturedly, but you bet that she would also pack a wallop in that final scene with Sarah Jane.


Sarah Parish as Elspeth
She can sing, she can do cockney, she can play subtle drama. And it would be a hell of a cameo.


Lily Tomlin as Alma
can certainly toss out a line like nobody’s business, and there is this harder edge to her that would serve the character well. But I also think she would remember to keep it interesting and within the screwball comedy dynamic.

??? as Sarah Jane Johnson
I ain’t even touching that one.

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