1994 true-story drama
Rating: 16/20 (Jen: 17/20)
Plot: A movie about the quiz show scandals of the 1950's.
It was awkward watching this with my wife and getting a little turned on during the cold open, a scene where Rob Morrow is spending time with a car salesman and a Chrysler is fetishized. I hope she didn't notice, mostly because she would have no idea whether it was the curves of that car or the curves of Rob Morrow that was giving me that bOner with a capital O.
Can you want both a movie to be a little shorter and for scenes where John Turturro is pretending to be a character pretending to stress out over quiz show questions to be longer at the same time? Man, Turturro is good! The more I think about that guy, the more I think he might be my favorite actor. The cast in this is great, including the shapely Rob Morrow even though I'm not totally sure about his accent. I can't remember if he sounded like that on Northern Exposure or not and if that's just the way he talks or that's not a way anybody has ever talked in the history of verbal language.
I love the first half of Robert Redford's movie. The subject intrigues, the villains have the right amount of shade, and the pace works. Near the end, things get a bit jumbled, but I like what this says about television. Well, maybe it's not about television and its role but about the consumer. Maybe that's why this movie starts with that sexy Rob Morrow and that sexy Chrysler.
I have always loved this movie. I like the 50’s feel, and how they showed people from very different worlds interacting with each other. You mention the others, but I think Ralph Fiennes is brilliant and is the perfect counterpoint to Torturro. My favorite themes revolve around the relationship between Fiennes and Scofield (“But it’s my name.”), and how money, class and charisma can lead people to give preferential treatment and forgiveness to some, no matter how badly they behave. This would probably be a top 100 all-time movie, for me.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Fiennes is very good in this, and he and Redford do a good job of almost tricking you with his character. He and Turturro are opposite in a lot of ways--their physical characteristics, backgrounds, economic situations, personalities, reputation, etc.--but it's almost like the movie tricks you into ignoring how they're very close morally.
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