The Happiest Millionaire

The Happiest Millionaire Wow, the sixties were really swinging! This children's movie has a large, happy scene which takes place in a bar, and alcohol and tobacco feature heavily. I wasn't necessarily bothered, as I'm not a mother, but I suspect serious reasons that this film has never achieved real prominence (well, in addition to the mediocre music). It's not exactly Mary Poppins, despite what the cover says.

In addition to the inexplicably lax attitude toward controlled substances, the film also stretches for interminable lengths. The plot isn't anything to write home about, and large chunks of it are put on hold while we listen to the tedious show-music. I fast-forwarded the Entr'acte.

Pluses include Tommy Steele who always makes me smile, Greer Garson (but without the wig), and Lesley Ann Warren (though I'm not sure if Clue made me completely forgive her for Cinderella). Also, the alligators did a wonderfully random job.

Sadly, I've never been a fan of Ken, so the story's hero had little or no appeal for me. As such, I'm not a great judge of his value to the work as a whole.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lost in Austen

Image
My co-worker warned me about Lost in Austen . She said it was cheesy, and from the few clips forced on me by a very fanatically-inclined little sister, I would have completely agreed. In context, though, I think it all sort of fit, although it's not exactly Emmy material. I really liked what they did to this story, but my reasoning is a bit complex. I have read Pride and Prejudice perhaps seven times. The only books I have read more often are Heart of Darkness (8) and The Book of Mormon (?). That doesn't mean that I like the work, just that my professors did. I admit, I liked the book very well the first three times. The romance was classic and endearing, and the language was fluid and fun. Then came Austenmania, and I jumped ship. Jane Austen wrote some enjoyable stories, but I wouldn't rank her any higher than Georgette Heyer (this coming from the same person who ranks Shakespeare with Steven Spielberg). And at this point, having seen every version of P&P ever fil
Read more

The Fountain

Image
This film should only be watched once. As a second-time viewer, I knew approximately how it ended, and how the three epic stories tied together, but it wasn't pleasant to watch. It wasn't pleasant the first time, but at least the images were striking, and felt like some kind of voyage of discovery. Watching this again was a bit like watching The Sixth Sense for the fourth time. The impact had disappeared. For most of the film, the camera moved toward those truly frustrating close-up, poser shots that so irritated me about Master and Commander . I understand that these are pretty people, and they earn the money, and so they get close-ups, but when it doesn't enhance the plot or the artistic composition as a whole - when it doesn't create unity, then it has no place. Actors should understand that, and have a serious heart-to-heart with their directors about it. I usually enjoy watching Rachel Weisz, but in this film she seemed flat, passive, and enervated. To be fa
Read more

The Other Guys

Image
The critics may disagree, but I found this film just slightly more than a little frustrating. Mark Wahlberg's character was obviously trying to pull away from being Farrell's straight man, but I didn't quite understand the senseless anger thing. Were they mocking cop dramas? Are guys in cop dramas senselessly angry all the time? I'm sorry, I just don't get it. Eva Mendez was hilarious, though. All three of them set up some really great gags. The movie made me laugh, but I really don't think I'd give it four stars.
Read more