Every breakout independent hit seems like a miracle. This delightful ‘little’ picture was fated to be ghetto-ized into ethnic theaters before its producers opted to distribute it themselves. Capturing a vibrant part of the immigrant experience, Joan Micklin Silver’s micro-production often has a big-picture look; it charmed audiences and became a sleeper success. Star Carol Kane was nominated for an acting Oscar as ‘Gitl,’ a woman with Old-Country values plus the grit and determination to win a better life. Also with fine performances from Steven Keats, Mel Howard, Dorrie Kavanaugh and Doris Roberts.
Hester Street
Blu-ray
Cohen Media Group / Kino Lorber
1975 / B&w / 1:85 anamorphic 16:9 / 90 min. / Street Date March 8, 2022 / Available from Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Carol Kane, Steven Keats, Mel Howard, Dorrie Kavanaugh, Doris Roberts, Stephen Strimpell, Lauren Frost, Paul Freedman, Martin Garner.
Cinematography: Kenneth Van Sickle
Production Designer: Stuart Wurtzel
Film Editor: Katherine Wenning
Original Music: Herbert L. Clarke...
Hester Street
Blu-ray
Cohen Media Group / Kino Lorber
1975 / B&w / 1:85 anamorphic 16:9 / 90 min. / Street Date March 8, 2022 / Available from Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Carol Kane, Steven Keats, Mel Howard, Dorrie Kavanaugh, Doris Roberts, Stephen Strimpell, Lauren Frost, Paul Freedman, Martin Garner.
Cinematography: Kenneth Van Sickle
Production Designer: Stuart Wurtzel
Film Editor: Katherine Wenning
Original Music: Herbert L. Clarke...
- 4/9/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
David Fincher’s “Mank,” Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods,” and Pete Docter’s “Soul” were the big film winners at the 25th annual Art Directors Guild Awards Saturday evening, taking production design honors for period, fantasy, contemporary, and animated feature, respectively. Additionally, “The Mandalorian,” “Ozark,” and “The Queen’s Gambit” were among the TV winners at the ceremony, which bodes well for “The Mandalorian” and “The Queen’s Gambit’s” Emmy prospects in the craft category.
The annual awards fete the finest production design in movies, TV, commercials, music videos, and animated features in 12 categories.
The monochromatic “Mank” is the only film that took home an Adg award that is competing for Best Picture. Pixar’s “Soul” is the favorite for Best Animated Feature. Other Adg nominees included Oscar hopefuls “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”
In terms of the Oscar race,...
The annual awards fete the finest production design in movies, TV, commercials, music videos, and animated features in 12 categories.
The monochromatic “Mank” is the only film that took home an Adg award that is competing for Best Picture. Pixar’s “Soul” is the favorite for Best Animated Feature. Other Adg nominees included Oscar hopefuls “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”
In terms of the Oscar race,...
- 4/11/2021
- by Bill Desowitz and Chris Lindahl
- Indiewire
David Fincher’s “Mank” and Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” were among the winners at the Art Directors Guild Awards on Saturday night — both are also Oscar nominees for best production design.
In a hybrid ceremony, the Adg (IATSE Local 800) awarded 11 categories across television, film, music videos and commercials.
Other winners included, “Da 5 Bloods” (Wynn Thomas), and “Soul” (Steve Pilcher).
In the television category, “The Mandalorian: Chapter 13: The Jedi,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” and “What We Do in the Shadows: Resurrection” were all recognized.
Comedian Jb Smoove, co-star of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” served as the evening’s host, entertaining a global audience. Nelson Coates, Adg president, and Mark Worthington, art directors council chair, presided over the awards ceremony.
“I’m grateful we were able to share our open awards event with all of our members, their families, friends, and coworkers this year,” producer Scott Moses said. “The show...
In a hybrid ceremony, the Adg (IATSE Local 800) awarded 11 categories across television, film, music videos and commercials.
Other winners included, “Da 5 Bloods” (Wynn Thomas), and “Soul” (Steve Pilcher).
In the television category, “The Mandalorian: Chapter 13: The Jedi,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” and “What We Do in the Shadows: Resurrection” were all recognized.
Comedian Jb Smoove, co-star of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” served as the evening’s host, entertaining a global audience. Nelson Coates, Adg president, and Mark Worthington, art directors council chair, presided over the awards ceremony.
“I’m grateful we were able to share our open awards event with all of our members, their families, friends, and coworkers this year,” producer Scott Moses said. “The show...
- 4/11/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
“Mank,” “Tenet,” “Da 5 Bloods” and “Soul” have won the feature-film awards at the 25th annual Art Directors Guild Awards, which were handed out in a virtual ceremony on Saturday.
“Mank” won in the period-film category, the Adg category that most closely corresponds to the Oscar for Best Production Design. “Tenet” won in the fantasy category, “Da 5 Bloods” in the contemporary category and “Soul” in the animated category.
In the 14 years since the current Adg categories were established, the winner in the period category has gone on to win the Oscar for Best Production Design six times, the fantasy winner has taken the Oscar four times, and the contemporary winner has won the Oscar once. In all but three of those years, the Oscar has gone to one of the Adg winners.
“Mank” and “Tenet” are both nominated for the Best Production Design Oscar; “Da 5 Bloods” and “Soul” are not.
“Mank” won in the period-film category, the Adg category that most closely corresponds to the Oscar for Best Production Design. “Tenet” won in the fantasy category, “Da 5 Bloods” in the contemporary category and “Soul” in the animated category.
In the 14 years since the current Adg categories were established, the winner in the period category has gone on to win the Oscar for Best Production Design six times, the fantasy winner has taken the Oscar four times, and the contemporary winner has won the Oscar once. In all but three of those years, the Oscar has gone to one of the Adg winners.
“Mank” and “Tenet” are both nominated for the Best Production Design Oscar; “Da 5 Bloods” and “Soul” are not.
- 4/11/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The 25th Annual Art Director’s Guild Awards took place tonight as a reimagined virtual show, with Mank,, Tenet and Da 5 Bloods taking home top film honors.
Hosted by Curb Your Enthusiasm’s J.B. Smoove, the event celebrates outstanding production design in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, animated features and music videos. For all the winners and nominees, see the list at the bottom of this post.
Ryan Murphy received Cinematic Imagery Award honoring his work reflecting the highest quality of production design. The award was presented by Matt Bomer, star of many of Murphy’s shows including Boys in the Band.
Other presenters included Jordi Molla (Jack Ryan); Nicco Annan (P-Valley); Tyra Banks; Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Aasif Mandvi (Evil); Jenna Elfman (Fear the Walking Dead) and Brian Tee (Chicago Med).
Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Emmy-winning production designer Stuart Wurtzel (Ad), set designer Martha Johnston (Sdmm...
Hosted by Curb Your Enthusiasm’s J.B. Smoove, the event celebrates outstanding production design in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, animated features and music videos. For all the winners and nominees, see the list at the bottom of this post.
Ryan Murphy received Cinematic Imagery Award honoring his work reflecting the highest quality of production design. The award was presented by Matt Bomer, star of many of Murphy’s shows including Boys in the Band.
Other presenters included Jordi Molla (Jack Ryan); Nicco Annan (P-Valley); Tyra Banks; Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Aasif Mandvi (Evil); Jenna Elfman (Fear the Walking Dead) and Brian Tee (Chicago Med).
Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Emmy-winning production designer Stuart Wurtzel (Ad), set designer Martha Johnston (Sdmm...
- 4/10/2021
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
When the 25th Art Directors Guild Awards are handed out during today’s virtual ceremony, Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to production designer Stuart Wurtzel, concept artist John Eaves, scenic artist Patrick DeGreve, and set designer Martha Johnston. And Ryan Murphy will receive the Guild’s Cinematic Imagery Award during the virtual event, which begins with a pre-show at 3 p.m. Pt followed by the ceremony at 4 p.m. Pt.
Wurtzel’s credits include Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters, for which he received an Oscar nomination; and three Peter Yates films including Suspect, The House on Carroll Street and An ...
Wurtzel’s credits include Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters, for which he received an Oscar nomination; and three Peter Yates films including Suspect, The House on Carroll Street and An ...
- 4/10/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
When the 25th Art Directors Guild Awards are handed out during today’s virtual ceremony, Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to production designer Stuart Wurtzel, concept artist John Eaves, scenic artist Patrick DeGreve, and set designer Martha Johnston. And Ryan Murphy will receive the Guild’s Cinematic Imagery Award during the virtual event, which begins with a pre-show at 3 p.m. Pt followed by the ceremony at 4 p.m. Pt.
Wurtzel’s credits include Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters, for which he received an Oscar nomination; and three Peter Yates films including Suspect, The House on Carroll Street and An ...
Wurtzel’s credits include Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters, for which he received an Oscar nomination; and three Peter Yates films including Suspect, The House on Carroll Street and An ...
- 4/10/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Concept artist John Eaves will be honored with the Art Directors Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the 25th annual Adg Awards.
Presented to Eaves by Emmy-nominated production designer Herman Zimmerman, the award will recognize his role in bringing iconic sci-fi concepts and sets to life, for Marvel, the Star Trek franchise and more.
“For the past 36 years, John’s work as a Production Illustrator has been an integral part of over 100 films and television shows,” said Tim Wilcox, Adg Illustrators & Matte Artists Council Chair. “From props, to sets, to vehicles, to gadgets, and, most prominent and recognizable, a small fleet of starships for the Star Trek franchise, John has inspired many and left an amazing mark on our industry. We celebrate his creativity, talent, and contributions to the Craft.”
Boasting a 36-year career in film and TV, Eaves has worked as a concept artist on over 100 award-winning motion picture franchises,...
Presented to Eaves by Emmy-nominated production designer Herman Zimmerman, the award will recognize his role in bringing iconic sci-fi concepts and sets to life, for Marvel, the Star Trek franchise and more.
“For the past 36 years, John’s work as a Production Illustrator has been an integral part of over 100 films and television shows,” said Tim Wilcox, Adg Illustrators & Matte Artists Council Chair. “From props, to sets, to vehicles, to gadgets, and, most prominent and recognizable, a small fleet of starships for the Star Trek franchise, John has inspired many and left an amazing mark on our industry. We celebrate his creativity, talent, and contributions to the Craft.”
Boasting a 36-year career in film and TV, Eaves has worked as a concept artist on over 100 award-winning motion picture franchises,...
- 3/31/2021
- by Patrick Hipes and Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Production designer Stuart Wurtzel will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 25th annual Art Directors Guild Awards, the guild announced today.
The award comes in recognition of the “exceptional spectrum” of designs Wurtzel has created for film, TV and theater over the course of six decades.
“From…Hannah and Her Sisters to his iconic evocation of New York during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s in Angels in America, Stuart Wurtzel’s contribution to the art of Production Design stands alone,” said Mark Worthington, Art Directors Council Chair.
An Academy Award nominee and Emmy winner, Wurtzel has collaborated throughout his storied career with prominent directors, ranging from Peter Yates to Woody Allen. On the TV side, he recently designed Showtime’s The Loudest Voice, along with HBO’s Divorce.
Additional credits include Enchanted, Stepmom, Hair, Mermaids, Romeo Is Bleeding, Three Men and a Little Lady, Old Gringo,...
The award comes in recognition of the “exceptional spectrum” of designs Wurtzel has created for film, TV and theater over the course of six decades.
“From…Hannah and Her Sisters to his iconic evocation of New York during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s in Angels in America, Stuart Wurtzel’s contribution to the art of Production Design stands alone,” said Mark Worthington, Art Directors Council Chair.
An Academy Award nominee and Emmy winner, Wurtzel has collaborated throughout his storied career with prominent directors, ranging from Peter Yates to Woody Allen. On the TV side, he recently designed Showtime’s The Loudest Voice, along with HBO’s Divorce.
Additional credits include Enchanted, Stepmom, Hair, Mermaids, Romeo Is Bleeding, Three Men and a Little Lady, Old Gringo,...
- 3/11/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Production designer Stuart Wurtzel–best known for his work on Hannah and Her Sisters and Angels in America–will receive the Art Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award during the 25th Adg Awards, which will be presented during a virtual ceremony on April 10.
Wurtzel received an Oscar nomination for his work on Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters, following his design of Allen’s Purple Rose of Cairo. He was the production designer on three Peter Yates films: Suspect, The House on Carroll Street and An Innocent Man. For HBO, he worked on titles include Mike Nichols’ Wit, starring Emma Thompson, and Angels ...
Wurtzel received an Oscar nomination for his work on Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters, following his design of Allen’s Purple Rose of Cairo. He was the production designer on three Peter Yates films: Suspect, The House on Carroll Street and An Innocent Man. For HBO, he worked on titles include Mike Nichols’ Wit, starring Emma Thompson, and Angels ...
- 3/11/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
“Tracking Shot” is a monthly featurette here on Ioncinema.com that looks at a dozen or so projects that are moments away from lensing and with June being a major production month we’ve got a slew of projects that we feel are worth signaling out. Music appears to be a common narrative theme surrounding several items – we find it infused in Once‘s John Carney’s U.S. production debut – a 10 million dollar production about a dejected music business executive forms a bond with a young singer-songwriter new to Manhattan. Scarlett Johansson was formerly attached to Can a Song Save Your Life?, now Knightley appears to be on board. Rock documentary filmmaker Stephen Kijak (Stones in Exile) is looking to make his second fictional feature based on the true story of a The Smiths fans who lost his bearings when the group announced its break-up. Shoplifters of the World...
- 6/5/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Chicago – Vanessa Redgrave’s role in “Letters to Juliet” could not have come at a more poignant time in her life. She plays a starry-eyed woman in her twilight years, desperate to reconnect with her childhood sweetheart. He’s played by Franco Nero, the man Redgrave fell for on the set of 1969’s “Camelot.” She was Guinevere and Nero was Lancelot. Yet they didn’t marry until 2006.
That’s why it’s profoundly difficult to avoid getting a lump in your throat when Redgrave’s long lost love materializes before her very eyes, on a horse no less (you half expect him to be singing, “If Ever I Would Leave You”). It’s also impossible not to be moved during an earlier moment, when Redgrave pauses before a gravestone, fearing that her love is truly gone for good. This sequence probably didn’t require much acting from the screen legend,...
That’s why it’s profoundly difficult to avoid getting a lump in your throat when Redgrave’s long lost love materializes before her very eyes, on a horse no less (you half expect him to be singing, “If Ever I Would Leave You”). It’s also impossible not to be moved during an earlier moment, when Redgrave pauses before a gravestone, fearing that her love is truly gone for good. This sequence probably didn’t require much acting from the screen legend,...
- 9/29/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
No! Fright Night may have hit its first bump in the road. After nabbing Anton Yelchin for the lead role and lining up Colin Farrell and Toni Collette to star alongside him, Shock Till You Drop discovered that the Fright Night remake could be Fright Night 3D. The site first pointed out the additional dimension back in the summer of 2009, but since, the 3D addendum has been missing from the film’s title. Now it seems to have creeped back into the picture in a Variety article about production designer Stuart Wurtzel at the end of which notes the hiring of “Rob Ortiz as Upm on Craig Gillespie’s Fright Night 3D.” [...]...
- 5/14/2010
- by Perri Nemiroff
- ShockYa
A war between style and substance breaks out in the very first minutes of "Isn't She Great", and style wins at every turn.
Only the style of this particular film rarely suits its substance, which turns "Isn't She Great" into a weird hybrid -- the celebrity biopic as musical, only without music.
What today's audiences are going to make of this gloss on the life of best-selling trash novelist Jacqueline Susann is hard to tell. "Valley of the Dolls" was a long time ago, so the film will have to rely largely on middle-age moviegoers and Bette Midler fans. That may not be enough in theatrical release, but the movie could be a lively performer in downstream markets.
The film derives from a 1995 New Yorker magazine piece by book editor and memoirist Michael Korda. In "Wasn't She Great", Korda told the unconventional love story of Susann, an ambitious Jewish girl who just wanted to be famous, and Irving Mansfield, the manager and publicist who adored her, married her and made her dream come true before she died of cancer at an early age.
Writer Paul Rudnick's take on this tale, ably abetted by the smart filmmaking team of director Andrew Bergman and producer Mike Lobell, views Susann as one of those wildly eccentric, larger-than-life great dames of musical theater, having more in common with Dolly Levi or Auntie Mame than Danielle Steel. When she walks into Lindy's, you half expect the waiters to break into a chorus of "Isn't She Great!"
And with Midler playing Jackie and Broadway star Nathan Lane playing Irving and Burt Bacharach aboard as composer, why not? Yet except for Midler teaming with Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme (played by their son, David Lawrence, and Debbie Gravitte), the two singers warble nary a note.
In a movie Bergman admits is only "loosely based" on Susann's life, Jackie is transformed into a crass, spotlight-loving funny girl in danger of drifting from show business wannabe into never-was before Irving rescues her and turns her into a best-selling writer. In the Mansfields' opulent Manhattan apartment, actors and editors dash in and out with comic fury, joke lines hit with staccato intensity -- "Irving, can I write about orgasms?" -- and the only deep, dark secrets in their lives are Jackie's cancer and their autistic son.
Jettisoned from this sanitized account are Jackie's drug binges, her innumerable affairs with the famous and infamous, her strange relationship with her father and the true horror of the institution that housed her son. Even some of its "facts" get misstated. Truman Capote did indeed say of a rival author, "That isn't writing. That's typing." Only he said it of Jack Kerouac, not Jackie Susann.
The film does touch briefly on Susann's marketing genius, her willingness to hit the road and hustle "Valley of the Dolls" with the personal touch at even the smallest bookseller. (The book did sell 19 million copies.) But as with her cute conversations with God, held periodically at a well-lit tree in Central Park, her hustle is seen only in the context of lovably eccentricity.
Central to "Isn't She Great" is the love story between Jackie and Irving. Yet the film never quite gets around to a love scene. The closest Rudnick and Bergman come is a negotiation, again in Central Park, in which Jackie sweet talks Irving into becoming her agent.
Indeed Midler and Lane rarely stand close to one another. Did they suspect their own show business personas would not mesh in this particular story?
One thing the movie does not lack is energy. Stockard Channing, looking like she dropped in from a valley of the dolls holiday, is ever supportive and wisecracking -- as best girl pals always are. John Cleese and David Hyde Pierce make an amusing comic duo as the buoyant publisher and prissy editor who come to adore their gutsy authoress.
Amanda Peet, as an early supporter of Jackie's at the publishing house, is highly animated though without a distinct role to play. Even Jackie's poodle brightly jumps into people's arms on cue.
On the technical side, designer Stuart Wurtzel and cinematographer Karl Walter Lindenlaub go for Day-Glo colors and high key lighting to emphasize the cheery side of the Jackie-Irving love tale.
There's no denying "Isn't She Great" is trashy fun (and could have been much trashier if the filmmakers have been so inclined). But, ultimately, the viewer can't help feeling that Jacqueline Susann is largely irrelevant to her own celebrity biopic.
ISN'T SHE GREAT
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures and Mutual Film Co. present a Lobell/Bergman production
Producer:Mike Lobell
Director:Andrew Bergman
Screenwriter:Paul Rudnick
Based on an article by:Michael Korda
Executive producers:Ted Kurdyla, Gary Levinsohn, Mark Gordon
Director of photography:Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Production designer:Stuart Wurtzel
Music:Burt Bacharach
Costume designer:Julie Weiss
Editor:Barry Malkin
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jacqueline Susann:Bette Midler
Irving Mansfield:Nathan Lane
Florence Maybelle:Stockard Channing
Michael Mastings:David Hyde Pierce
Henry Marcus:John Cleese
Debbie:Amanda Peet
Maury Manning:John Larroquette
Running time -- 96 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Only the style of this particular film rarely suits its substance, which turns "Isn't She Great" into a weird hybrid -- the celebrity biopic as musical, only without music.
What today's audiences are going to make of this gloss on the life of best-selling trash novelist Jacqueline Susann is hard to tell. "Valley of the Dolls" was a long time ago, so the film will have to rely largely on middle-age moviegoers and Bette Midler fans. That may not be enough in theatrical release, but the movie could be a lively performer in downstream markets.
The film derives from a 1995 New Yorker magazine piece by book editor and memoirist Michael Korda. In "Wasn't She Great", Korda told the unconventional love story of Susann, an ambitious Jewish girl who just wanted to be famous, and Irving Mansfield, the manager and publicist who adored her, married her and made her dream come true before she died of cancer at an early age.
Writer Paul Rudnick's take on this tale, ably abetted by the smart filmmaking team of director Andrew Bergman and producer Mike Lobell, views Susann as one of those wildly eccentric, larger-than-life great dames of musical theater, having more in common with Dolly Levi or Auntie Mame than Danielle Steel. When she walks into Lindy's, you half expect the waiters to break into a chorus of "Isn't She Great!"
And with Midler playing Jackie and Broadway star Nathan Lane playing Irving and Burt Bacharach aboard as composer, why not? Yet except for Midler teaming with Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme (played by their son, David Lawrence, and Debbie Gravitte), the two singers warble nary a note.
In a movie Bergman admits is only "loosely based" on Susann's life, Jackie is transformed into a crass, spotlight-loving funny girl in danger of drifting from show business wannabe into never-was before Irving rescues her and turns her into a best-selling writer. In the Mansfields' opulent Manhattan apartment, actors and editors dash in and out with comic fury, joke lines hit with staccato intensity -- "Irving, can I write about orgasms?" -- and the only deep, dark secrets in their lives are Jackie's cancer and their autistic son.
Jettisoned from this sanitized account are Jackie's drug binges, her innumerable affairs with the famous and infamous, her strange relationship with her father and the true horror of the institution that housed her son. Even some of its "facts" get misstated. Truman Capote did indeed say of a rival author, "That isn't writing. That's typing." Only he said it of Jack Kerouac, not Jackie Susann.
The film does touch briefly on Susann's marketing genius, her willingness to hit the road and hustle "Valley of the Dolls" with the personal touch at even the smallest bookseller. (The book did sell 19 million copies.) But as with her cute conversations with God, held periodically at a well-lit tree in Central Park, her hustle is seen only in the context of lovably eccentricity.
Central to "Isn't She Great" is the love story between Jackie and Irving. Yet the film never quite gets around to a love scene. The closest Rudnick and Bergman come is a negotiation, again in Central Park, in which Jackie sweet talks Irving into becoming her agent.
Indeed Midler and Lane rarely stand close to one another. Did they suspect their own show business personas would not mesh in this particular story?
One thing the movie does not lack is energy. Stockard Channing, looking like she dropped in from a valley of the dolls holiday, is ever supportive and wisecracking -- as best girl pals always are. John Cleese and David Hyde Pierce make an amusing comic duo as the buoyant publisher and prissy editor who come to adore their gutsy authoress.
Amanda Peet, as an early supporter of Jackie's at the publishing house, is highly animated though without a distinct role to play. Even Jackie's poodle brightly jumps into people's arms on cue.
On the technical side, designer Stuart Wurtzel and cinematographer Karl Walter Lindenlaub go for Day-Glo colors and high key lighting to emphasize the cheery side of the Jackie-Irving love tale.
There's no denying "Isn't She Great" is trashy fun (and could have been much trashier if the filmmakers have been so inclined). But, ultimately, the viewer can't help feeling that Jacqueline Susann is largely irrelevant to her own celebrity biopic.
ISN'T SHE GREAT
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures and Mutual Film Co. present a Lobell/Bergman production
Producer:Mike Lobell
Director:Andrew Bergman
Screenwriter:Paul Rudnick
Based on an article by:Michael Korda
Executive producers:Ted Kurdyla, Gary Levinsohn, Mark Gordon
Director of photography:Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Production designer:Stuart Wurtzel
Music:Burt Bacharach
Costume designer:Julie Weiss
Editor:Barry Malkin
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jacqueline Susann:Bette Midler
Irving Mansfield:Nathan Lane
Florence Maybelle:Stockard Channing
Michael Mastings:David Hyde Pierce
Henry Marcus:John Cleese
Debbie:Amanda Peet
Maury Manning:John Larroquette
Running time -- 96 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 1/28/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It's a battle between No. 1 and No. 2 here. No, it's not yet another bowl game but the confrontation between Wife No. 1 (the middle-aged mother) who has been supplanted by Wife No. 2 (the trophy) in "Stepmom", a big, brightly decorated holiday morsel starring Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon that should stir mainstream hearts with its tidy trimmings.
Chris Columbus' warm and playful directorial hand, while likely to spur critical derision and snickers from the oh-so-sophisticated, is a crafty mix of broad, good-feeling sentiment. In exhibitor jargon, it's part popcorn and part handkerchiefs -- which, at the holidays, will make boxoffice presents for Sony decidedly green, not red.
With edgy yet appealing performances from Roberts and Sarandon, it's a star vehicle that will surely shine among middle-class female audiences. But the brightest star atop this holiday ensemble is young Liam Aiken, whose sprightly ways are a beguiling treat.
Packed into a synoptic box, "Stepmom" sounds like it might be a black-and-white indie rather than a big-screen holiday package: Its incendiary innards are family dysfunction, mother/daughter antagonism, battling "wives" -- all amid the whirl of the pressures of career and marriage. Sounds grimy enough to win festival prizes or cult status. Hardly. Columbus has outfitted "Stepmom" in such a pleasing positive glow, while bedecking it with the traditional holiday chestnuts, that the film is a virtual Hallmark card of a movie -- it's a homey, honey-layered depiction of family strife and crisis. And it's as poshly scrumptious-looking as an idealized American neighborhood -- recall Columbus' parade of "Home Alone" settings. And, as much as it's a story, it's also an escapist eyeful for viewers who want a two-hour vacation from the grim, rancorous confines of their own domiciles.
In essence, this movie may have more in common with thick holiday catalogs -- where one can leisurely page through the pictures of wonderful furniture, picturesque children and eggnogged finery -- than with garden-variety film narratives. Indeed, Columbus pulls the heartstrings with several of these stockings: a marriage proposal, a cad's comeuppance. The Scrooge section will decry, "Corn!" Everyone else will say, "So what?"
Movie-wise (and we're certainly not talking "film" here), "Stepmom" might be categorized in the "Kramer vs. Kramer" genre, albeit in the lite-bite section. The story focuses on a well-heeled contemporary family that has burst at the seams: Luke (Ed Harris) and Jackie (Sarandon) married young and climbed the ladder of success together. But his workaholic, skirt-chasing ways and her compulsive orderliness ruptured their marriage. They agreed to an amicable split, which sufficed until Luke got a steady live-in, Isabel (Roberts), whom he was serious about. Both Luke and Jackie are civil and, regretfully, admit that their marriage went stale. But civility goes out the window over the kids: Jackie resents being supplanted as the mom, and Isabel's casual ways appear to her fuss-budget nature as tantamount to child endangerment. Luke, deservedly and undeservedly, is caught in the crossfire -- which, not surprisingly, is fueled by each woman's inner insecurities and, in each's way, love for the kids and their well-being.
While the screenwriters sagely draw up the inner rancors and combustible nature of such a situation, the deep-tissue of its issues is never really plumbed. Scenes of despair and crisis are glossed over with bromidic Band-Aids.
Overall, "Stepmom" is a feel-good weepy and, on those dimensions, is fleshed to its best proportion by the crisp lead performances. As the stunning second-wife-to-be, Roberts lifts her part beyond the obvious Cosmo-girl dimensions and shows this woman's undersurface fears and flaws. As ever, Sarandon scrapes to the core of her character, showing the imperfection of perfection in Jackie's intense will to always do the right thing. Harris perfectly embodies the flaws of a man who has reached a crossroads in his life and is struggling to balance his personal needs with his love for his family. The kids are simply perfect: Jena Malone as the preteen Anna is aswirl with both disdain for her elders and a need to have direction. It's a difficult mix, and she pulls it off. But none of these well-tuned performances can compete with little Aiken, whose elfish charms are thoroughly winning.
Technically, it's scrumptious in the "Currier & Ives" manner, with all the ornaments perfectly placed and tuned. High praise to production designer Stuart Wurtzel for the lush trimmings and to cinematographer Donald L. McAlpine for the marvelous scopings.
STEPMOM
Sony Pictures
Columbia
Producers: Wendy Finerman, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Michael Barnathan
Director: Chris Columbus
Screenwriters: Gigi Levangie, Jessie Nelson & Steven Rogers & Karen Leigh Hopkins, Ron Bass
Based on a story by: Gigi Levangie
Executive producers: Patrick McCormick, Ron Bass, Margaret French-Isaac, Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Pliny Porter
Director of photography: Donald M. McAlpine
Production designer: Stuart Wurtzel
Costume designer: Joseph Aulisi
Editor: Neil Travis
Music: John Williams
Color/stereo
Cast:
Isabel: Julia Roberts
Jackie: Susan Sarandon
Luke: Ed Harris
Anna: Jena Malone
Ben: Liam Aiken
Running time -- 124 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Chris Columbus' warm and playful directorial hand, while likely to spur critical derision and snickers from the oh-so-sophisticated, is a crafty mix of broad, good-feeling sentiment. In exhibitor jargon, it's part popcorn and part handkerchiefs -- which, at the holidays, will make boxoffice presents for Sony decidedly green, not red.
With edgy yet appealing performances from Roberts and Sarandon, it's a star vehicle that will surely shine among middle-class female audiences. But the brightest star atop this holiday ensemble is young Liam Aiken, whose sprightly ways are a beguiling treat.
Packed into a synoptic box, "Stepmom" sounds like it might be a black-and-white indie rather than a big-screen holiday package: Its incendiary innards are family dysfunction, mother/daughter antagonism, battling "wives" -- all amid the whirl of the pressures of career and marriage. Sounds grimy enough to win festival prizes or cult status. Hardly. Columbus has outfitted "Stepmom" in such a pleasing positive glow, while bedecking it with the traditional holiday chestnuts, that the film is a virtual Hallmark card of a movie -- it's a homey, honey-layered depiction of family strife and crisis. And it's as poshly scrumptious-looking as an idealized American neighborhood -- recall Columbus' parade of "Home Alone" settings. And, as much as it's a story, it's also an escapist eyeful for viewers who want a two-hour vacation from the grim, rancorous confines of their own domiciles.
In essence, this movie may have more in common with thick holiday catalogs -- where one can leisurely page through the pictures of wonderful furniture, picturesque children and eggnogged finery -- than with garden-variety film narratives. Indeed, Columbus pulls the heartstrings with several of these stockings: a marriage proposal, a cad's comeuppance. The Scrooge section will decry, "Corn!" Everyone else will say, "So what?"
Movie-wise (and we're certainly not talking "film" here), "Stepmom" might be categorized in the "Kramer vs. Kramer" genre, albeit in the lite-bite section. The story focuses on a well-heeled contemporary family that has burst at the seams: Luke (Ed Harris) and Jackie (Sarandon) married young and climbed the ladder of success together. But his workaholic, skirt-chasing ways and her compulsive orderliness ruptured their marriage. They agreed to an amicable split, which sufficed until Luke got a steady live-in, Isabel (Roberts), whom he was serious about. Both Luke and Jackie are civil and, regretfully, admit that their marriage went stale. But civility goes out the window over the kids: Jackie resents being supplanted as the mom, and Isabel's casual ways appear to her fuss-budget nature as tantamount to child endangerment. Luke, deservedly and undeservedly, is caught in the crossfire -- which, not surprisingly, is fueled by each woman's inner insecurities and, in each's way, love for the kids and their well-being.
While the screenwriters sagely draw up the inner rancors and combustible nature of such a situation, the deep-tissue of its issues is never really plumbed. Scenes of despair and crisis are glossed over with bromidic Band-Aids.
Overall, "Stepmom" is a feel-good weepy and, on those dimensions, is fleshed to its best proportion by the crisp lead performances. As the stunning second-wife-to-be, Roberts lifts her part beyond the obvious Cosmo-girl dimensions and shows this woman's undersurface fears and flaws. As ever, Sarandon scrapes to the core of her character, showing the imperfection of perfection in Jackie's intense will to always do the right thing. Harris perfectly embodies the flaws of a man who has reached a crossroads in his life and is struggling to balance his personal needs with his love for his family. The kids are simply perfect: Jena Malone as the preteen Anna is aswirl with both disdain for her elders and a need to have direction. It's a difficult mix, and she pulls it off. But none of these well-tuned performances can compete with little Aiken, whose elfish charms are thoroughly winning.
Technically, it's scrumptious in the "Currier & Ives" manner, with all the ornaments perfectly placed and tuned. High praise to production designer Stuart Wurtzel for the lush trimmings and to cinematographer Donald L. McAlpine for the marvelous scopings.
STEPMOM
Sony Pictures
Columbia
Producers: Wendy Finerman, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Michael Barnathan
Director: Chris Columbus
Screenwriters: Gigi Levangie, Jessie Nelson & Steven Rogers & Karen Leigh Hopkins, Ron Bass
Based on a story by: Gigi Levangie
Executive producers: Patrick McCormick, Ron Bass, Margaret French-Isaac, Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Pliny Porter
Director of photography: Donald M. McAlpine
Production designer: Stuart Wurtzel
Costume designer: Joseph Aulisi
Editor: Neil Travis
Music: John Williams
Color/stereo
Cast:
Isabel: Julia Roberts
Jackie: Susan Sarandon
Luke: Ed Harris
Anna: Jena Malone
Ben: Liam Aiken
Running time -- 124 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 12/9/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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