Ruthless People 1986
Who knew that the Zuckers (and pal Jim Abrahams) could be this…serious? From the crew that brought us Airplane and the Naked Gun franchise comes a slightly more on-the-level comedy that clocks out with a few less belly laughs than its cousins, but delivers a sly plot and a group of performances that puts the other films to shame. Rich Danny Devito wants his wife (Bette Midler) dead, but when jilted designer Helen Slater and her husband (Judge Reinhold) kidnap her, why bother? Just don’t pay the ransom, and let the bad guys do the work. The two are nowhere close to ruthless, though, and matters get worse and worse for Devito. This is his best role, delightfully smug as he glides through the film single-handedly carrying the actors around him with a level of deceit and apathy towards his wife that is both believable and amazingly funny. Slater is cute, as she usually was (in non-Michael J. Fox films) at this point, and Reinhold is, well, Judge Reinhold. Midler is nothing to write home about, but when is she ever? More entertaining is Bill Pullman as a bumbling fool, one of several failed would-be robbers during a tremendous ending sequence that wraps the film’s multiple plot threads up in a tight ball of hilarity. Or something like that. There are no throwaway gags like we find in the chronicles of Frank Drebin, but Ruthless People ends up far superior to those comedic offerings.
Groundhog Day 1993
Before Bill Murray, thanks to Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and Lost in Translation, became the darling boy of independent comedy/dramas, he was still Peter Venkman, wisecracking temple of sarcasm, friend to all cynics and all-around hilarious guy. Though 1989’s Ghostbusters 2 was a disappointment, we saw a return of sorts of Dr. Venkman in 1993’s Groundhog Day, as Murray’s Phil Connors delivered the same arrogant cynicism that the good doctor once pounded Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) with. Egon’s here, not only in a cameo as Phil’s doctor, but also as writer and director of the film that sees Connors, a Pittsburgh weatherman forced to once again cover the annual Groundhog Day ceremonies in rural Punxsutawney, trapped by a blizzard not only in the town but in the same day, as every time his alarm goes off it’s once again February 2nd. Connors copes with this differently over time, at first puzzled and distressed, then eager to exploit the opportunity the repetition presented. (Get arrested? No problem; you’ll be back in your bed the next morning.) Happiness turns to despair as he repeatedly commits suicide, before finally reforming his egotistical ways and creating the perfect, selfless day as well as falling for his producer (Andie MacDowell.) The film is Murray; no other actor could wring the same balance of sympathy and hatred out of us, as we tolerate Connor’s shortcomings while we hope for reform. Ramis and Danny Rubin’s script is brilliant, filling the repeating days with running jokes and cutting between the consecutive February Seconds with creative segues and original characters and events. A myriad of talented supporting actors, including Stephen Tobolowsky and Brian-Doyle Murray, help fill the tiny town with colorful and interesting characters as Big City Phil interacts with the rubes. An original idea that teeters on the edge between silly and fascinating, Ramis and crew inch Groundhog Day over to the latter, thanks to one of the finest performances of Bill Murray’s career.
The Matrix 1999
I avoided watching The Matrix for the longest time, and I regret this every day I live. You cry with twelve annoyed voices, "Overstatement!", but this is not just another sci-fi flick. It’s a defining moment in motion picture history. As disappointing as the two sequels were, we cannot forgot just how fascinating and revolutionary, not to mention entertaining, the original story in the eventual trilogy was. Keanu Reeves stars as Neo, software engineer by day and hacker by night, who eventually discovers that his dry, boring world of lots of work and little play is not all it appears to be. Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss) show him a different reality, and before long Neo has become a general in a "futuristic" war between man and machine. The world created by the Wachowski Brothers is utterly original, as is the production used by the directors to show us their universe; this is a pristine example of a script defining the technology rather than vice-versa. As Trinity flies off the wall and over city streets to dodge Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving, god among men) in the opening sequence, we receive a rude awakening that this is not just another paint-by-numbers sci-fi/action flick. Morpheus’s explanation to Neo of the history of their conflict is presented in amzing fashion, with the filmmakers using the Matrix to show Neo, and us, things hard to express with words or actions; it’s amazing filmmaking. The performances are solid; Reeves was born for this role, where emotions are reserved, while Fishburne’s intimidating, wise nature gives weight to his leadership. Weaving is the best, with his Agent Smith a totally new character that ends up more interesting than any of the flick’s heroes. The film wraps up a little cleanly, and though the battle to save Morpheus is exhilarating (especially the gun battle in the building lobby and Neo dodging bullets on the roof,) it doesn’t pack the excitement of Star Wars and becomes wrapped up in philosophy and grandstanding (though not as bad as the sequels would.) Still, it’s a wild, original ride, and unlike most action/sci-fi films of the late twentieth century, The Matrix is exciting, insightful and just plain lots and lots of fun.