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Author Topic: America's Sweethearts
Will Kutler
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1506
From: Tucson, AZ, USA
Registered: Feb 2001


 - posted 07-23-2001 04:09 PM      Profile for Will Kutler   Email Will Kutler   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
My Mom wanted to me to see this the other day with her, so I went. I was not very enthusiastic about seeing a romantic comedy! I had also heard that the critics gave it bad reviews? I adamently refuse to pay attention to critics--as "opinions are like assholes, everyone has one, and they are usually full of !" Perfsonally, I have no use for critics. Such audicity! Talentless idiots who critique others work? Well, this film is halarious--full of intelligent humor that does not rely on excessive profanity and gross-out crap! Maybe thats why the critics gave it a thumbs down? Because it is intelligent humor that is above their intellectual level! If you want good, clean fun, then this is a flic to see. There was not a person in the theater that was not bustin up laughin!


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Mitchell Cope
Master Film Handler

Posts: 256
From: Overland Park, KS, United States
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 07-24-2001 12:30 PM      Profile for Mitchell Cope   Email Mitchell Cope   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Will, I heard the same thing from some close friends. I didn't want to see it, but they said it's really good and their whole family thoroughly enjoyed it. They said the movie takes a few shots at critics, so that could be the reason it got the bad reviews. Go figure.

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Evans A Criswell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1579
From: Huntsville, AL, USA
Registered: Mar 2000


 - posted 08-01-2001 09:56 PM      Profile for Evans A Criswell   Author's Homepage   Email Evans A Criswell   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Attendance: Regal Hollywood 18, Huntsville, AL, 2001/08/01 19:10, Auditorium 9, Scope

I'm actually surprised myself that I waited so long to see this movie. I really enjoyed it. For a Wednesday night, attendance was good and everyone seemed to enjoy the movie.

A nitpick: The movie screen used during the final part of the movie was not of an appropriate aspect ratio for any movie shot these days. It looked 1.33:1 .

I suspect that in the scene when they get on the elevator, the left elevator was used for the "lower floor" shot and the right elevator (next to it) was used for the "8th floor shot". I say this because the floor indicator for the elevator they were in front of on the lower floor had the top right LED out in the 7-segment display. When they got to the 8th floor and got out, all of the LEDs were on in the 8 (all segments lit). I noticed when they went up the hall and the elevator to the left was visible, its floor indicator had the top right LED out in its display. It's just too coincidental.

This was actually a very enjoyable comedy, and it passes my quality test since I liked it so much that I plan to buy it on DVD when it comes out. This movie had some great one-liners in it that I wish I could remember. If anyone can remember some of the good ones, list them.

The presentation quality was very good (98), with nothing keeping me from enjoying the film.

This movie was shot with an anamorphic lens.

If you haven't seen this, by all means catch it.

A funny note: four seats to my right, a young teenage girl was sitting. When the "roller coaster" Regal policy trailer came on, she held up her arms and moved around when the thing went around curves. Her performance exceeds any I've seen concerning accuracy of acting like being on a roller coaster. I looked around and she was the only one doing it. She REALLY got into it. After it was over, I heard her tell her friends "I could have ridden a real roller coaster and it would have been 5 bucks cheaper." I'm not making this up. Oh, and she had dark hair (not blonde).

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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site


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Mitchell Cope
Master Film Handler

Posts: 256
From: Overland Park, KS, United States
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 08-02-2001 12:58 PM      Profile for Mitchell Cope   Email Mitchell Cope   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Well, I have actually seen the movie now... and I have mixed feelings about it. It is very funny in places. I laughed at things I don't think other people in the audience caught (or thought was funny). There are, though, uncomfortable stretches that seem painful. I'm a big fan of Julia Roberts, but scripts like "My Best Friend's Wedding" and "Runnaway Bride" are real downers. This had that feel in places. Overall, it made the film feel uneven and longer than it was. All of the cast was great. I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of Stanley Tucci. Catherine Zeta-Jones, though not strong, can really turn on the charm for the press cameras. When I see her I think immediately of Natalie Wood. Larry King plays a great Larry King. If the movie had gone in a different direction, Christopher Walken might have stolen the movie.

There was a Pepsi product placement (a Pepsi machine) that was so obvious it hurt. Though Hyatt got mentioned in the script, they also had a nice plaque spelling out "HYATT" in one of the shots.

I disagree with Evans on the screen in the hotel. It looked like a 1.85:1 aspect ratio to me.

Best line (or cutting remark), Billy Crystal tells his assistant, the one he's mentoring, that he doesn't know a thing about movies. This is in response to him not recognizing the film title "Breakfast At Tiffany's" or thinking that the Hepburn in that movie was Katharine Hepburn.


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Evans A Criswell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1579
From: Huntsville, AL, USA
Registered: Mar 2000


 - posted 08-02-2001 02:22 PM      Profile for Evans A Criswell   Author's Homepage   Email Evans A Criswell   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
There are, though, uncomfortable stretches that seem painful. I'm a big fan of Julia Roberts, but scripts like "My Best Friend's Wedding" and "Runnaway Bride" are real downers. This had that feel in places. Overall, it made the film feel uneven and longer than it was.

I agree with this, since there seemed to be a long stretch before the scene where the movie was played at the hotel. I felt that the movie playing at the hotel scene really got the movie's energy going again. I was a bit surprised at how much my perception of the movie as a whole improved once that scene got going. Judging from everyone else's reactions in the auditoriums, many others felt the same way. A rather long segment... and then... WOW.

quote:
I disagree with Evans on the screen in the hotel. It looked like a 1.85:1 aspect ratio to me.

Are we talking about the same screen? The first screen was in a theatre auditorium early on (when only the titles were shown). It seemed wide. The one used to show the completed film at the end definitely looked like a big TV-shaped screen. Does anyone else think so? I'd say it was 1.5:1 at the widest. Whenever I see a screen used for a movie in a movie, the aspect ratio is usually the first thing I notice. Some of my friends jokingly refer to me as "the aspect ratio police".


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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site

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Mitchell Cope
Master Film Handler

Posts: 256
From: Overland Park, KS, United States
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 08-02-2001 05:35 PM      Profile for Mitchell Cope   Email Mitchell Cope   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I'm talking about the screen in the hotel... it looked like 1.85:1 to me. Anyone else want to take a stab at this? (I don't remember what I thought of the aspect ratio in the screening room.)

It's funny we should talk about aspect ratios of screens within the movie. "Cider House Rules" has a drive-in movie screen that looked like to me its aspect ratio was 1.85:1. I thought that was sort of weird (actually a goof) since the movie was supposed to be during World War II and the 1940s.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 08-07-2001 01:25 PM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Why is it that every single TV commercial or trailer featuring Julia Roberts has to have a shot of her doing that goofy "WHA WHA HA HA HA HA" laugh of hers. I guess people find that funny or sexy? I just don't get it.

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Will Kutler
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1506
From: Tucson, AZ, USA
Registered: Feb 2001


 - posted 08-07-2001 08:46 PM      Profile for Will Kutler   Email Will Kutler   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
What about that gal who Jay Leno has on his show every so often? Also Fran Drescher--the Nanny!

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Will Kutler
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1506
From: Tucson, AZ, USA
Registered: Feb 2001


 - posted 08-21-2001 07:33 PM      Profile for Will Kutler   Email Will Kutler   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I was looking at my newspaper this past weekend--the AZ Daily Star--an ya, they called this movie a bomb. Hell, the critics are just too stupid to understand intelligent humor!

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Jesse Skeen
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1517
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Aug 2000


 - posted 08-22-2001 02:51 AM      Profile for Jesse Skeen   Email Jesse Skeen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Another nit-pick is that the "movie" being screened looks like it was shot on video- even if it were a documentary, the director looked like he would've used film had it been real.
And how many hotels have a projection set-up like that?

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