Two minor musicals from major talents, a respected director’s work does not age well and a cult television series winds up.
You’ve already seen The Avengers twice, check out one of these.
Chuck Season 5
Warner Bros/ Released May 8th, 2012
I loved Chuck. It was a fun, geekcentric, entertaining show about a nerd who suddenly finds himself with the world’s greatest supercomputer, The Intersect, uploaded to the brain.
It’s also one of those shows that struggled to find an audience, getting picked up for abbreviated seasons which often resulted in both false endings and some awkward storytelling. Chuck should have ended a few seasons before, Season 3, actually, but it didn’t. That being said, this set, Season 5 is the second best way to conclude the series. On any other show, the level of stunt casting would seem ridiculous, but because Chuck is so in sync with it’s audience, it never feels like that; instead, you get lots of familiar faces coming in to play in Team Bartowski’s sandbox, including several of them from seasons past. The crux of the entire series are the relationships between Chuck and his family and friends, and Season 5’s continued focus makes the series finale all the more bittersweet. Extras include featurettes, an extended finale, gag reels and commentaries. Chuck Season 5 is an obvious recommendation and must have for fans of the series and casual viewers would be wise to rent previous seasons first to fully enjoy the entire journey of Chuck Bartowski. Recommended.
Victor Victoria
Warner Archive / Released May 24th, 2012
A woman, pretending to be a man, pretending to be a woman in 1930’s Paris is the premise of this comedy classic from the great Blake Edwards. Julie Andrews leads the impressive ensemble which also includes Robert Preston, James Garner, John Rhys-Davies, Alex Karras and Leslie Ann Warren. Even for 1982, movies weren’t being made like this anymore; a farce musical, shot on soundstages with plenty of choreographed physical comedy. Extras include a dry commentary and the theatrical trailer. The film hasn’t aged well in certain spots and the ending feels a bit underwritten and tired, but Victor Victoria does have it’s charms and it’s preposterous premise is well executed enough to justify a solid recommendation.
Skin Deep
Warner Archive /Released May 24th, 2012
John Ritter was an extremely adept physical comedian, which is one of the few nice things I can say about Blake Edwards’ Skin Deep, a dated, not particularly funny comedy about a lothario/drunk narcissist that meanders his way through life and women, self sabotaging himself at every opportunity. It’s more of a sad character study more than anything else. The film’s only saving grace is Ritter, who is at least able to make this character sympathetic. Sadly, I really can’t recommend this to anyone other than Edwards completists.
S.O.B.
Warner Archive /Released May 24th, 2012
Another Blake Edwards film, and fairly forgettable. This dated, mean-spirited look at Hollywood via a married producer and his actress wife (Richard Mulligan and Edwards’ real wife, Julie Andrews) is a sluggish unfunny production. The cast of familiar faces including Loretta Swit, William Holden, Robert Vaughn, Shelly Winters, Robert Loggia, Larry Hagman, Rosanna Arquette, Robert Preston and Larry Storch don’t necessarily play likable characters, which skews the tone of this miscalculated execution even more. Part of the problem is the film is meant to be biting and scandalous, which it might have been in 1981, but now, it’s rather tepid and the scathing revelations regarding “Hollywood types” feel more like stock stereotypes. Known as the film that Julie Andrews “bared her breasts,” this film is very much a reflection of the story it’s trying to tell. It’s watchable and mildly entertaining, albeit unnecessary and forgettable.
Sky’s the Limit
Warner Archive / Released April 19th, 2012
It’s sometimes amazing what little pop culture details reveal themselves in some older films. Sky’s the Limit is a Fred Astaire vehicle, with little singing and dancing. Astaire film plots usually require a certain suspension of disbelief, and Sky’s the Limit certainly lives up to that, with Astaire unconvincingly cast as a World War II Flying Eagle war hero, who sneaks away from his public appearance and pretends to be a drifter and falls in love with a photographer. No mention of Astaire going A.W.O.L., since it’s all in good fun, apparently.
The biggest surprise for me was the debut of a classic song that’s usually attributed to Frank Sinatra, “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” Overall, it’s a slight effort, far from Astaire’s best, but certainly watchable wartime propaganda. The always great Robert Benchley and Joan Leslie also co-star. Cine-geeks be on the lookout for an appearance by Neil Hamilton (aka Batman‘s Commissioner Gordon). Recommended.
Living in a Big Way
Warner Archive / Released April 19th, 2012
A rare black and white musical in Gene Kelley’s filmography has charm to spare. Teaming with Gregory La Cava (My Man Godfrey), the musical is about Kelley who quickly marries Marie McDonald before shipping off to fight in World War II and returns home to discover that she was not the person he thought she was and that she expects a divorce. Despite the seriousness of the premise, the film is light and the true draw is watching Kelley dance in several numbers; with children, with a dog and across the beams of an unfinished house. For cinegeeks, it’s hard not to be enamored with the many familiar character actors and appealing execution. Recommended.
