The Film Junkie

Last weekend I had my first bridesmaid experience as one of my closest friends got hitched and this film rang true to the chaos, madness, mistakes and good intentions that come with planning and executing a wedding.

This was #83 on the AFI’s 100 Funniest Movies of all time not because it is remarkably funny, dramatic or moving, but because it is all three at once without being corny.  Spencer Tracy plays the befuddled title character with more heart and less cheese than Steve Martin in the lamer remake.  Elizabeth Taylor plays the bride who only wanted a simple wedding but is pushed into a large extravagent wedding by her mother (Joan Bennett) who regrets her own small wedding.

The film is beautifully shot and directed by Vincente Minnelli.  The man was able to bring you into a location like few others and he makes you feel every inconvienient moment and sadness with his brilliant staging.  Thus not only are we swept up in the hilarious frustration of Tracy’s experiences, we are also drawn in by the lush visuals.

A funny and sweet film that still rings very true.  Skip the remake and see this, the original.

Grade: A-

A year before he caught the world’s attention in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, Marlon Brando starred in this film about war veterans faced with life as a paraplegia. 

The film is a little too factual and devoted to the idea of raising awareness and understanding than about having well drawn characters or plot, but Brando makes the best of the what he is given.  He plays the role with the passion and intensity that would come to characterize him throughout history, even if it is a little rough around the edges.  It is strange to see Brando is such a confining role, being such a physical actor, but it also proves the power of his talent.

The soul of this film is Teresa Wright (1942’s ‘Mrs. Miniver’) as Brando’s girlfriend.  She shows the real pain of someone trying to love one who doesn’t want to be loved and the pressure that the spouse of a paraplegic is under to make it seem as though nothing as changed despite the hard truth.  Wright is understated in the wake of Brando, but without her supportive and touching performance the romance of this story would make no sense.

All in all, this is an important film that could have been better orchestrated, but nonetheless gives a voice to a crucial issue.

Grade: B