Saturday, July 14, 2012
No new releases in Dubbo this week (and only three nationally, one of those very limited), so I went to see what all the hype was about with this not-so-fuzzy teddy. The cinema was PACKED which shouldn't have surprised me but it did - and not being a Family Guy fan I was also surprised to come out of this liking it. Your classic review this week is Kubrick epic Spartacus.
Ted (MA15+)
Childhood wishes are some of life’s strongest desires; some
are attainable while others are forever banked in the ‘if only’ vaults of our
minds. The consequences of these wishes are never something thought out because
in reality it’s rare that a wish you don’t expect to materialise does.
That reality is different from the presumed innocence of
generations before as we find ourselves in an age of violent video games,
rising obesity and binge drinking epidemics. It’s perfect for the crude and
blunt views the world as brought to us by Family
Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, first through that show in the deceivingly
innocent form of animation before finally creating his cinematic debut.
Playing on the idea that we all want to have friends in life
but some are drawn the short straw, he twists the notion of childhood fantasy
into an evolvement on what ‘forever’ would really mean. John Bennett (Bretton Manley/Mark Wahlberg)
is the Fairy Godmother’s prototype, wishing for a true friend to stick by him
for all time. What he gets is just that, someone who grows and inherits the
same habits as he does.
It’s a bit disheartening and creepy simultaneously seeing a
fruitful wish turn out to be a pot-smoking, foul-mouthed teddy bear. And
hunky-dory this situation is not, especially when John is 35 and in a steady
relationship with Lori (Mila Kunis) but stuck in a very weird place between trying to front up as a man and continuing
with immature antics.
The question begs itself as to whether most people’s childish
fantasies would really turn out to be as bizarre. MacFarlane puts the idea out
there using a regular guy from Boston - but John finds himself in an even more
peculiar situation when Donny (Giovanni Ribisi) offers to buy Ted for his son
Robert (Aedin Mincks). A subplot on unhealthy addictions becomes suggestive to
views on the problems in society with references to obesity and unstable homes,
universal problems not completely looked upon with warranted seriousness.
Things that make us humoured as audiences now differ to that
of the last generation and MacFarlane has been dominant in exploiting
foul-mouthed humour to mainstream television. His switch to film is indeed an
interesting take on the BFFs-before-girl-comes-along story; by making the titular
(fake-but-real) character a total bad-ass, scepticism fades in favour of
accepting the comedy.
Great references to dated pop culture include the influence
of superhero Flash Gordon; Sam J. Jones makes a memorable cameo. MacFarlane’s
creative control as director/writer/producer/actor displays his intent clearly,
not messing around to present characters that are all straight to the point and
a story generically structured but not reliant on one-liners.
MacFarlane as Ted is what Family Guy fans would probably expect, while Walhberg and Kunis are
a likable match-up as the second couple of the triangle. A balance of crude
comedy (kept predominantly verbal) in between the plights of the unlikely trio
is maintained well to give audiences a film peculiarly different from the
extensive range of friendship breakups seen before on the big screen.
Rating: 3.5
*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 14/6/2012***
Spartacus (1960)
There were plenty of problems surrounding the completion of this feature, including director Stanley Kubrick’s displeasure with a seemingly moralising script and Kirk Douglas’ issues with other creative decisions. But for viewers more than 50 years on we see a historical epic from the golden era of the genre, this film following the titanic Ben Hur (1959).
Spartacus (Douglas) is born into slavery and as a man dreams of revolt. His chance comes after being picked to train at a gladiatorial school run by Batiatus (Peter Ustinov), where he overthrows the authority after his anger at seeing slave and newfound love Verinia (Jean Simmons) taken away. Facing challenges from General Crassus (Laurence Olivier) among others, Spartacus intends to flee Italy before he is forced to bring his army into battle.
This would be Kubrick’s last feature without complete creative control, but his handling of the story is seductive as the characters reveal their secrets. Spartacus begins as a virtuous soul in all respects, while Crassus (in the uncut version) reveals his varying tastes to slave Antoninus (Tony Curtis).
For the near three-hour running time every scene remains relevant. The struggles of a country are portrayed through troubled romance and climactic battles, as direct symbolism for the Cold War of the time. The time was not kind to Spartacus, but history has been.
*Published in the Mailbox Shopper (Dubbo) from Wednesday 11/7/2012
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEWS? See what I thought of The Amazing Spider-Man 3D and Serpico.
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