02.02.05
Movie Reviews: The Aviator, Beyond the Sea, Kinsey

Living outside of a major market does have one advantage- you get spend January leisurely catching all of the Oscar-hopefuls that were rushed into the theaters in NY and LA right after Christmas. Meanwhile, the poor schmucks on the coasts have to content themselves with The Wedding Date, Pooh’s Heffalump Movie and Vin Diesel as The Pacifier. (Didn't they learn the first time when it starred Hulk Hogan and was called Mr. Nanny? )

And nothing says Prestige Picture more clearly than a biography. They give people a chance to rediscover heroes from an earlier age (well, 50 years earlier- this is the age of shortened attention spans) and be inspired by adversities overcomed. Most people. I often find myself just complaining that they got everyone’s eyebrows wrong.

The Aviator

I’m convinced that, these days, most people are getting their cultural and social history from episodes of The Simpsons. Most 11th graders had their first exposure to Tennessee Williams in the form of the musical “Oh! Streetcar!” (“Here’s a tip from Blanche you won’t forget/A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met!”) And I’m guessing that while the name Howard Hughes won’t ring any bells for most people, they will be able to recall the episode of The Simpsons where Mr. Burns opens a casino, starts wearing Kleenex boxes on his feet, saving jars of urine, and having paranoid fantasies about the Freemasons.

Leonardo DiCaprio does all this and more in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator.

When the film opens, in the glorious reds and turquoises of faux 2-strip Technicolor, 21 year old Hughes is at work directing the WWI epic Hell’s Angels. “Year One” the title card specifies- it would take 3 years, including reshooting for sound, for Hell’s Angels to make it to it’s premiere. (The recreation of the famous newsreel footage of the event, including the motorcycle escort up to Grauman’s Chinese Theater, is a particular highlight)

Howard Hughes was obsessed with the movies, aviation and enormous breasts. His less-benign obsessions, apparently stemming from an over- protective mother, include an advanced case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. (Although it has also been suggested that his general craziness was due to brain damage from crashing his experimental planes too many times.)

In support are Cate Blanchett as a mah-velous Katharine Hepburn; Gwen Stefani, Kate Beckinsale and Kelli Garner are less memorable as Jean Harlow, Ava Gardner and Faith Domergue.

Beyond the Sea

Kevin Spacey’s years-in-the-making Bobby Darin biopic opens with Darin, directing his life story from beyond the grave.

“Uh-oh” I said to myself “This sounds an awful lot like De-Lovely.”

Thankfully, the resemblance ends with this central conceit. Beyond the Sea is an unapologetically romanticized version of Darin’s life, but the central performance is so strong and the musical numbers so well done, that you can happily overlook the inaccuracies.

You might think it would give you pause to consider that Kevin Spacey is 10 years older than Bobby Darin was when he died. Especially when he’s singing on National Bandstand or wearing a bright yellow suit on the set of Come September. Spacey manages to pull it off, with his actorly presence and crinkley sexiness.

The two big dramatic twists don’t have much impact. (Hint: one is that he dies tragically young) But Spacey does treat Darin’s late 60’s long-hair-and-moustache folksinger period with the utmost respect, building it out of a genuine involvement in liberal politics, particularly Bobby Kennedy’s presidential bid.

And the music is wonderful, and wonderfully performed by Spacey, especially during the scenes at the Copacabana.

Trivia: Atlantic Records exec Ahmet Ertegun gets his second screen portrayal this year, here played by Turkish film star Tayfun Bademsoy. In Ray he was played by Curtis (Booger) Armstrong.

Kinsey

Liam Neeson and Laura Linney are charming as the nerdy Midwestern married couple who stumble into the field of sex research based on their mutual love of gall wasps.

For the most part, the film paints a sunny portrait of the Kinseys as they struggle to bring enlightenment to the chronically repressed 1950’s. How accurate is it? Who knows. The scenes that recreate Kinsey’s famous interviews, as he and his assistants get the subjects to relax and share their sexual histories do seem to capture the spirit of the original Reports- clinical, but also personal, and by turns funny, tragic and touching.

The fine supporting cast includes Oliver Platt, John Lithgow, Chris O’Donnell, Dylan Baker and Tim Curry.

Coming next: Special Oscar Edition.