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Movie Review: ‘Diane’

April 5, 2019 By Thelma Leave a Comment

Mary Kay Place, 71, gets the role of a lifetime in Diane, the engine of New York Film Festival director Kent Jones’ character-driven, Martin Scorsese-produced study of a woman who has become a supporting player in her own existence. It’s a bold choice in contemporary American films, to put a postmenopausal woman on the verge of a polite nervous breakdown at a downbeat drama’s center. Because Place, best known as the single businesswoman desperate to conceive in The Big Chill, has such a warm and genuine touch, Diane’s story is one of late-day awakening rather than one long stretch of kvetch.

The script meanders through a series of modestly dramatic events as Diane drives her battered sedan from one errand to the next through frigid, rural wooded Massachusetts. The roughest comes when she visits her only son, Brian (Jake Lacy). She totes his laundry to his chilly crash pad. When he shambles out of the bedroom, he’s equally unkempt and resents his mother’s “helpful” intrusion.

Brian’s an addict, and she scans him with her gimlet eye, trying to assess if he’s using again or just tired. It’s so hard to be a mother helpless to heal her once-beautiful child. It’s clear, through script and direction, that this is a dance they’ve been doing for ages, long after Brian should have taken control of his own life. “Take a shower and get cleaned up,” she nags in frustration. The ruts in their relationship — the hopes and disappointments of a mother who has seen her beloved son relapse, and who sees before her both the boy and the cracked man he has become — are heartbreakingly rendered.

Add another wrinkle to Diane’s face.

[Click here to see my AARP interview: ‘Mary Kay Place Gets Her First Lead Role’]

The do-gooder continues on her circuit: delivering casseroles to neighbors experiencing rough times, heading to the soup kitchen to ladle stew for the less fortunate, and visiting her terminally ill cousin Donna (the incandescent Deirdre O’Connell, 67) at the hospital. The pair radiate a long, comfortable kinship that transcends blood.

Diane and Donna have spent their lives sitting across from each other, playing cards, kibitzing and advising — and avoiding addressing a personal betrayal perpetrated by Diane that continues to gnaw at her. Diane is good — warm, caring, community-spirited. But she’s not as good as she might have been if she hadn’t made one big mistake she has regretted all of her life.

Watching Donna wane, along with their close-knit family’s elders, Diane belatedly realizes that all the consoling of others will not heal what’s cracked within her. Diane gets trashed at a bar for locals. She boogies down and, seemingly, rekindles the spark that she has lost, the joy in the moment. It has been a long time since she has loved herself, if she ever did, and there’s a glimmer of hope. There’s still time for Diane to star in the movie of her life.

[This review originally appear on AARP]

Filed Under: Movies & TV Tagged With: aarp, Aging, best actress, Diane, Kent Jones, Martin Scorsese, Movie, movie reviews, Tribeca Film Festival

Movie Review: Horrible Bosses

July 6, 2011 By Thelma Leave a Comment

Jennifer Aniston,Horrible Bosses,Gross-out comedy

Jennifer isn't horrible!

Us Rating: *** Jennifer Aniston gets hilariously kinky in this outlandish comedy. Her potty-mouthed dentist hits on hygienist Dale (Charlie Day), who complains to his buddies Nick (Jason Bateman) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) — guys who also are being harassed by their employers. The bosses’ behavior contributes some of the funniest bits, like Colin Farrell‘s repulsive cokehead exec ordering Kurt to fire a colleague because he’s in a wheelchair.

When the trio decides to murder their superiors, the movie gains a giddy momentum, rolling from one disaster to the next. Along the way, Bateman perfects his uptight slow burn, while Day amps up the neurotic hysteria. Sure, a sex-crazed Aniston salaciously eating a banana feels cheap. But her comedic talents have always shined brightest when she’s part of a talented ensemble like this one

photo credit: John P. Johnson

Filed Under: Celebrity, Criticism, Movies & TV Tagged With: Charlie Day, Colin Farrell, comedy, Jason Bateman, Jason Suideikis, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, movie reviews, Us Weekly

Movie Review: Super 8

June 8, 2011 By Thelma Leave a Comment

Steven Spielberg, J. J. Abrams, Sci Fi Stand By Me, matricide

A mash note to Steven Spielberg

Us Rating: ***

This suspenseful, funny 1979-set sci-fi flick echoes E.T. (Steven Spielberg produced) as Joe (Joel Courtney) and his middle-school pals accidentally film a mysterious train wreck while shooting a homemade movie. Suddenly an alien threatens their Ohio town — and the boys’ friendship. A strong Kyle Chandler enforces order as Joe’s lawman dad, while Elle Fanning catapults from child star to romantic heroine as a troubled teen.

photo credit: Francois Duhamel

 

 

 

Filed Under: Criticism, Movies & TV Tagged With: Elle Fanning, J. J. Abrams, movie reviews, Sci Fi Stand by Me, Steven Spielberg, Us Weekly

Movie Review: Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer

June 8, 2011 By Thelma

Heather Graham, Summer Vacation,Things to do with Kids

Graham (left), Beatty get kooky

Us Rating: **

Third-grader Judy (Jordana Beatty) and her offbeat aunt Opal (Heather Graham) share a zany staycation (a manic car chase! a Bigfoot sighting!) in this grating family flick. While Graham charms as the artsy eccentric, newcomer Beatty overdoes it with the pop-eyed energy of a preteen Miley Cyrus. And the high-pitched, candy-colored comedy tries too hard to be fun.

Filed Under: Criticism, Movies & TV Tagged With: Crazy Aunt, family films, Heather Graham, Jordana Beatty, Judy Moody book series, movie reviews, summer vacation movies, Us Weekly

Movie Review: Beginners

June 6, 2011 By Thelma Leave a Comment

Ewan McGregor,Christopher Plummer, Out of the closet,Gay Cinema,Drama

Plummer (left),McGregor

Us Rating: ***

L.A. artist Oliver (a moody Ewan McGregor) grapples with his 75-year-old father’s belated coming-out. Christopher Plummer delights as the late-blooming parent embracing a gay lifestyle, while Melanie Laurent charms as the free-spirited actress Oliver meets at a party. The film’s romantic ending is a bit forced, but the exploration of the father-son dynamic makes this a touching drama.

photo credit: Focus Features

Filed Under: Criticism, Movies & TV Tagged With: Beginners, Christopher Plummer, Ewan McGregor, Gay Cinema, movie reviews, Out of the Closet, Us Weekly

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