053. Citizen Ruth

053. (06 Feb) Citizen Ruth (1996, Alexander Payne) 76



Considering how middlebrow his work is now, it's hard to recall Alexander Payne once made exceptional edgy comedies. Citizen Ruth is the ballsiest of them all, going full force at both pro-life and pro-choice radicals. It's sharp-toothed comedy at its finest thanks to the always wonderful Laura Dern. She finds humor in places where there shouldn't be any, crafting a character who's too self-centered and oblivious to realize her own awfulness. Most of the supporting cast is super, namely Mary Kay Place and Swoosie Kurtz. Burt Reynolds' appearance as an evangelical pro-lifer with a child assistant who massages him shirtless is a rare misstep; it's a broad joke in a film that's otherwise above that.

Best of Black Sheep: THE DESCENDANTS

THE DESCENDANTS
Written by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Directed by Alexander Payne
Starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley and Judy Greer

Matt King: I’m the back-up parent, the understudy.

It has been seven years since Alexander Payne’s last feature film, SIDEWAYS, charmed critics and audiences alike. The long gestation period has allowed him to make  what I would describe as his most satisfying film to date, THE DESCENDANTS. Considering how much I love his earlier films, like ELECTION and ABOUT SCHMIDT, calling his latest his greatest is not a compliment I extend lightly.

At on point in THE DESCENDANTS, a character refers to Matt King’s (George Clooney) current predicament to be one heck of a “unique dramatic situation” and he is not kidding. Payne’s witty sceenplay finds every single important tie in Matt’s life has been tangled together and he can no longer move forward until he figures out how to loosen the ropes that are tightening around him. As the executor of his family’s estate, he is responsible for deciding what to do with a fine piece of Hawaiian real estate his ancestors left to him in trust, which has drawn much scrutiny from the locals. More importantly though, his wife is in a coma from a speed boating accident and he has two daughters (Amara Miller and breakout, Shailene Woodley) he barely knows to comfort and console. When he learns that his wife was cheating on him before her accident, it becomes pretty clear that the life he knew is now finished.

As particular as THE DESCENDANTS is, Payne infuses it with his special brand of humanity, sensitivity and humour. Payne has an uncanny knack for bringing his audiences right into the troubled minds of his characters, leaving both their pain and their potential exposed for all to see. In this case, all that heart and heartache seeps from every element of Clooney’s fine performance. With so much on his plate, you can constantly see the wheels turning in his head as he drifts off into thought in the gorgeous Hawaiian skyline.  He acts as a filter of sorts for everything coming before this moment in his life, now faced with the task of passing on only the best parts to his two beautiful daughters. In doing so, THE DESCENDANTS only passes on the best that contemporary drama has to offer to us.

Winner Breakdown: Screenplays

Writing (Adapted Screenplay):
- The Descendants
- Hugo
- The Ides of March
- Moneyball
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy


This year was very much composed of book adaptations in the best picture category. Of the 9 nominees, 6 are based upon books, though surprisingly only 3 of those made it in (Moneyball, Descendants and Hugo). So far, it looks like the competition will be between the 3 Best Picture nominees. Behind The Descendants we have Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon. Payne previously won an Oscar (his only) for his writing for Sideways. Behind Hugo is John Logan, who hasn't won an Oscar yet, but was previously nominated for Gladiator and The Aviator. And for Moneyball we have Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Zaillian has been nominated 4 times and won for Schindler's List, and Sorkin has been nominated twice, winning for his work on last year's The Social Network. (Ides writers both have been nominated for 1 other film, and TTSS are first time nominees). So we're really looking at the BP nominees. But personally, I feel the award will go to Moneyball. Zaillian and Sorkin made a smart baseball film, with some humour, but also with some wit, and passion. It's a well-written script, and may be Moneyball's best shot at anything. It's won lots of Film Critics awards (Toronto, San Diago, etc), and it has the powerhouse's of Zaillian and Sorkin. If anything is to upset this award, it'll be The Descendants, which just won the WGA Award for Best Adapted. Payne has previously won for Sideways, and both films will be duking it out for (possibly) the only awards they have shots at. But I'm going to have to put Moneyball as the winner, just over The Descendants, though I wouldn't be shocked if The Descendants took it.

Will Win: Moneyball
Could Win: The Descendants
Dark Horse: The Ides of March
Who I Want to Win: Moneyball



Writing (Original Screenplay):
- The Artist
- Bridesmaids
- Margin Call
- Midnight in Paris
- A Separation


This category was interesting since there weren't too many Original Screenplay's this year. This is Margin Call's only nomination, and it's not likely to win. The clear winner here is Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. It won the Golden Globe and the Writers Guild Award. I'd say it's pretty much a lock-in, with Allen previously winning 2 Writing Awards, and being nominated a total of 15 times (just for writing). This one is a pretty clear winner. However, The Artist could make an upset (as could Bridesmaids), but I wouldn't seriously think on it, as it's not at all likely. 




Will Win: Midnight in Paris
Could Win: The Artist
Dark Horse: Bridesmaids 
Who I Want to Win: Midnight in Paris

Winner Breakdown: Film Editing

Film Editing:
- The Artist
- The Descendants
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Hugo
- Moneyball


This is another one of those categories where I understand it, but have a hard time noticing it when I watch the actual films. But what I do know about this category is has correlations with Best Picture. 5 our of the last 10 awards has the Best Picture winner also won editing. And those within the editing nominees are usually also Best Picture nominees. While TGWTDT was not a Best Picture nominee, I don't think you should count it out just yet. However, Hugo, having nabbed tons of nominations in the technical fields, and The Artist being the frontrunner, I'd say the race is between these two. But I wouldn't count any of these films out of the race. Yes, The Descendants and Moneyball are less likely, but I'd say they still have a shot. I'd even like to see Moneyball win, since I thought it was extremely well put together, and isn't likely to win much (or anything) this year. However, I'm officially predicting Hugo to win, but if anyone will steal it, it'll be The Artist, and equally challenging opponent.


Will Win: Hugo
Could Win: The Artist
Dark Horse: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Who I Want to Win: Moneyball

The Descendants

<body><!- google_ad_section_start ->
 The Descendants, 2011
Directed by Alexander Payne
Possible Oscar Nominations Include: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay<!- google_ad_section_end ->

Matt King is the "back up parent", as he solely puts it right at the beginning of the film. He is an attorney, an owner of a huge chunk of land of Kauai, and a descendant of Hawaiian Royalty and American Missionaries, a husband, and a father of two (messed up) daughters. Alex, 17, is recovering from drug addictions and drinking problems, while Scottie, 10, is acting way too old for her age, and is completely inappropriate on many occasions. How far they have fallen from the royal status. Matt's wife, Elizabeth was in a boating accident, and he receives news, after about a month of being in a coma, she's won't make it and will be taken off life support. After he tells Alex, who was recently (and currently) fighting with her mom, she reveals that she's been cheating on him. Meanwhile, his family's land on Kauai is going up for sale, and they're trying to decide who to sell it to. So, Matt, Alex, Scottie and Alex's friend Sid, all jet off to Kauai together, firstly to find the man Elizabeth has been seeing, and secondly, surprisingly, they change forever.

Incidentally, I went and saw this R-rated movie with my grandmother and my father. I already found that a little bit funny, and just a little ironic. My grandmother was the one keen on seeing it, so my father and I joined in. Which I was excited about because I wanted to see it, but no one else wanted to go with me.

I was excited to see this film. I'd been hearing lots of good things about it. It's been getting lots of Oscar Buzz, is nominated at the Gotham awards this year, and it's Alexander Payne's first film since 'Sideways'. So I went in with medium expectations (hyped about the movie, but haven't seen anything by Payne, or watched many films with George Clooney in them).

The film was great. Like many reviews I've read, I was crying one minute and laughing the next. It was a touching film, and Clooney was really fantastic as Matt King. He gave an extremely convincing performance at being at a loss to do with his messed up daughters and how to handle them. He didn't know what to do about his wife being taken off life support, how to tell people and what to do next. And then he finds out she's been cheating. He's, again, at a loss. And Clooney gave a hilarious and heart-wrenching performance. I cried when he cried, and felt awkward when he did, and felt elated when he did too.

On another acting note, Shailene Woodley (a newcomer to film) also gave quite a good performance. She's messed up, and angry, but we see her transform throughout the film. She did an angsty, potty-mouthed teen well, and really stood her ground beside Clooney. The pair made the film so alive and so real.

Overall, the film was pretty good. The Hawaiian scenery was beautiful, the score was ironic (you'll understand when you watch) but well done. The acting was top notch, and the story itself was complex and interesting. We see the best and worst of humanity, but leaning more towards the worst. What would we do if we found out information about someone we loved, that would forever change our views on them, of what we thought we knew? We see in this film how we're all people, wherever we live, dealing with the crappy stuff, with the bad stuff, and you just gotta get through it, and appreciate what you have. We all make mistakes, and we all get angry and scared, but in the end, you have to make the most of everything you have, before it's gone.

<!- google_ad_section_start ->
Will this movie win best picture at this years Academy Awards? Honestly, I don't think so. Will it be nominated? That's pretty much for sure. It was a great film, and really funny AND moving and I really enjoyed it, but I don't see it winning. However, George Clooney is one to be reckoned with for Best Actor. Mr. Pitt had better watch his back.<!- google_ad_section_end ->

Rating: 8/10
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469. The Descendants

469. (19 Nov) The Descendants (2011, Alexander Payne)* 44



There are ample opportunities for poignancy in The Descendants, but whenever the film comes close to making an emotional impact it turns into a sitcom. Take for instance a key scene near the film's end where Judy Greer tearfully forgives the comatose woman who tried to steal her husband; at first it's a touching, powerful moment, but before you know it she's somehow playing the scene for laughs. Such jarring, inappropriate moments mar a film that could've been uncomfortable, but relatable in the way Payne's Election and About Schmidt were.

I cannot imagine Payne could've scripted something more amateurish. From the Screenwriting 101 voice-over that introduces the flick to an awful comic relief character named Sid who serves no purpose at all except to offer cheap laughs, it's hard to believe Payne ever wrote Election. To his credit, he gets a very solid performance out of Shailene Woodley. She gives the film whatever humanity it has.

George Clooney is doing what he always does, coasting along and failing whenever presented with a challenge. He has to do some physical comedy when following the man he knows had an affair with his wife. Waddling behind a bush, it's a wonder why anybody lets this man approach acting physically at all. He can't do sight gags to save his life and he sabotages the scene.

A couple veteran performers, Robert Forster and Beau Bridges, are trotted out for no good reason. Both have completely thankless roles. Bridges, for instance, has to be a sounding board during a climactic moment where Clooney makes a major decision that doesn't really impact the plot very much in any direction. The film attempts to balance the two plots of a cheating, comatose wife and a major land deal. They're clumsily connected for convenience's sake, but it's almost astonishing just how little the latter plot matters at all.

By the end, all these characters want to do is eat ice cream and watch March of the Penguins. Sounds decidedly more fun and thought-provoking than a screening of The Descendants.

THE DESCENDANTS

Written by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash

Directed by Alexander Payne

Starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley and Judy Greer

Matt King: I’m the back-up parent, the understudy.

It has been seven years since Alexander Payne’s last feature film, SIDEWAYS, charmed critics and audiences alike. The long gestation period has allowed him to make what I would describe as his most satisfying film to date, THE DESCENDANTS. Considering how much I love his earlier films, like ELECTION and ABOUT SCHMIDT, calling his latest his greatest is not a compliment I extend lightly.

At one point in THE DESCENDANTS, a character refers to Matt King’s (George Clooney) current predicament to be one heck of a “unique dramatic situation” and he is not kidding. Payne's witty screenplay finds every single important tie in Matt’s life tangled together and he can no longer move forward until he figures out how to loosen the ropes that are tightening around him. As the executor of his family’s estate, he is responsible for deciding what to do with a fine piece of Hawaiian real estate his ancestors left to him in trust, which has drawn much scrutiny from the locals. More importantly though, his wife is in a coma from a speed boating accident and he has two daughters (Amara Miller and breakout, Shailene Woodley) he barely knows to comfort and console. When he learns that his wife was cheating on him before her accident, it becomes pretty clear that the life he knew is now finished.

As particular as THE DESCENDANTS is, Payne infuses it with his special brand of humanity, sensitivity and humour. Payne has an uncanny knack for bringing his audiences right into the troubled minds of his characters, leaving both their pain and their potential exposed for all to see. In this case, all that heart and heartache seeps from every element of Clooney’s fine performance. With so much on his plate, you can constantly see the wheels turning in his head as he drifts off into thought in the gorgeous Hawaiian skyline.  He acts as a filter of sorts for everything coming before this moment in his life, now faced with the task of passing on only the best parts to his two beautiful daughters. In doing so, THE DESCENDANTS only passes on the best that contemporary drama has to offer to us.

TIFF Review: THE DESCENDANTS

Written by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash

Directed by Alexander Payne

Starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley and Judy Greer

Matt King: I’m the back-up parent, the understudy.

It has been seven years since Alexander Payne’s last feature film, SIDEWAYS, charmed critics and audiences alike. The long gestation period has allowed him to make what I would describe as his most satisfying film to date, THE DESCENDANTS. Considering how much I love his earlier films, like ELECTION and ABOUT SCHMIDT, calling his latest his greatest is not a compliment I extend lightly.

At one point in THE DESCENDANTS, a character refers to Matt King’s (George Clooney) current predicament to be one heck of a “unique dramatic situation” and he is not kidding. Payne's witty screenplay finds every single important tie in Matt’s life has been tangled together and he can no longer move forward until he figures out how to loosen the ropes that are tightening around him. As the executor of his family’s estate, he is responsible for deciding what to do with a fine piece of Hawaiian real estate his ancestors left to him in trust, which has drawn much scrutiny from the locals. More importantly though, his wife is in a coma from a speed boating accident and he has two daughters (Amara Miller and breakout, Shailene Woodley) he barely knows to comfort and console. When he learns that his wife was cheating on him before her accident, it becomes pretty clear that the life he knew is now finished.

As particular as THE DESCENDANTS is, Payne infuses it with his special brand of humanity, sensitivity and humour. Payne has an uncanny knack for bringing his audiences right into the troubled minds of his characters, leaving both their pain and their potential exposed for all to see. In this case, all that heart and heartache seeps from every element of Clooney’s fine performance. With so much on his plate, you can constantly see the wheels turning in his head as he drifts off into thought in the gorgeous Hawaiian skyline.  He acts as a filter of sorts for everything coming before this moment in his life, now faced with the task of passing on only the best parts to his two beautiful daughters. In doing so, THE DESCENDANTS only passes on the best that contemporary drama has to offer to us.

George Clooney in "The Descendants"

Above is the new trailer for Alexander Payne's first film since the Oscar-winning critical darling Sideways.  The Descendants, staring George Clooney and The Secret Life of the American Teenager's Shailene Woodly (who looks fantastic) as a clashing father-daughter pair, is about family dynamic in the wake of the mother's illness.  Supporting roles by Beau Bridges and Robert Forester look fun, and from the trailer alone we get a good sense of Payne's signature drama/comedy tightrope walking.

Er, tightrope running, I mean.

For my money, Payne is a great storyteller, but he's been hit and miss for me.  However, his films have consistently increased their visibility at the Oscars come awards season, if all three ultimately disappointed in early-season expectations.  I'm a huge fan of Clooney doing drama, so I'm hoping this is going to be good.  Below is the poster (seen here on IMDb in better quality), released just a few days ago, which looks only slightly like a Lifetime Original Movie.