Something Wild

Right off the bat, Jonathan Demme's Something Wild fires off on all pistons. (Then again, what else would you expect from a Roger Corman protege?) But like many titles from this period in time, not everything is what it seems.

The second Charlie Driggs (Jeff Daniels) crosses paths with Lulu (Melanie Griffith), nothing would be the same for him. With her black bobbed hair and assortment of jewelry, Lulu is a wild card and a half. But the things she drags Charlie through are certainly nothing the yuppie was ever expecting.

Like Demme's later film Married to the Mob, Something Wild takes the 1980s image of everyday life and flips it on its head. Amid the pastels and loud patterns associated with the decade lies something far darker. (This was the last decade of the Cold War, after all.) Looks can be deceiving.

And much like other titles of the time, Something Wild takes a potshot at the so-called "American Dream". Released during Reagan's second term, it takes that ideal cultivated after World War II and thoroughly smashes it to bits, using the debris to make the real American Dream: a little jagged, very sharp, and of many facets. (And it's no less true now than it was then.)

Something Wild most definitely lives up to its title. With Griffith embodying the title, Daniels trying to keep up with her, and Ray Liotta stealing the entire show the second he shows up, it's the kind of picture that easily upends your preconceived notions. And Demme does it without any problem.

My Rating: ****1/2

Married to the Mob

Angela de Marco (Michelle Pfeiffer) should be happy about her initial situation in Jonathan Demme's Married to the Mob. She lives in absolute luxury thanks to her husband Frank's (Alec Baldwin) line of work: organized crime. But he gets whacked by his boss "Tony the Tiger" Russo (Dean Stockwell) -- who's desperate to get Angela as his mistress -- so she and her son go into hiding...which is much easier said than done.

In stark contrast to some of her work earlier in the decade (hell, she did Dangerous Liaisons the same year), Married to the Mob allows Pfeiffer to be in a lighter role and expand on her comedic abilities. (Worth mentioning that Demme's follow-up film to this was The Silence of the Lambs, again another decided career change-up.)

By this point in American history, the public was more than aware of the mafia's existence. (John Gotti as the head of the Gambino family really did not help the other four families in keeping a low profile.) There were a number of films during the 1980s alone that either made a mockery of or enforced the status of the Italian mob. Regardless of the depiction, people were fascinated by this organization.

Pfeiffer may headline the film but she's not the only actor of note in Married to the Mob. Stockwell and Mercedes Ruehl (she plays Tony's easily jealous wife Connie) steals scenes left and right. It's no wonder that they were the more recognized performers of the film come awards season (with Stockwell earning a long-overdue Oscar nomination).

Married to the Mob is further testament to Demme's worth as a filmmaker. (Being one of Roger Corman's protégés clear had some perks.) His death last year marked the end of an esteemed career of varying genres, and it's unlikely that we'll see another storyteller like him.

My Rating: ****

Stop Making Sense

Ever since his passing this April, the world of cinema has become a poorer place with Jonathan Demme's presence. Ever since Roger Corman took him under his wing all those years ago, it was clear that his work would endure. Whether it's Oscar-winning fare like The Silence of the Lambs or more undervalued projects like Rachel Getting Married, it was nigh impossible to not like what he offered.

But as well as feature films, Demme also dabbled with documentaries. Perhaps the most famous of the ones he did was Stop Making Sense. But it's far from the usual cut and dry filmed account. What the viewer is treated to instead is something for the ages.

By no means does one have to be a fan of Talking Heads to appreciate what Stop Making Sense has to offer. Sure, one may watch it solely for the music (not that's there anything wrong with that) but in Demme's hands, he makes it feel as though the viewer has front row seats to the band's three-night concert.

Also taking into account Demme's other works, Stop Making Sense plays out very much like your standard narrative. It doesn't rely on behind-the-scenes footage or shots of the audience (apart from during the last song); it's all about the show.

Stop Making Sense is perhaps the most essential music documentary ever made. Demme, just a few years away from achieving Oscar glory, solidifies his status in Hollywood. And as his later works showed showed, he wasn't going to be forgotten any time soon. (Let's hope it stays that way too.)

My Rating: *****

Ricki and the Flash

Over the last thirty-plus years, Meryl Streep has made herself one of the biggest names in Hollywood. Three Academy Awards out of nineteen nominations, one of the few actresses over 50 still getting steady work...it's clear as to why she's basically a living legend.

So does her work in Jonathan Demme's Ricki and the Flash compare to her earlier performances? Well, it's a far cry from her usual fare (read: awards bait) but it's still a delight to see her in action. (Well, she does do these lighter roles every few years for a change of pace.)

But Streep isn't the only woman of Ricki and the Flash worth mentioning. There's Diablo Cody, who wrote the wonderfully diverse script. (No surprise to anyone familiar with Juno or Young Adult.) And there's also Mamie Gummer (Streep's daughter both in the film and real life) who certainly inherited some of her mother's talents. (Oh, the work from the men is good too. Also, Kevin Kline needs to be in more stuff.)

Yes, the whole "parent who abandoned their family is trying to make amends" plotline is swiftly approaching overused territory but thanks to Demme, Cody and Streep, they put some new life into it. They show that Ricki is flawed and they don't immediately make her sympathetic when she's with her estranged family. Then again, when a film is in the hands of three Oscar winners, it's hard to go wrong.

Ricki and the Flash is a very sweet film. (Certainly not something you'd expect from the director of The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia and Rachel Getting Married.) It also proves that there needs to be more lady writers in Hollywood. (Well, it's one way to get better roles for actresses.)

My Rating: ****1/2

The Silence of the Lambs

Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is surprisingly calm throughout Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs. Whether facing down Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) or examining a victim of Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), she keeps her emotions very well hidden.

I admire that Clarice is an independent woman. She's not someone who has, needs or wants a lover. She doesn't rely on the opinion of a man. She instead is heavily devoted to her job at the FBI. (Hollywood, please provide actresses more role like that.)

The way Hopkins plays Lecter is truly the stuff of nightmares. From his chilling entrance to the unsettling way he speaks, he makes Lecter someone you will never forget. Also, if you didn't freak out from that ad-libbed slurping noise he makes when he tells Clarice what he did to that census taker, you're a braver person than me.

Though Foster and Hopkins won all the acclaim, I can't cap off this review without talking about Levine. Buffalo Bill's modus operandi is a mix between real-life murderers Ted Bundy and Ed Gein, which adds a certain appeal to the role. (Well, at least in my eyes.) He's not as chilling as Lecter, but Buffalo Bill is someone you never want to come in contact with.

The Silence of the Lambs shows the possibility of stopping a crime before it happens. Foster, Hopkins and Levine are great in their respective roles. Personally I'm grateful I saw this in the middle of the day. Lord only knows what I'd be like had I saw it at night.

My Rating: *****

Rachel Getting Married

Don't you love it when an actor does a role outside of their normal work? Take for example Anne Hathaway. She started out with light movies such as The Princess Diaries, but after her supporting work in Brokeback Mountain she has been doing more serious work.

Kym Buchman (Hathaway) has left rehab to attend the wedding of her sister Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt). Bu tensions between Kym and the rest of her family reignite upon her arrival.

Last year I was lucky enough to see Sidney Lumet and his daughter Jenny (who wrote Rachel Getting Married) speak at Lincoln Center. Jenny said she wrote one scene of Rachel Getting Married after a real-life event. The scene in question is the dishwasher scene. She said she based it off something similar that happened between her father and Bob Fosse.

Hathaway shows good promise for her career with her work in Rachel Getting Married. The rest of the cast is also very good. Johnathan Demme, who also directed The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia, gives us a view of a dysfunctional family that slowly gets back together after a wrench gets thrown at it.

My Rating: ****1/2

Philadelphia

It's always movies that get on the touchy subjects (homosexuality, mental disorders) that tend to get more attention during award season. Well, in my opinion anyway.

Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) is a successful lawyer who is hiding two secrets: he's gay and has AIDS. He gets fired from his firm for the latter. He calls upon fellow lawyer Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), who's a bit of a homophobe, to fight against his firm.

It's always interesting to see an actor known for their comedic roles do dramatic parts (ie, Jack Lemmon in Days of Wine and Roses, Mary Tyler Moore in Ordinary People, Eddie Murphy in Dreamgirls, etc.). Hanks definitely solidified his status as a serious actor with this role. Washington delivers a strong supporting role. If you need a good cry, here's your movie.

My Rating: ****1/2