TV @ the Movies: Thelma & Louise Hates Texas. Drag U & Marie Antoinette.

I get many emails asking me to write more frequently about the small screen so I figured I should cave if a tv series really excites me (like Mad Men) but on one condition: it has to reference the movies (or feature a beloved movie actress) or involve awardage. I've highlighted movie-adjacent TV before like pre-fame TV roles or unexpected actress moments. So henceforth, I'll package it in series form. You know how we do here at TFE. If something I happen to catch on television references the movies, I'll feature it on Saturday mornings to thank it for doing so.


Last week on Friday Night Lights Becky fell asleep watching Thelma & Louise and that is... well, I can only suspend so much disbelief and you just don't fall asleep watching that movie. It's awesome -- top ten of the 90s level awesome. But Becky is my least favorite character so whatever. She's a mess and there's no accounting for taste. There's a reason Louise won't drive thru Texas, y'all! She'd rather drive right off a cliff. I can't even discuss falling asleep watching Thelma & Louise without turning red with fury. Inappropriate! Those women deserved better.

So for this edition of "TV @ The Movies" a brief discussion of Drag U instead.

RuPaul's Drag U episode 1.2 "Dateless Divas"
I'm fairly certain this show is not half as good as it could be.

• Qualm #1: a makeover show. Like we needed another one.
  
• Qualm #2: I'm assuming Raven won't be in every episode and when the first Raven-less episode appears, I will feel cheated.
  
• Qualm #3: why isn't the entire panel of judges famous queens like Lady Bunny? I mean to have a "Dean of Dance" and it's not Candis Cayne? That's just wrong!) -- but I love that the underlying message is so subversive: everyone would be better off if they became a drag queen.

Raven: These girls are lucky that they have the advanced technology of the dragulator!
RuPaul: The Dragulator is a highly sophisticated piece of tech-no-lo-gy

Raven was the hottest miss thang on last year's Drag Race (and anyone who coins the phrase "giving Michelle Pfeiffer Bitch" has won me for life.) so I'm happy that she's practically the star of Drag U already. And, of course, Ru's always had a way with hilarious line readings. The Dragulator is awesome. Ru understands the camp value of a low budget (not to mention the power of a catchphrase and cheap gimmick). Anyway, the [sassy head bob] tek•nol•uh•jee suggests that contestant Lenae becomes "Honey Boom" and she likes it.

"I was like, 'That's Marilyn Monroe. And she really is inside of me!'"

It's really more like Chicago's Queen Latifah when Velma's like "Not you too, Mama!?!" in despair of platinum blonde Roxie Mania but never mind. Later Lenae dances to "I'm Every Woman" in this new gold lamé platinum blonde version of herself which confuses the girlie iconography even further Whitney + Queen ≠ Marilyn??? Whaaaa... But I shouldn't doubt the Dragulator because it is to RuPaul what "Magic Screen" was to Pee Wee, yes?


So... eventually Lenae as Honeyboom blows a kiss to the judges with a "Happy Birthday Mr. President" proving once again that Marilyn did it best. More celebrities ought to understand their own image with pinpoint precision and sell it accordingly at public events. If they hope to be remembered 48 years after their death, that is.

Meanwhile Lenae's competitor Debbie is transformed into "Moxie Mayhem" saying

"It's like Memoirs of a Geisha meets Marie Antoinette"

And you know that mash-up sent me reeling... cuz I hate and love in equal measure! [To recap: Memoirs = hate / Marie = love]


'Honeyboom' won the competition but I was the true winner because it got me to thinking about Marie-Antoinette, aka the 'misunderestimated' movie of the Aughts.

Leaping far from the RuPaul's Drag U topic, out of curiousity, I thought I'd check that statement. Nope! Oops. It's almost the most critically hated of my top 50 favorite movies of the Aughts but not quite. These are the least acclaimed of those, according to the TomatoMeter, the only films in my top 50 to not score in the 80% and above of critical approval. These are the places I refused consensus. Not out of contrarianism, mind you, but from pure love of the movies in question.

• Birth (39% on Rotten Tomatoes)
• Marie Antoinette (55% on Rotten Tomatoes)
• I ♥ Huckabees (62% on Rotten Tomatoes )
• Bring It On (64% on Rotten Tomatoes)
  
• Idioterne (The Idiots) (70% on Rotten Tomatoes)
  
• Moulin Rouge (77% on Rotten Tomatoes)
• 25th Hour (78% on Rotten Tomatoes)
  
• Beau Travail (79% on Rotten Tomatoes)

What'cha think about that?
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I Heart Huckabees

Favorite Movies of the Decade #30-16

the list #100-76, #75-51, #50-31, #30-16 and #15-1.

Awards for 2009 begin tomorrow or thereabouts.

For this next group installment of the countdown we start in beautiful France and have a lot of trouble leaving it! It even pulls us back in the end.

30 Beau Travail dir. Claire Denis (1999, released in 2000)
It's okay that I haven't seen it in so long that it feels like a dream now. It always did. And that "Rhythm of the Night" ending. My oh my oh my. Denis has cast her unique spell many times since, but never quite like this.

29 Caché (Hidden) dir Michael Haneke (2005)
A boon to patient moviegoers... and a bane. But who tortures audiences with as much control, mystery and depth of meaning? It's easy to make an audience jump with loud jarring sound cues and shock cuts. But I've never seen anyone make an audience leap and gasp as loudly, like one collective frightened hive, without the aid of music or editing. Haneke is a master.

28 Marie Antoinette dir. Sofia Coppola (2006)
My most controversial "favorite" all decade long. So many people were outright angered by Sofia Coppola's third dream of a movie. Imagine making a historical epic about a frivolous young woman from her point of view. And without the violence! "How DARE she!?! Only men (of any age and temperament) deserve historical epics from their own points of view!" [/sarcasm] Coppola is three for three now, making her one of the most important cinematic voices of our time. Picture number four is on its way. Can't wait.

27 Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) & Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)
Some people think Tarantino's most purely cinematic double (DP Robert Richardson sure is gifted behind a camera, isn't he?) is disposable entertainment, all style no substance. But it might well be my favorite from his filmography, give or take Pulp Fiction. And though I found/find Vol. 2 a more traditionally talky Tarantino effort and therefore a slight letdown after the surprisingly visceral visual punch of Vol. 1... there's no beating its amazon vs. amazon showdown in a crowded trailer. "Bitch, you don't have a future."


26 Dogville dir. Lars von Trier (2003, released in 2004)
Lars von Trier's audacious parable was 178 gripping minutes of cinema... despite and also because it takes place on a bare stage. One of the most violent pictures I've ever seen. And there's not a drop of blood.

25 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring dir. Kim Ki Duk (2003, released in 2004)
Simplicity and wonder... a peaceful profound tonic dropped in an ocean of violent pictures.

24 I ♥ Huckabees dir. David O. Russell (2004)
My favorite existential comedy of the decade. Unless you count Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. So... yes, maybe the rebirth of the musical isn't the story of the movie decade but the creation of the existential comedy? Or has that been around since The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. Or am I stretching the definition? 'The interconnection thing is definitely for real!'

23 The Wrestler dir. Darren Aronofsky (2008)
He made three pictures this decade and they're all on the list. Does that make him my favorite? It puts him up there at any rate. Even when people think he's down for the count (The Fountain) he gets back up for more. Rather like "Randy the Ram" albeit without the pathos. Aronofsky is only 40 years old. Many filmmakers start strong and fade. I hope he's just warming up.

22 Lost in Translation dir. Sofia Coppola (2003)
There is so much inside the movie worth loving: the pink panties, the karaoke, the rare star chemistry, the Cameron Diaz mimicry, the soulful ennui... but what I remember most vividly six years later, on that first encounter, was the afterglow. It was a cool evening and we'd missed the rain. Walking away from the theater, the streets were wet and reflective and I just kept looking around, absorbing the shimmering color and the skyscrapers. It wasn't Tokyo obviously but it felt rather like seeing New York again for the first time, like the movie had recharged my senses: Lance Acord was walking beside me as personal DP, Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray were whispering something profound in my ears.

21 No Country For Old Men dir. Coen Bros (2007)
The Coen Bros inexorable death march was thrillingly rendered and beautifully acted with Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin all at the peak of their powers. Bonus points for that audience confounding but pitch perfect black out ending. You really can't stop what's coming.



20 Volver dir. Pedro Almodóvar (2006)
I once started counting the kisses in this underappreciated wonder because I loved the loud smacking so much. I abandoned the kiss count after 15 minutes and 47 smooches but no matter. For no amount of P.D.A. can properly show my love for Raimunda (Penélope Cruz), her loud sister and their ghostly mother. I could kiss them thousands of times and you still wouldn't know how dear they are to me.

19 Before Sunset dir. Richard Linklater (2004)
"Baby, you're gonna miss that plane"

18 WALL•E dir. Andrew Stanton (2008)
Calling it the best animated film of the decade is a compliment of high order. There were abundant cartoon treasures all throughout the Aughts... including many that didn't make this list. Maybe that's the cinema story of the decade? I keep looking for one but there are hundreds of stories. I'll take them all. I don't understand people who always want their movies prepackaged in one or two genres. Give me ALL KINDS.


17 Y Tu Mamá También dir. Alfonso Cuarón (2001, released in 2002)
One of the greatest road trip movies. One of the greatest romantic triangles. One of the greatest sex comedies. One of the greatest coming of age dramas. One of the greatest. It's as magical as Boca del Cielo "Heaven's Mouth".

16 Entre Les Murs (The Class) dir. Laurent Cantet (2008)
The closest we come to a documentary on the list (I didn't include them for purity reasons -- all of these being regular feature films) since this film, reenacted/transferred/adapted (however you want to describe it) by many of its subjects from a book of the same name, feels so damn authentic. Hollywood loves to make films about teachers fighting to reach their students. I've never seen one this good before. It earns its hard won light by allowing for the shadows.

the finale: #15-01

#100-76 and #75-51 and
#50-31 Fav Films of the Aughts
50 best male perfs | 50 best female perfs
back to full blog

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Celebrity Endorsement

The Film Experience...

Marie Antoinette & Louis XVI getting their daily fix in 177o.

...thrilling royalty and peasants alike since the 18th century!

Don't miss a day in 2009. There's more to film than Oscars ...though we still have a couple of post-show articles to wrap up (later today. Am very tired), so stick around.
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8th Costume Worn By Marie Antoinette

Every 8 days in 2008 we'll celebrate the 8th something of something. Whoa, Specific!

I once read that Madonna's Evita held the record for most costume changes in a movie. I'm not sure if that's accurate or if the record still holds, but surely Kirsten Dunst all dolled up for Marie Antoinette would rank in the top twenty. So much attention is paid to her dressing and undressing that Marie herself, in an elaborate ceremony intended to put her in her sixth ensemble remarks that "this is ridiculous". The rebuke from a typically chilly Judy Davis:

"This, madame, is Versailles"

Her first seven elaborate outfits, with the exception of a rich champagne wedding dress, are mostly in blue or pink which seem to be her signature colors. For the eighth number, legendary costumer Milena Canonero (who won her third Oscar for this movie) puts her in this ivory with a floral motif.


On this very night and in the very next shot, the dauphine will try to consummate her marriage in an insanely floral bedroom. Ironically, though Marie is finally settling into life at court, becoming friendly with her husband and wearing the "warmest" of her colors thus far, the response is chilly. The dialogue that overlays this image is as follows

Woman at Court #1: She doesn't seem the least bit interested in him.
Woman at Court #2: She is Austrian. They're not exactly the warmest people.
Aunt Sophie: But it's true. Her brother Joseph is so cold. He's an awful man.

It's going to be a long movie night for Marie. Her husband won't be responsive. The court won't ever be kind. Her life won't be long. This, madames et messieurs, is Versailles.

previously on 08th:
Descriptor for Elizabeth
Close-up of Carrie's hands
Kill in No Country For Old Men

That Infernal Marie Who Lets Them Eat Crack

Today on DVD

The Must See
My love for Sofia Coppola's third film Marie Antoinette has not always been met with 'to each their own' kindness. But give it a chance. It's dreamy, brave, and a rather compelling portrait of the hermetic world of royalty. For this moviegoer it wipes the floor with The Queen and is so dreamily committed to its own point of view that it probably doesn't even notice Elizabeth II's frumpy muffled indecisive protests as it does so. It's impressive stuff and people missed the boat. Don't be one of them.
Viewing tip: It's a leisurely paced movie so ixnay on the distractions. Have finger licking good pastries at the ready. Turn the sound up.

Oscar Goodies
Half Nelson had a tiny run in theaters so you probably haven't seen it. Ryan Gosling got a well deserved Oscar nomination for his crack addict junior high school teacher so witness his impressive command of his craft. The movie plays well on DVD, too since it's already "small"

The Departed also arrives. You've probably seen it but if not, catch up before every last detail has been spoiled for you.
Viewing Tip: Watch it with a group. This'll help approximate that rather electric moviegoing experience of watching it with an audience clearly on the movies wavelength and loving every twist and turn.

Indulge Your Curiousity
The Infernal Affairs Trilogy. Insert clichéd ad copy here "If you loved the Departed...". But seriously. If you wonder why I rave about Tony Leung Chiu Wai so much, this is as good a place as any to start. His role is played in the American version by Leonardo DiCaprio. The Matt Damon role was originated by Andy Lau who you'll remember from House of Flying Daggers' romantic triangle.

My Mother Will Be Excited
Beauty & the Beast: The Complete First Season. Younger readers may not remember this series at all but it stars Linda Hamilton (Terminator's Sarah Connor) as the beauty and Ron Perlman (Hellboy) as a lion-like man who lives underneath the city. It was actually critically acclaimed back in the day with Golden Globe noms for the stars.
Viewing Tip: Go cold turkey on the romance novels for a week and you'll probably be in the right salivating mood for this.

Top Ten of 2006

You’ve been patiently waiting. I’ve been rewatching. So here we go. The Film Experience Top Ten of the Year. Featuring (among other things)…

“That’s all” is the catchphrase she said.
Cruz’s mom? She’s back from the dead
Marie let them eat cake
The orgasms weren’t fake
And poor Leo got shot in the head

The Top 10 Movies of 2006...


Discuss and share your top ten in the comments. If you haven’t been around the past week, start at the beginning of the complete three page “Year in Review”

All that’s left now to wrap up 2006 is the Film Bitch Awards (my version of the Oscars) and the Oscars themselves. Woo-hoo!

"Our Leaders. Ourselves"

Two of the past year's most talked about films, Stephen Frears The Queen and Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, kick off in virtually the same way: A direct acknowledgement of the movie going audience from her royal majesty. In the first film after a brief Princess Diana news clip we watch as Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) sits still for a portrait. In close up, she turns her head to smile at the audience as the title card arrives: The Queen. The second film offers us a luxuriously decadent long shot of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France reclined in splendor, a towering cake behind her. She turns lazily to the camera with a self-possessed smile. In both cases one immediately wants to know what this royal will reveal about her character as the film progresses.

It goes without saying that these films diverged considerably from there. Despite their shared ‘meet the royals’ opening and their preoccupation with queens in their bubbles, they diverge considerably in style, tone, dramatic purposes and effect. But it struck me as I watched them both again recently that the Shakespeare quote used in The Queen “heavy is the head that wears the crown” could be placed at the start of a number of the year’s films and make a peculiar sense.



READ THE REST... for more on 2006's dangerous authorities and the vacuum of good leadership suggested by three of the year's scariest films.


previously in the 'Year in Review'
The Overrated from Dreamgirls to Clint Eastwood * Best Trailers, Posters marketing efforts * Cinematic Shame -obnoxious actors and terrible films * Stocking Stuffers cool items from the movies * This Blog is so self indulgent!


Tags: movies, cinema, royalty, apathy, 2006, authority figure, United 93, An Inconvenient Truth, leadership queen, film, Helen Mirren, Kirsten Dunst,world leaders

Free Association: Cake

Today is National Cake Day and since I have a sweet tooth and I love entertainment, here are five things I think of instantly when I hear the word "cake," aside from, you know, the deliciousness.

1. "All I Do Is Dream of You" -Debbie Reynolds intro in Singin' in the Rain and her sassy sarcasm about her place of origin (i.e. the cake) Love that character. Love that movie. Love that scene. Love that ditty. Pure bliss.

2. Mary-Louise Parker. Well, she plays a pastry chef in that movie you've never seen The Five Senses and she's great in it. But you probably knew that already given that I said the words "Mary-Louise Parker" which = great. Duh.

3. "Like a Virgin" at the MTV Video Awards 1984 [video]. Madonna coming out of the top of that cake in her wedding dress and Boy Toy belt buckle. 'Will you marry me?' Tis only a defining cultural moment of my life. It's forever seared into my (then) adolescent brain. We've been married ever since. Well, figuratively ... fan-atively.

4. Clueless and the following exchange:

Murray: Your man Christian is a cake boy!
Cher, Dionne: A what?
Murray: He's a disco-dancing, Oscar Wilde reading, Streisand ticket holding friend of Dorothy, know what I'm saying?
Cher: Uh-uh, no way, not even!

That whole movie is hilarious but I had never in my life heard the term "cake boy" before. Though I was certainly familiar with disco-dancing, Oscar Wilde reading, and Streisand ticket holding (Yentl). Plus, me and Dorothy go wayyyy back.

5. "Let Them Eat Cake" in Marie Antoinette I love the way Sofia Coppola sneaks this line into her new movie, with faux horror (!) at its inaccuracy ... as if her portrait of the dauphine of France is definitive, accurate and truthful. Just one of the sneaky bits of wit that permeate that fine misunderstood film.


tags: Mary Louise Parker, Madonna, film,movies, Debbie Reynolds, cake, MTV, Marie Antoinette

A Message From Court

psssst, Kiki.
yeah, Jason?
It's Marie-Antoinette week at the Film Experience.
cool. I could use the love. i'm lonely here at court.
I guess this means, what? wigs, cake, shoes...
the haters can kiss my Milena Canonero draped ass.
"let them eat blog"

Link Lola Link

The Movie Blog eyes Franka Potente (Run Lola Run)'s next project
Gatochy reminisces about François Ozon's delectable 8 Women
Cinematical on Robert Altman's next vehicle (pun intended)
Black Wing Diaries has a beautiful tribute to The Little Mermaid
Esquire names the sexiest woman alive.
Golden Fiddle tunes in to Marie Antoinette

Maybe She Lets Her Eat Cake?

Kirsten Dunst on Sofia Coppola:

"She really gets me as a woman and an actress, and she captures who I am more than anybody else I've worked with."

"When I watch myself in Sofia's movies, it's scarier, because I feel more vulnerable, but it's closer to who I am. It's more than closer to who I am. It is me.'"

I personally don't care what the reviews are like. I am still breathlessly awaiting the Marie-Antoinette film (see old post). The Virgin Suicides is what started my Dunst love so I trust that Sofia knows what to do with Kiki this time, too.

tags: Kirsten Dunst, Sofia Coppola, movies, film, Cannes, Marie-Antoinette

Marie-Say What?

Say What Saturday!

I asked you to entertain me for a change and make up dialogue to accompany this movie still. I couldn't pic just one to illustrate. I loved them all. These two made me laugh the most though...

This one totally caught me offguard --submitted by Neel Mehta


The funniest au courant came from John T


But read the comments. The others are fun too. I wanted to illustrate them all but I must sleep!

Coming Soon #2: "Marie-Antoinette"

Coming Soon But Not Soon Enough
#2 Marie-Antoinette (Sony / Columbia. Arriving in October.)

If you haven't seen the jaw-droppingly brilliant teaser trailer, drop everything and watch it now. It cleverly mashes 80s new wave with 18th century eye-candy (hey, they're both retro) for the tale of this frivolous teen-age queen. It's a bold move --not everyone gets how brilliant age appropriate the teaser is. But it shows again that Sofia is for real.

Could Coppola actually be three for three? The Virgin Suicides showed great promise for the famous offspring of Francis Ford and it also delivered a major performance from Kirsten Dunst. We all know what happened with her follow-up Lost in Translation. For her third trick, Sofia returns with her original star, "Kiki", in tow. This recipe looks risky but let us eat cake!

The Film Experience ♥ Kiki
A collection of previous Dunst-related posts

tags: Kirsten Dunst, Sofia Coppola, Marie-Antoinette, movies, Scarlet Johansson, entertainment

previous "coming soons"
#3 The Prestige, #4 A Prairie Home Companion, #5 Dreamgirls, #6 The Fountain, #7 Running With Scissors, #8 Volver, #9 Inland Empire, #10 Little Children, #11 Margaret, and #12 Bug