S •
L A CKAMA
April 13, 2005
Arts o^Entertainmen
‘Angels’ falls short of potentia
little fogged up.
The film opens with the three
girls at their mother’s funeral,
their father stumbling into the
If one were to write a plot chapel in a drunken stupor, and
synopsis for Canadian director then proceeds to go back in time
Scott Smith’s 2003 film “Falling to tell the .story.
Angels” it would appear as fol
Following a loose plot and lit-
lows:
tle-to-no linear continuity (some
“Three teenage girls come of thing which can lead to confusion
age under the tyrannical rule of at times), Smith seemed more
an anger-engulfed father, while focused on painting a portrait
they care for their alcoholic shell- than telling a story. The charac
of-her-former-self mother, all the ters can seem so cliché at times
while experimenting with mind that they could have been created
altering drugs and their own sex by Charles Dickens.
uality. Oh yes, and there’s a dark
There’s the broken-down
secret.”
mother, who throughout the
Dubbed “'Little Women’ on movie is never seen without her
acid” by some critics, the black bathrobe or coffee cup of whis
comedy (half the time you’re key, staring despondently at the
wondering if you should really artificial images on the prehis
laugh at the situation) takes place toric television set. On the other
in 1960s under the cloud of the side, there’s the alcoholic father,
Cold War and the counterculture the patriarch (read: tyrant) of the
movement.
family, the sort of gent who gives
Running at approximately tyvo his daughters socks and tool belts
hours long, “Falling Angels” is, for Christmas, and instead of
to say the least, a unique window going to Disneyland, forces them
into a trying time for the world to spend two weeks in his under
and the “all-American” family, ground bomb shelter in prepara
although at times the window is a tion for “the big one.” Needless
Ben Maras
The Clackamas Print
.
Photo courtesy of trii
Dubbed “‘Little Women’ on acid,” this film follows the coming-of-age of three teenageg
who struggle under the tyranny of their father to overcome their alcoholic mother’s deat
to say, he provides the catalyst for
the disasters to come.
The daughters follow simi
lar clichés: the
old, responsi
ble daughter (a
closet lesbian);
the middle child
who spends her
every waking
minute finding
her father’s last
nerve and suc
cessfully riding
it to the edge;
and the young,
sweet daughter
who never did
anything but love
her family—until
that is, she gets
Photo courtesy of tribute.ca
knocked up by
Norma (Monte Gange), Sandy (Kristin Adams) and Lou (Katharine Isabelle)
a 30-something-
portray the sisters who live under the Cloud of the Cold War.
year-old man.
Remember what I said i
beginning about a dark se
They had a baby brother
died in a tragic “accidei
Niagara, Falls. Sounds lil
important part to the plot, t
Wrong. It feels as if that
was duct-taped into the sen
an attempt to give the audi
something to chew on whili
portrait of the family was pa
before their very eyes.
All in all, “Falling Angels
good film for those who are
ing to look beyond the peri
laid out linear storylines »
beginning middle and end in
order; into Something a bit i
abstract. It-gets a solid B
being a new take on an oldr
with good directing, but not
living up to what it couli
been.
Despite the heavy sexual
undertones of the film, kiddy-
pom it is not, but be prepared for
a bit of sexually explicit dialogue
and mild nudity.
Most obvious is Smith’s
intentions of social commentary
throughout the film. The repeat
ing of the word “tyrant” at vari
ous points throughout the film
ties the father to what he fears the
most during the Cold War era—
the communist USSR, showing
a unique perspective on how fear
affects the human psyche.
A statement is also to be seen
in the stark contrast between the
middle child, Lou—who experi
ments with marijuana, LSD,
and free-thinking, yet remains
relatively normal—and thè all-
American conservative parents,
who are completely crippled by
their alcoholism.
Barrymore pitches perfect game, Fallon redeems himse
Jeff Sorensen
The Clackamas Print
Whatever it was that made
Drew Barrymore take a new
direction with her career in 2004,
her role in “Fever Pitch” opposite
Jimmy Fallon proves it was prob
ably file best decision she’s ever
made.
“Pitch” follows the story
of Ben (Fallon), a Boston area
school teacher who runs into
Lindsey (Barrymore) during a
field trip to the marketing firm
where she makes a living. Ben
asks Lindsey on a date, and after
initial rejection and deliberation
with her friends, decides to give
Ben a chance. The pair gets along
famously until Ben reveals the
identity of his first true love: The
Boston Red Sox.
At first, Lindsey insists that
it’s a blessing in disguise. She’s
up for a big promotion and needs
to focus on her job, so with Ben
following his tradition of catch
ing every Red Sox game since
he was 11, she can focus on
her work without Ben feeling
rejected.
But Ben loves Lindsey so
much he wants her to share in
his every experience with his
favorite team. Quirkiness ensues
and the couple experiences both
love and loss within themselves
and with the Sox.
Looking at the trailers, the
movie seems about as formulaic
as romantic comedies get. Boy
meets girl, a few cheap laughs,
a happy ending, and everyone
goes home with a fuzzy feel
ing. The difference the trailers
frustratmgly neglect is that this
movie is directed by the Farrelly
brothers (“Dumb and Dumber,”
“Something About Mary,”
“Shallow Hal”), a fact that makes
this one worth the $5.50 matinee
price (but not worth full price
chemistry to go around, sho»
off exactly what happens,
the brothers Farrelly flex I
directorial muscles.
The movie “Fever Pitch”
not be a must-see flick, bill
a good way to spend an 1
noon. Fallon regains some
ground for the aforementio
failure, and following her pi
ous successful performan«
“50 First Dates,” BarryiM
two-for-two and seems to fit
give a damn about the respei
Hollywood she’s never had
for anyone still disappointed at
Fallon for “Taxi”).
Bitterness aside, Fallon and
Barrymore compliment each
other well, and with the help of
the Farrellys, they are able to
make an otherwise predictable
movie actually funny and mostly
fun to watch.
Most of the character interac
tion felt realistic and at times
managed to convey the awkward
ness of certain scenes equally as
well as the comfortably laugh
able ones with plenty of screen
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Photo courtesy of Twentieth Centurty Fox
Ben (Fallon) shares his obsession with the Rec^Sox with new girlfriend, Lindsey (Barrymore)
who compromises with Ben by working on her laptop while cheering for the home team.
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