Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 11 October 2001

Legally Blonde is conventional by Reese’s standards.  A popular socialite, Elle Woods (Witherspoon) is preparing to graduate (as a fashion major) from college.  Her boyfriend, Warner (Davis) has asked her to dinner to discuss their future and Elle expects this to be the moment where she’ll get that glistening ring on her finger.  Wrong.  Warner, like his father before him, wants to run for office and he feels he’ll have no chance with a ditsy blonde as a wife.  He needs someone more serious and it’s time to break up.

Determined to prove him wrong, Elle regroups and pulls out the grades (plus a little extra) to receive an offer to attend Harvard’s exclusive law school, coincidentally the same school Warner is attending.  At first, Elle’s “blondness” and outgoing nature ostracises her from the other students but Harvard soon finds out that not all blondes are dumb and there are some who shouldn’t be underrated.

A departure from her usual style, Reese chose the script for Legally Blonde because she saw it as “an opportunity for me to try and reach more people”.  Reese concedes that “today, it matters how many people see your movies” and despite critical acclaim for her previous works, she is yet to have a film explode at the box-office.  Legally Blonde became Reese’s first number 1 hit and its $20m opening outdueled the new DeNiro/Brando crime thriller, The Score.  Yet another feather in her hat.

As for the film, this feel good fairy tale stretches its point a little too far for my liking.  Reese’s characters (and wardrobe) in itself tells you that the film is only meant to be light-hearted fun but so much of it seems manufactured to please.  The jokes, the plot and the ending are too predictable and I much preferred the darker nuances of Election.

An experiment with mixed results, Legally Blonde has certainly pushed Mrs Phillippe into the spotlight.  She’ll next appear beside Messrs Everett, Firth, O’Connor and Dench in The Importance of Being Earnest.  Another intelligent career move which I guess shows that sometimes blondes do have more fun.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 23 September 2001

Based on the novel by Meg Cabot, The Princess Diaries could also be called a teen adaptation of My Fair Lady.  Mia Thermopolis (Hathaway) is the “ugly duckling” with her frizzy hair, big glasses and noticeable braces.  She wants to be popular and wants the heart of the school’s sporting heartthrob Josh (Detten) but doing so has made her oblivious to the affections from her best friend’s brother, Michael (Robert Schwartzman).

Out of the blue, Mia gets a call from her grandmother (Andrews) whom she has never met.  Meeting for tea, Mia a bombshell is dropped.  Her grandmother is Queen Clarisse Renaldi of Genevoia which makes Mia a princess and since her father’s death, the sole heir to the throne.  One can imagine the shock but the Queen’s revelation is understood when Mia is told she must decide whether she will move to Genevoia to take on her princess responsibilities.

When the media catch wind of a princess living in San Francisco, Mia is headline news and the envy of all at her school.  Combined with a beautifying makeover, Josh finally gives her the attention she deserves but has popularity changed the real Mia?

The fictitious story is harebrained and predictable but the occasional funny line adds spice.  Five minutes in, I knew how the film would end and I’m sure most of the young teenagers in the audience were the same.  Fluffy Disney films are ideal entertainment for such an audience but I’m so frustrated by the incredibly safe line they take.  Ultimately, these “fairy tale” films are all the same.

Having not seen Julie Andrews on screen for some time, her selection of this project and subsequent performance was questionable.  I expected more than a poncy British accent and quaint sense of humour.  Looking back, none of the cast left a lasting impression.

It’s not my kind of film so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt but don’t go to The Princess Diaries expecting anything more than the usual Disney shtick.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 04 October 2001

Naturally, this doesn't go down well with the studio.  Since the separation, neither has made a successful movie and executive Dave Kingman (Tucci) has his head in a noose.  Just prior to the break-up, he had perfectionist director Hal Wiedmann (Walken) make a film starring the duo but it still hasn’t been completed with Wiedmann agonising over the finishing touches.  With his career in the balance, Kingman gets marketing guru Lee Phillips (Crystal), with whom he has a rocky friendship, to pull off the promotional scam of a lifetime.

Phillips prepares a press junket (where the press come and meet the stars) and in the process gives the press something to talk about.  As the saying goes, “any publicity is good publicity” and Phillips is an expert in making it.  But there’s still the challenging task of getting Gwen and Eddie back together.  It’s going to take the help of a few friends, a little luck, and Gwen's sister/servant Kiki (Roberts).

Given that it involves the industry itself, I’m surprised to have waited this long to see a film with such a plot.  Billy Crystal is a co-writer of the script and I'm his insight (as well as that from other cast members) is what makes this film so interesting.  Sure it has the tacky and predictable romantic “three way” subplot but the overall package is worth seeing.

Julia Roberts is outstanding and her performance reminiscent of her star turn in Notting Hill.  She is merely a supporting character in the ensemble piece but I prefer the innocent/unsure Julia to the outspoken/bold Julia (Erin Brockovich, The Mexican).  Catherine Zeta-Jones is also terrific as the snobby screen actress who's always thinking of herself.  Zeta-Jones's public image and earlier films have given the real press plenty to criticise but with this following her eye catching part in the award winning Traffic, she has suddenly found credibility.  It comes as no surprise though to see John Cusack is fine comedic and despite a lukewarm opening, Billy Crystal comes through with the goods.

It's always difficult assembling a big name cast but I'm sure Crystal and director Joe Roth had no trouble with this refreshingly honest screenplay.  It’s funny to think that this story is only a blip on the surface of what really goes down in Hollywood.  Does anyone want to take this concept a step further?

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 20 September 2001

Unexpectedly, he is contacted by a nutty gentleman named Preston B. Whitmore who knew his grandfather long ago.  Fulfilling an old promise he made, Preston has found a large ship, a crew of over 200 and Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke to escort Milo to a history making journey.  Sure enough, they find the lost city but it’s everything they didn’t expect.  People are still alive deep beneath the surface and the eternal life provided by a mysterious energy source keeps the city flourishing.  The arrival of these visitors from the upworld thought may threaten their existence...

By most standards, the film is poor but by Disney’s standards, it’s very poor.  You can bank on Walt’s company generating a big animated classic every summer but the quality is slipping with the increased competition.  For example, the opening scene contains subtitles and is a ridiculous way to start a film aimed at young kids.

The story is deep and spiritual which again seems beyond its target audience.  There were moments when even I couldn’t understand what the film was trying to say (such as the scene where Kida is filled by the Gods’ light).  I’m always for originality but the lukewarm box-office emphasises the disappointment enveloping this film.  Atlantis: The Lost Empire is also unfunny.  A few humorous lines come early on from the boat’s sarcastic announcer, Miss Packard, but there’s little else that’ll get those jaw muscles working (except for the popcorn).

Save yourself the trouble these school holidays and give the kids something more entertaining to pass the time (try Spy Kids).  As for Disney, they better get back to the drawing board.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 September 2001

The chief suspect is Ricky Tan (Lone) who was responsible for the death of Lee’s father five years earlier.  Lee’s never been able to nail Tan, the head of the Triad gang, but this could be the opportunity if he can find hard evidence that he was responsible.  However Tan is killed by a female advisari, Hu Lu (Zhang) and the case flips upside down.  Just who is running the Triad and why were the secret service agents targeted?

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are two of the most limited actors in Hollywood.  Chan has few acting skills and is a glamorised stunt man.  Tucker is politically incorrect and his sarcastically negative sense of humour wears very thin.  Yet when working together, they pull out enough jokes and action to keep Rush Hour 2 on the tracks.  Standing out from the cast is Ziyi Zhang.  Having burst onto the scene with her award winning role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, her remarkable martial art skills have rocketed her to stardom - she’s awesome. 

It’s becoming a monotonous feature of all Chan movies but once again the funniest moment of the film are the out-takes shown during the closing credits.  The last two in particular (one involving a mobile phone and the other a reference to Rush Hour 3) easily gathered the most laughter from the audience.  Sure it’s nice to finish on a positive note but it illustrates that an actor’s ability to improvise is often overlooked in sticking strictly to a screenwriter’s script.

Yep it’s an old-fashioned action flick full of holes but its fun and much improved on the recent action line-up.  Remarkably similar to the original, it’ll please any who enjoyed Rush Hour 2’s predecessor.