June 2, 2008
-
I Spy with My T.V. Eye
Since we have a full nest this week, we’ve been watching some flicks.
Last night, it was Scoop with Scarlett Johansson and Woody Allen. A famous investigative journalist (Hugh Jackman) has died and is being ferried across the Styx when he hears a major scoop from another dead companion. The story, which would solve serial killings in the U.K., compels him to outwit the ferryman so that he can give the story to a living reporter. That reporter is stereo-typical blonde Johansson who bumbles her way through the investigation with the help of a vaudeville magician (Allen).
This movie was dumb-funny and twisted with Allen’s wry sense of humanity. I actually enjoyed it once it gained momentum. Nothing is believable—the premise, the characters, their motivations or the plot—yet that is what is so funny. The incredulity is all played straight-faced.
For family viewing considerations, it must be said that Johansson’s character has no moral convictions about falling into bed with men she just met that day. There is no nudity or even groping on film, but she wakes up with a sheet around her on occasion. In addition, both she and Allen use Christ’s name. Other than these issues, the flick is fairly clean.
We also saw I Spy Returns, a 1994 made-for-TV movie, with Bill Cosby and Robert Culp—a reprise of the 1965-68 secret agent serial. It was amusing to see Cosby and Culp yuk it up again in their older selves, but overall the movie is tacky and rather-like Jell-o pudding. The movie prompted me to google some history of the original series. Did you know that Culp himself wrote the pilot and a number of the other episodes? Also, he married a Vietnamese actress that guest-starred on the show. The show was a ground-breaker in that it was filmed in exotic locations (one of the things I enjoyed in re-runs—hey, I was too young to watch it first time around!). Something that I already knew, but had forgotten, was that it was the first series with an African-American as a lead character. And for that reason, some southern TV stations refused to run it.
|||||| lynard
Comments (4)
The other “dead companion” is played, I believe, by Ian McShane, from Deadwood fame. He’s a marvelous actor, but it was so odd to see him in an Allen movie. I wasn’t sure Johansson could pull off comedy in that vein but she held her own quite well. And Allen was his usual neurotic self (personal life foibles notwithstanding).
I finally saw Indiana Jones 4 yesterday afternoon. I’m a huge Shia LaBeouf fan so it was a delight to see how well he fit in. The movie itself seemed a bit, well, slower-paced and less outrageous than some of the others in the franchise, but then again, Indiana’s almost old enough to be my dad.
Almost.
Has your eye spied that the Mole is back on?
@sailsnsun -
Yes! The Mole! Did you remember that I liked that show? And, I’m so psyched because it is NOT a celebrity one. Those got so lame. I miss Anderson Cooper, though. We watched it Monday; did you?
Yup, I remembered! I was doing a little happy dance when I found out it would be on. Buddy does not understand how cool the show is, so I have to indoctrinate him
Definitely agree about Anderson Cooper, but maybe the new host will get better once he relaxes a little. Right now he sounds like he is a robot reading cue cards.