Gary Wolcott's "Mr. Movie" column has appeared in the Tri-City Herald since 1992. The Tri-City native now lives in Portland, Ore., and watches about 250 movies each year. This member of Portland's association of movie critics, Far From Hollywood, believes movies are made to be seen on theater screens and should be seen there and not on television screens. Have a question for Mr. Movie? Click on "Add Comment" below. Mr. Movie has joined Twitter. Follow him here.
Madeline Carroll is Juli Baker and Callan McAuliffe does Bryce Loski.
Juli lives across the street from Bryce. As a 7-year old, she fell for his deep blue eyes and becomes convinced he’ll give her that longed-for first kiss.
Bryce — of course — can’t go there. He’s convinced she’s the weirdest person on the planet and wants nothing to do with her. You’re fed a scene here and there as they go through grade school. Then, they hit the eighth grade. That’s when hormones really kick in and things change.
The “flipped” in Flipped is how the two main characters view different incidents in their all-too-common lives. His point of view first, then hers. The events aren’t that interesting, the characters aren’t that interesting and writer/director/actor Rob Reiner isn’t able to find a focus or connect the dots of teenage love in the pre-Beatles 1960s.
You do like Juli who is much more interesting than Bryce — or anyone else. Unfortunately, Juli is less than half the movie.
Carroll gives a great performance. She’s a nice fit for a character who is wonderfully alternative. Juli no doubt became the teen protesting the Vietnam War, went to Woodstock and ended up in San Francisco’s legendary Haight-Ashbury.
While McAuliffe’s Bryce probably grew up to be a tax accountant, in real life, today she’d be writing for Rolling Stone.
Reiner does try to expand beyond the teens with a few scenes depicting the lives of the two families. They pretty much stay on the surface, but it does give the going nowhere “he said, she said” story needed diversion.
Anthony Edwards and Rebecca DeMornay are Bryce’s stiff, shallow mainstream parents. Aidan Quinn and Penelope Ann Miller do hers as troubled advanced thinkers.
All but Edwards give cookie-cutter performances. He’s terrific as a self-absorbed, alcoholic cretin.
Even those who lived love in 1960s junior high will find themselves yawning in this one. Reiner and co-writer Andrew Scheinmann work overtime to give the plot some energy.
However, no matter how you cut it, romance for teens in the era was almost as interesting as watching Jello.
To sum it up — Flipped flops.
Mr. Movie rating: 2 stars
Rated PG for mature themes. It opens Friday, Sept. 10 at the Carmike 12.
5 stars to 4 1/2 stars: Must see on the big screen
4 stars to 3 1/2 stars: Good film, see it if it's your type of movie.
3 stars to 2 1/2 stars: Wait until it comes out on video.
2 stars to 1 star: Don't bother.
0 stars: Speaks for itself.
Kudos to Battelle Film Club for bringing 'The Hedgehog'
The Hedgehog is a subtitled French film from 2009 that finally got released in the U.S. last year, and thanks to the Battelle Film Club , it will be seen in the Tri-Cities.
The story centers around Paloma, an 11-year old girl whose interests are philosophy and art.
No one in her family can relate. Her parents barely speak to each other much less to Paloma. The disconnected mom talks to plants, and the psychiatrist but can’t talk to her daughter. Dad is nowhere to be found.
'Our Idiot Brother' more idiots should be as entertaining
Paul Rudd is Ned, the idiot brother.
The lights are on but no one seems to be home. He’s a throwback hippie with long, thick hair. The naive Ned gets tossed in jail for selling pot to a cop who claimed to be having a bad day and really needs some relief. He tries to give the cop some weed at no charge, but the man will not hear of such a thing.
Young Adult re-teams director Jason Reitman with Juno writer Diablo Cody. They craft a semi-serious, semi-comic tale of a struggling, self-absorbed 30-something woman.
Charlize Theron is marvelous as Mavis, a woman on a quest to find truth, happiness and a personal and self-focused holy grail.
Battelle Film Club is offering a Liz Taylor double feature: A Place in the Sun and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf .
An interesting choice. The contrast in the acting styles between A Place in the Sun and Virginia Woolf is stunning. Taylor is more of a supporting character in the first and won an Oscar for what some consider her most powerful work in Virginia Woolf .
I recently caught A Place in the Sun and the plot focus is Montgomery Clift's confused, social-climbing character. Using a breathy, little girl-like delivery akin to Gone with the Wind 's Scarlett O’Hara, Taylor’s low-key work doesn’t give you a hint of the powerful, emotional actress she eventually became.
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