Here I review BABY MAMA, THE BUBBLE and FUGITIVE PIECES
BABY MAMA [2008] *** 1/2
Director Michael McCullers, previously a SNL scribe, made his big screen debut penning the amusing if vain Austin Powers movies. So there is some reason to believe that in his directorial debut, teaming him up with two more SNL veterans, funny women Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, there will be plenty of affectionate humour. Much like an upcoming birth, the delivery anticipation here is high. But what actually makes BABY MAMA a movie to see is much more than that. It is the fact that BABY MAMA is such an unexpectedly joyous movie experience in just how natural and unforced its charming humour comes across.
It is precisely this that makes the film not only much funnier but also far more insightful than one would expect. The two stars, Poehler and Fey, get to shine in roles tailored to their personas but then they also give a lot more meat & heart to their characters than any audience member today would demand, given the light-hearted premise of this comedy. And that’s just a small part of the film’s overall charms. The interplay between Poehler and Fey alone make it worthwhile a visit to the theatre.
But McCullers isn’t fully satisfied with just that. As a bonus, he adds an impressive supporting cast into the mix, one that includes Sigourney Weaver and an uncredited Steve Martin in stand-out cameos. The addition of a hilarious Martin, in several scenes, as a self-centred, enviro-friendly zen-based CEO of a land development company and a disturbing, in a very good way, Weaver, as the owner of a fertility clinic who churns out babies by the cycles are just additional feathers in the cap of this good natured movie.
Then there’s a most comfortable and relaxed Greg Kinnear as Fey’s romantic lead, in a role in which he seems so at ease with. It is so nice to have Kinnear let loose and be so happy doing so.
While BABY MAMA aspires to achieve a level of intelligence and warmth akin to MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING, and does not altogether succeed, it does score a coup in its pleasant vivaciousness, breathing much needed life to the adult comedy genre. To see such appealing actresses normally associated with the small screen winningly pull such a successful big screen bullseye, filled with charm and joie de vivre, is to realize that this effortless comedy is precisely this good because it is not filmed neither as a stunt nor as a one-note joke. Be prepared to not only laugh but to also gain a little insight. Yes while both laughs and insight may be covered in gloss, at least it is sophisticated gloss for the discerning mainstream audience who expects more while still wanting to enjoy themselves.
THE BUBBLE Ha’Buah [2006] – A probing study of an impossible gay love between an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian, set against the backdrop of an exciting, happening & thriving Tel Aviv, HA’BUAH does not wait long to let its political bubble burst and, in fact, immediately combusts its dividing tension into an air of ideologies & rhetoric and, somehow, still works as pure melodrama. Most certainly a film with an agenda, this tragic tale of unresolved prejudice, while surely not naïve, has its objective in signifying how dangerously close we are to brokering peace and yet, in the hands of opposition and ignorance from both sides, how hopeless the process may actually be. It was quite a dangerous subject to tackle for all sorts of reasons. While a noble aim for any film in search of possible peaceful solutions, the director has an even bigger agenda to tackle, underlining a personal favourite subject matter of his, sexual politics and homosexuality in particular. Yet another Israeli film directed by acclaimed & openly gay Eytan Fox, may not be as good as his previous two films on this subject, the tender YOSSI & JAGGER and the glossy WALK ON WATER but is far more ambitious in scope.
Three Israelis share an apartment in the heart of the city. One day, by design, a young Palestinian, Ashraf, shows up at their doorstep and immediate sparks ignite between him and one of the mates, sweet & sexy Noam. In an attempt to develop their newly-found relationship, the three roomies attempt to keep Ashraf illegally in Tel Aviv, getting him work under the table. In the meantime he becomes part of their so-called ideal world, where organizing a Rave Against Occupation peace rally is on top of their must-to-do list. Is Ashraf living a reality or is he coexisting in an Israeli left Utopian dream, still out of reach? This question is basically at the film’s core. Complications arise and the lovers separate before reuniting for what many would call an unfair, if not highly controversial, blow-up.
Ohad Knoller (of YOSSI & JAGGER) is such a likeable actor that it is hard to resist his charms and quite understandable when Ashraf falls for his character. And while all actors are comfortable and convincing in their roles, it is, in fact, Daniella Wircer who stands out as the roommate with the heart of gold and very bad luck with men. She ends up spending her time pursuing idealisms with the likes of her gay friends in what seems like such a natural fit.
The new Tel Aviv is presented as very openly gay and it’s been quite some time that the Israeli issue on homosexuality seems almost non-problematic in an film of this sort. In fact, homosexuality in Tel Aviv, but clearly not in Palestinian territories, is almost seen as a secondary non-issue, backdrop to the film’s central concern of political conflict and misunderstandings yet is later used harshly to stress the differences of acceptance in the two communities.
THE BUBBLE deserves credit for taking on a profound issue of divide and making it palatable to all and sympathetic to its cause.
FUGITIVE PIECES [2007] *** 1/2
FUGITIVE PIECES took me by surprise at how moving, sensitive and introspective it actually is. A film for which I most definitely shed a tear or two, and rightfully so, it has a deeply absorbing story to tell and is far more profound than most movies in their right mind ought to be.
With its heart in the right place, this is the story of a young Jakob (flawlessly performed by Robbie Kay from a pout to big wandering blue eyes), a Polish Jew, who watches Nazi soldiers break into his family home, brutally murdering his parents while his beloved sister is taken away by them. Jakob is miraculously saved by a travelling Greek archaeologist, who moves him to his Greek Island, taking him in, not without emotional scars, and selflessly raising him as his own, despite facing dangers of his own when Nazis begin to occupy his Island too.
With time the surviving odd duo moves to Canada where the now all grown-up Jakob, despite being unconditionally loved and supported by Athos (a supremely understated Rade Serbedzija – winner Best Actor at the Rome Film Festival) is forever haunted by his past and unable to truly move on. Jakob, now played with inner-pain by an effective Stephen Dillane, eventually settles down as a successful, even influential professor and writer, but images of his past seemingly haunt him, sending him off on a need to put closure on his sister’s disappearance. This prods him back to Europe on a final mission at putting the pieces of his past together.
Unfortunately even in the controlled hands of Canadian director Jeremy Podeswa, the film remains overly literal, a fact that the filmmaker seems unable to shake off despite his cinematic vision & attempt at opening up the film. Perhaps because it is based on Anne Michaels’ novel, which in itself is a book of self-reflection and inner-conflict that supports character development, the film cannot help but remain inert. Still this gives it a moving edge and an inevitable punchy conclusion.
FUGITIVE PIECES tries hard to be loyal to the book’s schematic introspection, whereas Jakob is seen as somewhat socially stunted as an intellectual adult. He tends to be withdrawn and introverted and only comes to life through his musings and writing, a talent that, despite everything, draws in two beautiful women into his otherwise morose life. Watching Jakob learn from these two, who ironically influence his own growth, is at the core of what makes this film so appealing and ultimately resonating in a tear or two and much after-thought. It makes you want to go and grab a copy of the book almost instantaneously.
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