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Art of the Hustle
I've seen Jonathan Parker's (Untitled), which shows tomorrow afternoon (1.9) and early Saturday evening (1.10) at the Palm Springs Int'l Film Festival. It's an underplayed, bone-dry New York relationship comedy with a point to make about the art scene there. Parker and cowriter Catherine DiNapoli are basically saying it's a kind of cesspool of pretension and phoniness, and that the people who regularly buy and/or support much of what passes for modern art are either deluded or phonies or both, or are simply being flim-flammed.
Marley Shelton, Adam Goldberg in (Untitled).
So it's anything but a stupid slapstick comedy, and because of that I was more or less favorably disposed. It's vaguely Woody Allen-esque but without the schtick. I didn't laugh out loud all that much; I mostly smirked and occasionally chortled, but there's nothing wrong with that. And I enjoyed staring at Marley Shelton (Grindhouse), whom I hadn't paid very much attention to before. She believably plays a sharp Chelsea art-gallery dealer, which is to say I bought her projections of cunning, shrewdness and intelligence, however natural or manufactured. Call this a modest breakthrough performance.
The plot is about how Shelton comes to dump a boyfriend (Eion Bailey) whose mediocre paintings are very popular with her corporate clients, and instead begins to see his doleful and bearded brother (Adam Goldberg), a very pretentious anti-musical pianist whose performances are entirely about defying conventional taste, to put it very mildly. Goldberg's performance is fine -- subdued comedy is his forte -- but his beard and hair are so bushy you can barely see his face. I know, I know...an anti-musical pianist who kicks buckets and whatnot is precisely the sort of guy who would have too-much head hair.
I don't know what else to say except that (Untitled) could have used as few more jokes. And a better title. Svetlana Cvetko's widescreen cinematography is well-framed and, I'm sure, professionally lit and captured. (The print I happened to see a while back was projected with the wrong digital calibration and therefore looked like a murky VHS.) But it's an intelligent sit, this film. I felt pleased and settled when the lights came up. That's not a bad thing. Okay, a good thing.
Vinnie Jones plays a wackjob sculptor with his usual verve turned down a couple of notches.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 8, 2009 at 6:50 PM
comment #1
nemo
says ...
What on earth is going on in that picture?
They look like they're sharing a Marcello Mastroianni meets Jane Fonda 1960s moment on a Swinging London Carnaby Street set for the final scene of 2001 A Space Odyssey.
Posted by nemo
at January 8, 2009 9:22 PM
comment #2
nemo
says ...
". . . a kind of cesspool of pretension and phoniness, and that the people who regularly buy and/or support much of what passes for modern art are either deluded or phonies or both, or are just being flim-flammed."
That's the world where Julian Schnabel got his start, before he moved on to better things.
Posted by nemo
at January 8, 2009 9:29 PM
comment #3
MilkMan
says ...
I don't like Adam Goldberg. He tries to act like he's smart. But he's not. He spends too much time worried about what his hair looks like and what kind of retro fashions are on the cutting edge. He acts like a hair stylist. If they ever do a remake of Shampoo they should cast him as Warren Beatty.
He's no Woody Allen. More like that schmuck Tony Roberts. What a prick. That's who Adam Goldberg is.
Watching him beg for his life in Private Ryan made me uncomfortable. Because that's how I would've died, saying wait, wait, please don't, stop.
Have any of you ever read Julian Jaynes' The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bi-Cameral Mind. And if someone has, can they please explain it to me in plain, simple, easy-to-follow language that I can understand?
Posted by MilkMan
at January 8, 2009 9:30 PM
comment #4
seduisant
says ...
John Updike said, "Julian Jaynes speculates that until late in the twentieth millennium B.C., men had no consciousness but were automatically obeying the voices of the gods."
OK.
Jaynes has his own society of followers with conferences, self-study courses, etc. Check out http://www.julianjaynes.org/ at your peril.
And good luck with this crazy motherfucker.
Posted by seduisant
at January 8, 2009 10:13 PM
comment #5
D.Z.
says ...
Speaking of hustling, I haven't seen this kind of delusional optimistic forecasting for a venture since the neo-cons said Iraq would be a cake-walk.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117998214.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
Guess they haven't been paying attention to the economic situation. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090108/ts_nm/us_usa_retailsales_10
Posted by D.Z.
at January 8, 2009 10:39 PM
comment #6
BurmaShave
says ...
MilkMan that was amusing as usual but atypically off-point. Adam Goldberg is absolutely necessary and occasionally awesome. And he's not feigning his intelligence in the slightest. You should probably check out THE HEBREW HAMMER, of all things.
Posted by BurmaShave
at January 9, 2009 2:10 AM
comment #7
Floyd Thursby
says ...
Though I hate him elsewhere, I was surprised to like Goldberg in 2 DAYS IN PARIS, though his tattoos are more annoying than his hair.
Posted by Floyd Thursby
at January 9, 2009 6:12 AM
comment #8
DavidF
says ...
I'm with Burmashave - to the point I'd even consider (but not actually watch) one of the Friends episodes Goldberg guest-starred in.
I agree with Milkman, however, about his death in Saving Private Ryan. I think it's the hardest, most "real" screen death I've ever seen and it never gets easier to watch - AND it's one of those things Spielberg apparently came up with on set.
Posted by DavidF
at January 9, 2009 7:17 AM
comment #9
DeafBrownTrashPunk
says ...
"I don't like Adam Goldberg. He tries to act like he's smart. But he's not. He spends too much time worried about what his hair looks like and what kind of retro fashions are on the cutting edge. He acts like a hair stylist. If they ever do a remake of Shampoo they should cast him as Warren Beatty."
haha
Posted by DeafBrownTrashPunk
at January 9, 2009 8:35 AM
comment #10
DeafBrownTrashPunk
says ...
this movie doesn't sound too bad, I'd definitely go see it if I can.
Posted by DeafBrownTrashPunk
at January 9, 2009 8:35 AM
comment #11
George Prager
says ...
MilkMan's head movies are bothering him.
Posted by George Prager
at January 9, 2009 9:47 AM
comment #12
nemo
says ...
It's amazing how hot she looks in those glasses.
Posted by nemo
at January 9, 2009 10:59 AM
comment #13
Mr Bohemian
says ...
The still looks boring,
anyone heard anything about Adopt A Sailor
or Larry Blamire's new film Dark and Stormy Night. they look enjoyable and playing the Palm Spring
Posted by Mr Bohemian
at January 9, 2009 11:03 AM
comment #14
CitizenKanedforChewingGum
says ...
No doubt, Nemo
Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum
at January 9, 2009 1:11 PM
comment #15
actionman
says ...
Goldberg was fantastic in 2 Days in Paris
Posted by actionman
at January 15, 2009 12:20 PM
comment #16
YRG
says ...
I like Adam Goldberg and wish he was in more films. I've liked him since he starred in that short run drama Relativity back in the 90s. But I still laughed at Milkman's post.
Posted by YRG
at January 15, 2009 12:40 PM
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