Jeff Wells

This is actually the only scene in No Hard Feelings that really, really touches bottom….that really works.

[Posted two years ago — 6.18.23] “It’s very difficult to do comedy because if they don’t laugh when they should laugh, you are there with egg on your face, and that’s sad. In a serious picture you don’t hear them being bored, but in a comedy you can hear them not laughing. You tried so hard and the guy did the pratfall, but nothing — and you wish you were dead.” — Billy Wilder.

I really wanted to have a great bawdy old time with No Hard Feelings (Sony, 6.23), a casually coarse sex comedy about an “inappropriate age gap” relationship between Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence), a 32 year-old Montauk bartender in a financial hole, and Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), an introverted 19-year-old who’s about to become a Princeton freshman.

Percy’s helicopter parents (Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti) are concerned about his lack of outgoingness plus the fact that he’s still a virgin, so they place an ad in Craigslist that says “looking for a 20something woman who can pull our son out of his shell” — the implication being that they want this woman to sexually initiate the lad and generally prepare him for the social pressures of college.

They’re slightly concerned about Maddie being (a) 13 years older than Percy and (b) something of a low-rent townie, but they figure a woman who’s been around and has some mileage will handle him with care, etc.

So the premise isn’t bad and right off the top you can see that the laughs will come out of the somewhat impatient, blunt-spoken Maddie feeling increasingly frustrated and even irate as her attempts to seduce the reticent, romantic-minded Percy lead nowhere. You can also see from the get-go that Maddie and Percy will soon get past the sexual initiation and performance stuff and start relating to each other as vulnerable humans, etc.

To his credit, director and co-screenwriter Gene Stupnitsky balances the lewd and rude material with moments of introspection and truth-telling.

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Based upon events that led to the 2010 West Memphis police shootings, Christian Swegal‘s well-reviewed Sovereign opens Friday, 7.11. This is the first I’ve ever heard of it. Costarring Nick (“keep that bath towel on!”) Offerman, Jacob Tremblay, Thomas Mann, Nancy Travis, Martha Plimpton, Dennis Quaid.

The best part comes at the 12:30 mark.

Penn: “I fully understand and believe in sensitivity, and allowing anyone to feel the way they want to feel, but I don’t know how you talk about pronouns when babies are gettin’ fuckin vaporized on the front line in Ukraine. I don’t even know how you even talk about it.”

“Thank God no one asked him the toughest question — ‘Why the hell did you make Shanghai Surprise? — I think his life since then has been one of self-flagellation for unleashing that horror upon humanity.” —@Borella309

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After writing and thinking yesterday about the late Gwen Welles, whose peak career achievement was her Nashville performance as an absurdly untalented, ultimately humiliated country singer, I came upon a portion of Donna Deitch‘s An Angel on My Shoulder, a doc about Welles’ cancer affliction and death. (She passed on 10.13.93.)

Diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in 1992, Gwen decided against conventional treatments.

Besides her Nashville highlight she acted in Robert Altman‘s California Split (’74), and in three Henry Jaglom films. She lived with Roger Vadim for three years in France. She married the recently passed Harris Yulin in the mid or late ’80s — they stayed together until her death.

HE will submit to Superman early Wednesday evening. I will post a fair and balanced review by 10 or 11 pm tomorrow night.

Written by the San Francisco Chronicle‘s G. Allen Johnson:

The first thing you need to know about James Gunn’s version of Superman is that he can be hurt and he can bleed without the presence of kryptonite, which makes you wonder if he’s even Superman at all.

The second is that he has a superdog, Krypto, which raises a lot of questions. Did this dog stow away on baby Superman’s spaceship before the planet Krypton exploded? If so, is he immortal, because he’d be about 30 years old, or 210 in dog years? And why isn’t he yet out of his puppy phase?

Superman operates as an almost parody of the superhero genre, which may be appealing to some. It has the same silliness of Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies, which are some of the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but that irreverence doesn’t fit the Superman character.

Superman, created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster for Action Comics #1 in 1938, is not just any ole superhero. He’s special, a moral avatar in shifting times.

In 2025’s Superman, which is far from the worst Superman movie but also far from the best, he is merely another interchangeable caped crusader in an era, whether it be DC or the MCU, in which every other superhero with arrested development can do all the things Superman can do.

A very serviceable David Corenswet assumes the cape and his alter ego Clark Kent, the Daily Planet reporter who is barely in this movie. Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) is Lois Lane, who, as the movie opens, already knows Clark is Superman.

One of the pleasures of the movie is they actually seem hot for each other; there are a couple of erotic kisses that are quite unusual in this era of asexual superheroes, although it must be said that in 1981’s Superman II Christopher Reeve’s Supe and Margot Kidder’s Lois actually made love within misting distance of Niagara Falls.

You might be wondering about the plot. Same here. (HE interjection: Funny!)

It involves Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult of Juror #2 and Nosferatu) essentially keeping Superman distracted by smearing him on social media and unleashing creatures, including a Godzilla-like lizard, on Metropolis while Luthor engineers a war in the Middle East.

Social media and screens in general are big in Superman, with citizens of Metropolis taking selfies with attacking creatures in the background, making one wonder if any of them deserve to be saved. Even the ultimate man cave, Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, is outfitted like a gamer’s paradise.

Of course, these days there can’t be just one superhero in a movie. You have to expand your universe, so popping up as the plot dictates is the Green Lantern (a badly miscast Nathan Fillion in a badly miscast blond wig), Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced of The Last of Us).

Given that these films take years to make, it’s chilling how many scenes reflect current reality. The Middle East war between the fictional Boravia and Jarhanpur seems very reminiscent of the Israel-Hamas conflict. At one point, Superman is arrested by masked agents and, because he is an immigrant, is stripped of due process and shipped off to a foreign prison.

Those prescient scenes make the movie sound better than it is. Gunn is so focused on eye candy and swirling activity that he glosses over the human element, aside from those Lois-Clark smooches and one nice scene between Clark and his parents (Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell). Wasted is Perry White (Wendell Pierce) and Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), though it’s nice to see that the Daily Planet still values their print edition.

Superman is a mess, but it’s a colorful one. It’s either a terrible superhero movie or an OK parody. Take your pick.

…was 15 years ago. It happened at a downtown post-screening after-party — we’d all just seen Dunham’s semi-autobiographical Tiny Furniture — in the fall of 2010. I was a huge instant admirer, of course. The honestly dreary vibe struck me as genuine.

The 5’3” Dunham was 24 at the time. In my review [see below] I mentioned weight as an influential factor in her Tiny Furniture character’s arc or fate. Yes, even back then.

During a post-screening q&a at Goldcrest: (l.) Anne Carey, (r.) “Tiny Furniture” director-screenwriter-actress Lena Dunham.

Dunham, Tiny Furniture producer Kyle Martin.

Dunham, now 39, is currently doing press for Too Much (7.10), her new London-based, semi-autobiographical Netflix romcom series.

I’m not saying a word.

@bbcnews Lena Dunham says she's been focusing on writing projects that don't centre her as an actor, adding that she feels "lucky" to have a relationship with her body that exists outside of what she says is a "deeply fatphobic" society. #LenaDunham #TooMuch #NetflixSeries #BodyImage #Health #News #BBCNews ♬ original sound – BBC News

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…that producers of Criterion Closet videos have traditionally kept the hands and arms of assistants or friends or whomever this woman might be…friendly hands and arms aren’t allowed to intrude upon Criterion Closet videos…period and finito.

Secondly, Cavett’s praise of Criterion’s Only Angels Have Wings Bluray is mistaken or under-informed or something, as I pointed out nine years ago in an HE riff called “‘Angels’ Shadowed to Death.” It’s the darkest, inkiest rendering of this 1939 classic ever created. The mine-shaft blacks and haunted-house shadows are thoroughly noirish and gloom-ridden. Somewhere in heaven Gordon Willis is quaking with envy.

Except for two irksome elements, Mariska Hargitay‘s My Mom Jayne (Max) is an emotionally affecting doc about identity — both suppressed (Mariska’s) and misunderstood (in the case of Mariska’s late mom, Jayne Mansfield) — and emotional closure by way of family ties and genetics.

It’s a little too weepy and whiney here and here. There is always an urge among modern women to turn women of the past into victims. But the doc settles in and touches bottom by the end.

In plainer terms, it’s about (a) the 61 year-old Mariska delving into who her famous blonde bombshell mom (who died in a horribly violent car crash at age 34) really was deep down, and (b) how Mariska came to discover that her biological dad wasn’t Mickey Hargitay, her putative father who was married to Mansfield between 1958 and 1964 and who raised Mariska after Mansfield’s death.

Mariska’s actual dad is a Brazilian-Italian lounge singer named Nelson Sardelli, whom Mansfield had an extra-marital affair with in mid ’63 and early ’64.

Mariska didn’t get around to facing the truth about Sardelli until the early 1990s, a year or so before she turned 30. For structural and dramatic reasons the doc holds his information back until the final 25 minutes or so.

Irksome element #1 is that as a young child Mariska (aka Maria) appeared to have been adopted, as her eyes and hair were much darker than those of her siblings. Any stranger would have taken one look at young Mariska and presumed she wasn’t from the same gene pool as her two brothers, Miklos and Zoltan, whose natural father was Mickey Hargitay; ditto her much older sister, Jayne Marie Mansfield, from her mom’s first marriage.

Mariska’s biological dad, the Neapolitan-featured Sardelli, was born in Brazil and is of Italian descent. Hence Mariska looked vaguely like a daughter of southern Italy or Sicily. She certainly bore no resemblance to her Hungarian body-builder caregiver “dad”, who was born in Budapest. It’s odd how this obvious biological fact was ignored or denied for as long as it was. Which just goes to show that if there’s a strong enough will, denial can be a very powerful force in people’s lives.

Irksome element #2 occurs when Mariska interviews actor Tony Cimber (born in ‘65), the son of Jayne and her third husband, Matt Cimber, a film director and promoter.

Mariska confronts Tony with stories about some ugly behavior that happened between Jayne and Matt, mostly a result of Matt’s provocation (presumably domestic violence and bruisings). She seems to be asking Tony to atone for these incidents or perhaps even accept responsibility for his father having struck Jane — a bizarre idea, to say the least. Tony says he’s not going to “own” his father’s behavior, as he doesn’t see how this could lead to anything that would heal or cleanse. Mariska’s non-verbal but emotionally readable response is one of seeming disapproval or disappointment.

HE to God: In what realm do you look at the son or daughter of an acknowledged shithead and say, “You need to face the fact that your parent was an abusive person, and so perhaps you need to apologize for this.” WHAT?

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By describing his upcoming Superman flick as an “immigrant story,” director James Gunn is basically looking to kiss the ass of the wokester brigade.

Rather than deifying Superman/Clark Kent as a true-blue heartland innocent who believes (or once believed back in Chris Reeve‘s day) in truth, justice and the American way, Gunn is trying to “woke” up this decades-old tentpole franchise.

Superman is an immigrant…wokey-wokey! Just like some guy from Nicaragua swimming across the Rio Grande in the dead of night. Just like young Vito Corleone arriving at Ellis Island at the turn of the century. Just like Elon Musk arriving in Canada from South Africa in 1989.

Cut the shit…Superman has never been and never will be “an immigrant.” He’s a saintly, goody-two-shoes, all-powerful alien from another planet…a visitor with powers well beyond those known to mortal men. He isn’t an Eastern European Jew fleeing from hate and oppression.. He isn’t a Gaza Palestinian looking to escape Israel’s wrath. He hasn’t crossed the Mexican border while listening to Tejano music. He’s a musclebound, axe-blade handsome, red-cape-wearing whiteboy who zips around and wows the womenfolk.

Seriously: When immigrants arrive in this country, legally or illegally, they start at the bottom of the social totem pole. They take the shittiest, grubbiest jobs that pay the least. Superman, by contrast, was way ahead of the eight ball when he on.arrived from Krypton. So he’s no “immigrant”. He’s a solid, square-shouldered, good-looking guy with a big, swinging Krypton dick….flyin’ faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, an ability to leap tall buildings with a single bound.

“Superman is the story of America,” Gunn has told The Hollywood Reporter. “An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country”….bullshit!

Gunn has explicitly framed Superman “as an immigrant, emphasizing that he is not from Earth and must navigate a new world and culture“….bullshit, James! This allows Superman “to explore themes relevant to the immigrant experience, such as adapting to a new environment, dealing with prejudice, and finding a sense of belonging”….you’re full of it!

Gunn: “For me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.” Agreed but so what? This world is rough, and if a man’s gonna make it he’s gotta be tough.

What a load of crap this “Superman is a lowly immigrant” thing is. Crap! A tall pile of it!

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“The problem is that saving 200 pounds a month for a deposit on your first property makes very little sense when the price of that property grows by tens of thousands every year.

“This sense of the things you actually want speeding away from you on a train you’ll never catch…this is the real driving force behind the popularity of politicians like Mamdani.”

I still think Mamdani’s assured victory in the forthcoming New York mayoral election is a one-off.

Originally posted on 3.4.10: The Warner Bros. logo fanfare music that begins Lewis Milestone‘s Ocean’s 11 (1960) is the most enjoyable part of the film, hands down.

The second best part is Saul Bass‘s animated casino-attitude title sequence. Obviously old-school by today’s standards, but you can sense the smooth cocky mentality of late ’50s showbiz culture — the hold-the-clyde, chickie-baby attitude of Frank Sinatra and those those godawful orange sweaters he used to wear as he lounged around with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. The mob guys who used to run things in Las Vegas would cater to the Rat Pack’s every whim, and there were always accommodating broads to hand out back rubs and…uhm, whatever else.

HE never even came close to a whiff of this kind of life (way before my time), but I can imagine.

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If there’s one ’90s movie I’m determined to never, ever watch again, it’s Adrien Lyne‘s Indecent Proposal (’93). It was bad enough sitting through it the first time.

I lost it early on when Demi Moore‘s narration track used the term “dream house”. (Anyone who says those two words in that sequence deserves an instant, life-long demerit.)

Robert Redford‘s John Gage was supposed to be an odious millionaire, but there was no believing that because Redford can’t do odious, much less icky — it’s not in him. No matter the role (and I’m not counting Little Fauss and Big Halsy), he always played fair-minded straight-shooters.

As a testament to its own cynicism, Indecent Proposal uses a two-headed coin in the exact opposite way that Only Angels Have Wings uses one, which is interesting.

Just before his million-dollar night with Moore is about to commence on a yacht, Redford/Gage offers to forget the whole deal based on a coin toss — heads she submits, tails she walks.

Redford flips a half-dollar coin and it comes up heads, and so Moore stays and fulfills the deal by “doing” him every which way. At the finale he gives the coin to Moore for good luck. She flips it over and realizes it has heads on both sides. Redford/Gage therefore confirms that he’s a dishonest, manipulative shit.

Posted in 2018: The realm of Only Angels Have Wings is all-male, all the time. Feelings run quite strong (the pilots who are “good enough” love each other like brothers) but nobody lays their emotional cards on the table face-up.

Particularly Cary Grant‘s Geoff, a brusque, hard-headed type who never has a match on him. He gradually falls in love with Jean Arthur but refuses to say so or even show it very much.

But he does subtly reveal his feelings at the end with the help of a two-headed coin. It’s not what any woman or poet would call a profound declaration of love, but it’s as close to profound as it’s going to get in this 1939 Howard Hawks film. If Angels were remade today with Jennifer Lawrence in the Arthur role she’d probably say “to hell with it” and catch the boat, but in ’39 the coin was enough. Easily one of the greatest finales in Hollywood history.