FEATURED FILM -- PAST FEATURES

Week of August 17

SPEEDWAY (1968)

"Singers come and go, but if you're a good actor, you can last a long time." - Elvis Presley

In terms of rocking and rolling, Elvis will always reign supreme as the roughest, toughest bad ass on this side of the planet. But to say that he brought that same kind of charm to the movie screen as his revolutionary rump-shaking did to the music biz would be overstating it. While his film career began with some highly praised roles in Jailhouse Rock and King Creole in the late '50s, the quality of his movies quickly spiraled downward as he began churning them out at an average of almost three per year. By 1968 when he shot "Speedway," his movies became insufferable to his less loyal and aging teenaged audience. But while "Speedway" is a classic example of his deteriorating acting career with its achingly predictable boy-meets-girl-who-first-fights-him-off-but-eventually-falls-for-his-irresistible-charm plotline, I loved it.

The film features Nancy Sinatra as an IRS agent who has come to collect back taxes from a racecar driver, played by Elvis, whose altruistic motives tend to get him into trouble. When Elvis' character meets a former fellow racer, who is struggling to support his four little girls and is now living in his broken-down station wagon, he buys them a new car and food to last them for weeks. When he meets a teary-eyed waitress who wants to marry her fiance but can't afford it, what does he do? -- he finances their wedding and buys them new furniture for their apartment, of course. But with his manager secretly gambling away all his winnings, his bank account cannot support his good intentions, and he finds himself asking Ms. Sinatra's character for pity. In the end and as usual, it's happily ever after.

But what it is that I actually love about "Speedway" is that it mirrors Elvis' own generosity, whose personal credo was, "Sharing money is what gives it its value." During his lifetime, he gave away over a hundred cars, mostly expensive Caddies, and diamond-encrusted rings bearing the initials of his signature saying, "Taking Care of Business." For his nurse, he bought a mink coat; for his maid, a house. Once when he saw a young couple ogling the cars at a Cadillac dealership, he asked them to pick out one they liked, and Elvis instantly wrote a check for it. Growing up, he often lived for days on just corn bread and water in a tiny two-room shack, and this fact is, no doubt, one that made him sympathize for those less fortunate than him. Though Elvis was indeed a bad ass, what I'll always worship most about him is his heart of gold.

R. I. P. -- August 16, 1977

Week of August 10

RATTLE & HUM (1988)

When Rattle & Hum was released in 1988, it was met with lukewarm reviews by the movie critics. Yet, while they falsely concluded and criticized U2 for exalting themselves to the legendary rock status of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones, fans from around the world revelled in the behind-the-scenes glimpse into the band's explosive performances and equally atomic personalities. For U2 junkies, Rattle & Hum actually pulled these celebrities off their pedestals (that of course WE placed them on) and placed them back on earth where we can recognize them just as fun, friendly, boy-next-door types. Instead of the self-righteous superstars that the media often made them out to be, U2 appear as modest musicians who simply love rocking out. Adam, who usually seems so subdued and stationary on stage, is seen bobbing his head and body as he's tickling his bass in "Helter Skelter" and "Bullet The Blue Sky." Throughout the rockumentary, Edge defies and decries the standards of gunslinger guitar players when he wrestles around with his instrument to translate the music to the crowd. Bono's ability to touch a live audience is never in question when he saturates "Bad" and "Running To Stand Still" with such a soaring sadness that even he almost loses control of his own emotions.

Still, in my opinion, the greatest facet of the movie is that it provides a passport to the more playful and pained sides of Larry Mullen's character. Though he usually seems petulant and grumpy whenever the cameras and the mics are around, Larry lets loose in Rattle & Hum when he mocks Adam's gesticulations and giggles after he interrupts the "Angel of Harlem" session to scratch an itchy foot. Then certain sentimental scenes involving Elvis Presley threaten to make your eyes puff up as Larry's own start to swell when he's at Graceland stroking his hero's beloved Harley and as he gets so choked up that he can no longer speak about how much he admires the rocker. With that and Bono's humbled demeanor when in B. B. King's company, I just don't understand how anyone can suspect U2 of putting themselves under such pretensions for that movie.

Though of course it is no Imagine, Rattle & Hum altogether succeeds in showing its audience that though it was never U2's intention to do so, the band's devotion to the music and to their audience deservedly puts them in the same league as B. B., the Beatles, and all other rock legends.

Week of August 3

THE VAN (1997)

Q: Why should you watch this movie?
A: Ask me arse!

Generally, when you see a film, you expect there to be some sort of theme or message, but not in this case. In this Stephen Frears film, Colm Meaney and Donal O'Kelly star as Larry and Bimbo, best friends living in a poor area of Ireland during the 1990 World Cup. Both Larry and Bimbo have families and are always short of money, most likely due to the devastated economy that defined Ireland for much of the 1980s and early 1990s. So they come up with the brilliant idea of purchasing an old mobile van that they clean up and convert into Bimbo's Burgers. It was a sure-fire plan to make loads of money, especially with the World Cup going on, attracting many fans after the games. Well, it was a sure-fire plan until it tore Larry and Bimbo apart. Though the movie lacks a purpose, it is completely hilarious, and the fact that I could not understand about half of the dialogue, probably because I'm not Irish, made it even funnier. I don't know why Eric Clapton, a Grammy Award winner, would spend his time creating music for this film, but it does provide a great soundtrack to this cinematic treasure, however pointless it may be.

Also by Stephen Frears: The Commitments and The Snapper

Week of July 26

ENTROPY

In 1999, Phil Joanou, of Rattle & Hum fame, released his farcical though autobiographical indie flick about his love life going loco on him. Stephen Dorff delivers a polished but unpretentious performance as Jake Walsh, a struggling director whose instant infatuation with a model turns out to be true love but which ultimately suffers from sudden twists of fate. The prelude to that apocalyptic romance is his recruitment from what the studio chairman calls "soft-focus art for booze-addled brain-fried pop stars," a.k.a. U2's music videos, to a promising directorial debut of a period piece. However, once the producers of the film begin to scrutinize his every move, Jake begins to brood over the regrettable experience until meeting Stella [Judith Godreche] causes him to put those worries on the back burner. Without giving away too much of the rest of the plot, the couple enjoys a passionate, blissful first few weeks when news of Stella's pregnancy puts quite a damper on the carefree nature of the relationship. From then on, it's hell for Jake.

With the self-effacing humor that it is founded upon, Joanou has created a delightfully modest motion picture which promises to either tug at your heartstrings or to have you wanting to slap his character upside the head. In this screenplay that he wrote himself, Joanou also has Jake playing his own conscience with the boxer-clad director often interrupting the action to insert his editorial comments from a retrospective light. [You have to see it to know what I mean.] Bono, the "Irish bastard," and the rest of U2 make several cameos throughout the film with highlights during Jake's drunken hallucinations... But, if for nothing else, the movie's all worth the $3 to rent just to see Larry Mullen's one-word Oscar-worthy performance. : ) [Adam and Edge have no speaking roles themselves, although a certain other mammalian creature was caught - much to my shock - mouthing off advice to Jake.] My final word on Entropy is that though I only initially watched it for U2's appearance in it, I was pleasantly surprised at how outrageous and funny it is, and it has since become one of my favorite movies.

NOTE: Caution, parents. Don't watch this one with your kids around. There are sex scenes and nudity early in the movie. And in imitation of typical Irish fashion, they all swear like truckers.

Week of July 19

BLUE HAWAII (1961)

Blue Hawaii was Elvis' most successful movie, grossing $5 million dollars, and if you watch it, there's no doubt you'll understand why. Listening to him sing "Can't Help Falling in Love" to Maile's grandmother - Maile's his girlfriend - it was all I could do to keep myself from buckling at the knees. (Actually the couch I was laying on may have helped.) For all the girls, you get to see his little bum in spandex, and for the guys, you get to see all the girls in baby bathing suits. There's even some spanking action in it...Yeah, needless to say, we were shocked when we saw that. Elvis is, as always, incredibly charming and charismatic in Blue Hawaii, lighting up your little screen with dorky dance numbers and totally cheesy, but totally awesome, music. Despite the lack of a plot line, the movie's just a fun one to watch.

Other movies to check out: Jailhouse Rock (1957), Viva Las Vegas (1964), and Loving You (1957). (If you're wondering about which movie Larry's talking about in Rattle & Hum, where Elvis plays a truck driver, it's Loving You. The movie was supposed to be loosely based on his life.)