“Forgotten Hollywood”- 21st Century 50 Fav Films (#34, #33)…

Posted on June 30, 2021 by raideoman1 | No Comments

Manny P. here…

“`As we continue the countdown of my favorite fifty films of the previous two decades, I am surely feeling a New York state of mind. The next two entries offers the Big Apple as the definitive backdrop. Historically, great cinematic stories have been enhanced by the New York skyline, including King KongManhattan Melodrama, On the Town, Guys and Dolls, and Woody Allen’s Manhattan.  My next two choices are standouts that belong on this provincial list…

=====================

~ #34 – THE PRODUCERS (2005)

“`Based on the eccentric 1967 movie that starred Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder and the 2001 Broadway musical, The Producers is the brainchild of arguably the funniest individual on the planet… Mel Brooks. The film stars an ensemble cast led by Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Will Ferrell, Roger Bart, and Jon Lovitz.

“`The premise…   The Internal Revenue Service seldomly investigate the finances of Broadway flops. Broderick’s character jests that by selling an excess of shares and embezzling the funds, a flop could generate up to two million dollars. Lane’s alter-ego goes on a search for the worst theatrical play in history.  Only Brooks uses Adolf Hitler for laughs, as he does in almost every movie he ever produced. And the score is very hummable.

“`The musical received four Golden Globe nominations despite mixed reviews. Lane compares favorably to Mostel; Broderick is no Gene Wilder. When I attended the West Coast production, Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom were played by Jason Alexander and Martin Short. While Jason is no Nathan Lane, Short would have been a more hilarious on screen selection than Broderick in my estimation.

“`Brooks tramples on all comedy of manners. His pedigree stems from his membership on the writing staff of Your Show of Shows that included Woody Allen, Neil Simon, and Carl Reiner. He also collaborated with Buck Henry on Get Smart. There are reasons to take offense at his material. His work reminds us of bygone days when Don Rickles, Lenny Bruce, Redd Foxx and George Carlin were popular among wide swaths of the population.

         

~ #33 – BROOKLYN (2015)

“`Set in 1951, Brooklyn is a romantic drama and a co-production from the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada. Saoirse Ronan solidified her star-status with this production. The movie follows a young Irishwoman who emigrates to Brooklyn to find employment.  She marries an Italian plumber and is forced to choose between her home town of Enniscorthy in Ireland, or her new life in Brooklyn.

“`Here is a coming-of-age film that could have been made during Hollywood’s Golden Age. It moves at a leisurely pace and can honestly be referenced as a chick-flick. I am an unabashed lover of this genre of moviemaking and I cite The Philadelphia Story, Father of the Bride, All about EveCousin CousineThe Big Chill, and Julie/Julia as a couple of my favorites. Brooklyn earned three Oscar nods: Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

“`The flick is faithfully adapted from Irish writer Colm Tóibín’s novel. The book and the movie have equally been praised for their refreshing perspective on the plight of the Irish immigrant. Brooklyn is set at a time when Irish migration to New York was thriving. By the end of World War II, new arriving citizens were able to discover bustling Irish communities in which women were arguably a more significant presence than men. These women immigrants were active in the workplace, placing marriage ambitions on hold to find practical occupations in places such as supermarkets, eateries, and stores.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 30th, 2021 at 7:18 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


Bookmark this post:
Digg Del.icio.us Reddit Furl Google Bookmarks StumbleUpon Windows Live Technorati Yahoo MyWeb



Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.