tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post8371454874841487813..comments2024-03-26T05:01:57.793-07:00Comments on DREAMS ARE WHAT LE CINEMA IS FOR...: ANNIE 2014Ken Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-60731566688234895422015-07-17T18:49:04.632-07:002015-07-17T18:49:04.632-07:00HI!
Thanks for so many interesting thoughtful obse...HI!<br />Thanks for so many interesting thoughtful observations.<br />While not a perfect film, I too find this Annie difficult not to like. I'm a traditionalist, musically speaking, so I would have loved more old-fashioned dance sequences, but that's just personal taste. I loved what they did in making an Annie that appeals to a different generation.(And yes, "I don't need anything but you" is fine example of reworking an old sold without losing the flavor of the original.<br /> <br /><br />It's funny about this film. When it was first announced, I actually wrote an article on another site saying what a bad idea it sounded like and how I was growing of Hollywood's remake mania.<br />But, as you note, there was such an overwhelming surge of anti-ANNIE internet vitriol released (most of it gingerly stepping about how not to say the main problem was a black Annie) that I quickly shifted courses. Like the anti-female venom tossed at the "Ghostbusters" remake, the voices of the moronic tends to galvanize those who are tired of the same movie tropes revisited over with no recognition that the real world is a great deal more varied than Hollywood tends to recognize.<br />I enjoyed reading your thoughts on what things worked for you and what things felt a little rushed (I have to agree with the rushed feeling of the ending with all that social media stuff. Very contemporary, but a killer of suspense).<br />Also, I like that you give some respect to Diaz who stepped into a role very much locked into a particular kind of portrayal. Must have been daunting. Thanks...it was wonderful hearing from you again! thanKen Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-7319659749104155212015-07-15T21:40:06.779-07:002015-07-15T21:40:06.779-07:00Hello again, Ken!
As an Annie fan in today's ...Hello again, Ken!<br /><br />As an Annie fan in today's internet age, you can imagine the vitriol 99% of the hardcore fans of the '82 version had for this film's upcoming release. (Consider me the on-the-fence one percenter at the time.) Much of that in my circle unsurprisingly centered on the casting of Miss Hannigan. If nothing else, I admire Diaz for just going for it, despite all the odds being against her. <br />Overall, I can't hate this movie. The approach to materialism and consumerism was a tad confusing, given the occasional product placement, as well as the ubiquitous presence of social media (which to be honest made the ending a little too easy, but that's just me). <br />You were right on the nose in describing the visual scope of the musical numbers. Huston's "Hard Knock Life" was huge, with dozens of girls disappearing after the number ended, while the '99 version seemed more like a filmed stage play. This version gets it just right. (And I LOVED how they updated "I Don't Need Anything But You", not to mention how it and the other songs were incorporated into the main score.)<br />I surprisingly liked the updates made for the secondary characters. Grace actually seems to have a life (albeit not a whole lot of one) outside of working for Stacks, and Nash is a pretty good update on Punjab (who, with all his problematic characteristics, was surprisingly badass in the '82 version). Replacing the Asp altogether was just the icing on the cake.<br />Quvenzhane Wallis is undoubtedly the glue that holds this movie together. More street-smart, less naive, and probably more believable for kids today. Probably my favorite touch with her in this movie was her continuing to sleep on the floor at Stacks' place even though she's been there for a while. It's surprisingly powerful. <br />Another little thing is that the romantic subplot between Grace and Stacks seems to be "thrown in" a little late compared to the '82 version, as if the writers forgot all about it at first but then were all like "by the way, these two are supposed to get together". Ironically, Byrne is now dating Cannavale, putting that punch at the end in a whole new light.<br />If there's anything with Miss Hannigan that's done a LOT better in this verson, it's her "turning good" and how it's actually advanced through song, as opposed to the '82 version, where it looked like it was LITERALLY thrown in at the last minute. Actually putting her in action to get Annie back here is more logical for the reason above. <br />Of course, I always wonder, what Harold Gray would have been horrified at more: Warbucks ultimately supporting the New Deal, or a "bleeding-heart liberal" political candidate having his own name.<br /><br />That's for the others on here to debate, I guess. ^-^Chynna Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01857709217067584091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-78576247320086019022015-01-07T15:17:55.313-08:002015-01-07T15:17:55.313-08:00Happy New year, Chris!
yes, "Annie" was ...Happy New year, Chris!<br />yes, "Annie" was released with the kind of reviews i hadn't seen since the days of "Mame", "Lost Horizon" and "Xanadu"...all films near and dear to my twisted heart.<br />"Annie" does indeed win out principally on the star quality of Wallis, whom I never got to see in "Beasts of the Southern Wild" but who, in this film, shows an amazing range in one so young. Those who have seen her previous film say that it is a delightful surprise to see her displaying such a gift for comedy.<br />I rarely ever write about contemporary films (I rarely SEE contemporary films) but this was such a happy surprise.<br />Looking forward to another year of film posts from you Chris, happy 2015 and thanks for commenting and for your enthusiastic support!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-61283583410326086912015-01-06T11:19:07.146-08:002015-01-06T11:19:07.146-08:00Happy New Year, Ken! Glad to hear you found this b...Happy New Year, Ken! Glad to hear you found this better than most of the reviewers I've read...I suspect it's the charm, talent and star power of its young leading lady. I was astonished by her transcendent performance in Beasts of the Southern Wild, she was a breath of fresh air and a ray of hope in an otherwise relentlessly downbeat film. Looks like Quvenzhane Wallis can carry a film and is now a full-fledged, A-List movie star...angelman66https://www.blogger.com/profile/16471674180789592940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-24468149475532163232015-01-01T12:21:31.822-08:002015-01-01T12:21:31.822-08:00Hi Neely!
Yes,I love it when a film takes me by su...Hi Neely!<br />Yes,I love it when a film takes me by surprise. And perhaps after 57 years and countless movie tropes I've grown familiar with, it takes a veritable lack of expectation for a film to surprise me.<br />I enjoyed this film far more than I expected, perhaps more than anyone else will; but I do believe its potential to mean something to an entire generation of little girls of color can't be underestimated. The very excellent observation you make about "Boys in the Band" is very apt (I'd never made a connection between Stonewall and the kind of burgeoning gay liberation a mainstream success like Crowley's play signaled). The arts influence us all, breaking down the differences and showing our shared humanity, and representation always matters very much. <br />A lovely sentiment you expressed for the new year. Culturally speaking, one more Annie out there doesn't mean very much, but I do like the idea that, if Annie is some kind of rite-of-passage in little girldom, there's now an Annie for a group of little girls ignored by the previous two screen incarnations.<br />Thanks, NeelyKen Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-87755638539051680412015-01-01T10:50:16.060-08:002015-01-01T10:50:16.060-08:00I honestly think the John Huston “Annie” is proble...I honestly think the John Huston “Annie” is problematic to a great many people, but at 32 years, it seems to be a sentimental favorite that has passed into the realm of “movies I grew up on” for an entire generation. To a certain age group, there’s an emotional fondness for that film that transcends its actual quality as a film. The same can be said of the stage show.<br /><br />Since “Annie” has been given the overblown, full-scale dance numbers, bigger-is-better treatment twice before, this “Annie” works so well for me precisely because it leaves all that behind. I’ve always felt the grandiose treatment obliterated the sweet story behind ‘Annie”; the more intimate treatment afforded this version reclaimed that for me.<br />Contemporary audiences may balk at the lack of enormous dance sequences, but I for one was grateful for a more scaled-down approach. <br /><br />And I do think that a great many of the reviews I read were subtexted by an affront felt that a black child would have the audacity to step into Annie’s Mary Janes.<br />The appropriation of black culture has been going on for so long that it passes with barely a notice, but the flip side tends to ruffle feathers.<br /><br />And thanks for bringing up “Dreamgirls.” What’s provocative about your referencing “Dreamgirls” is that it is a show about a black girl group which was only able to find mainstream success by adopting a “white” sound. To do a remake of “Dreamgirls” with a white cast all you’d have to do is make the Miley Cyrus , Iggy Izalea, Justin Timberlake, Elvis Presley, Boswell Sisters (etc., etc...) story!<br /><br />Over the holiday I had the opportunity to catch a few Shirley Temple films on TV. I was reminded what a great debt the original Broadway production of “Annie” owes to some of these films (especially “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm”).<br /><br />In the end, the subjective merits of this 2014 “Annie” aside, I hope that in 32 years, added to the crop of little red haired girls who say “Annie” made them feel special when they were growing up, there are hordes little black girls saying the same.<br /><br />Thank you for thought-provoking comments which allow me to add these length addendums to my already lengthy posts! Happy New Year to you, too! Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-16706113770539898392015-01-01T09:30:08.806-08:002015-01-01T09:30:08.806-08:00Wow, Ken, don'cha love it when you walk into a...Wow, Ken, don'cha love it when you walk into a movie theater and have your expectation turned completely on its head?! All too rare, unfortunately.<br /><br />While I can't say I'm going to rush out and plunk down my $17 (NYC prices are the pits), I'm far more inclined now to check this out when it streams on one of my subscription services, and when I do it will be with a whole other mind set, thanks to your post. (Loved Wallis in Beasts Of The Southern Wild, but have always felt about Annie as you do, so it was a non-starter for me before I read your thoughts.)<br /><br />Wanted to say that you make a wonderful point (which has been completely absent from everything else I've read) about the empowerment of seeing one's self represented in art -- it's truly transformative.<br /><br />The death of Judy Garland in June, 1969 is often held up as one of the major inciting incidents of the Stonewall riots and the subsequent burgeoning of the gay rights movement. I've always found the connection a little spurious.<br /><br />In 1996 I was fortunate enough to be cast in the 25th anniversary Off-B'way revival of Mart Crowley's The Boys In The Band, and did some research on the period in which the play was set, as well as the history of the original production.<br /><br />The original production had opened about a year before Stonewall, and while gay themed plays in NYC were nothing new (John Glines had been slaving away Off-Off, and sometimes beneath, for years), TBITB was the first gay play that went mainstream, becoming a solid hit, and a must-see for straight theatergoers from the "bridge and tunnel" crowd. I believe this, far more than Garland's passing, was likely a major force behind Stonewall.<br /><br />Suddenly gay men saw themselves represented as they truly were (yes, negative stereotypes included), but more importantly, straight audiences saw them for the first time as people rather than caricatures. Larry Luckinbill, who was in the original, told me that he emerged from the theater one night after a performance to find middle aged man sobbing to his wife, "Those boys -- what's going to become of those boys?" That's a powerful, attitude-altering reaction.<br /><br />When I floated this idea to Mart Crowley, he said he had never considered it, but had to admit that it had some validity.<br /><br />So now I find myself hoping that a film in which I previously had less than no interest finds a wider audience, if only to give one little girl of color (and perhaps some of her less enlightened white friends and their parents) a fresh outlook.<br /><br />Wouldn't that be a lovely way to start the new year?!Neely OHarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967247631845210906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-37982622723732040422015-01-01T06:34:13.264-08:002015-01-01T06:34:13.264-08:00Hi Ken,
I haven't seen this new version of Ann...Hi Ken,<br />I haven't seen this new version of Annie (and have dim recollections of John Huston's very dim movie of it from the early 80s), but I appreciate your thoughtful and enthusiastic take on it, especially considering some of the really bad reviews it got. Surely these reviewers didn't feel affronted about a remake of the Huston version, which I think no one liked? The criticism that I read focused on the musical numbers lacking pizazz - but isn't that more in line with what audiences expect from musicals today? The big-budget numbers from the 40s and 50s are unfortunately dead; young audiences today would probably not know what to make of them. Indeed, the whole movie-musical format has changed drastically; most musical films today are actually animated - the stylized convention of characters suddenly breaking into song and dance seems most accepted in the stylized format of the cartoon. As for Wallis's supposed dancing and singing inadequacies - I think the same could be said of Shirley Temple. If anyone bothers to go back and dispassionately watch the old Temple musicals, note that she sings with a small child's piping voice (she was no vocal phenomenon like Judy Garland) and the choreography is scaled down to her abilities (for contrast, watch an old musical starring the teenaged phenoms Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan, or anything with the very young Nicholas Brothers, who were true prodigies). And I'd rather hear an actor sing in his own voice than be dubbed by obvious fakery. <br /><br />Do you think the critical hostility could be generated (even if unconsciously) by the new Annie's revision, of taking a beloved white character and making her a black child in modern times? (I wonder what would be the reaction if Dreamgirls was remade and recast with white actors?) Again, I haven't seen this new Annie film myself, so I'm only going by what I've read, but I really liked your conclusion, that the new Annie reflects the experience of your own sisters and would have given them a role model. And it's a big world out there; surely there's room for many different takes on a theme. Happy New Year, by the way; am looking forward to reading more of your terrific posts in 2015!Grand Old Movieshttp://grandoldmovies.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-77355943612723938952014-12-31T19:20:07.077-08:002014-12-31T19:20:07.077-08:00Hi Cathy
That's great you want to give "A...Hi Cathy<br />That's great you want to give "Annie" a chance! But as I always say, remember, no matter how persuasive my words may be, keep in mind I'm the guy who lists "Xanadu" as one of his favorite films! <br />My taste in films is largely subjective, emotional, and only tangentially concerned with some of the things that send the average moviegoer running for the exits.<br />I like Cameron Diaz a lot as a person (she took my class), but as an actress I think she's a little ham-fisted with her comedy. I don't think she's ever been better than she was in "Vanilla Sky."<br />Jamie Foxx is not a particular favorite, but I like him a lot in this, his narrow range fitting nicely with the uptight germaphobe they make Stacks out to be.<br />I can't even remember when I enjoyed a new musical (Sweeney Todd, perhaps...and that's going back some), but this Annie did it for me. <br />Thanks for reading my post, and I hope you enjoy the film! You'll likely have the theater to yourself.<br />Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-13292366925941369702014-12-31T15:47:05.411-08:002014-12-31T15:47:05.411-08:00Okay Ken, you got me, I have to see the movie.
...Okay Ken, you got me, I have to see the movie. <br /><br />There was one thing you said, which I think anyone who has ever seen a movie with her in it can agree, "Cameron Diaz’s over-caffeinated approach to the character of Miss Hannigan takes some getting used to." She's that way with every character so she is hard to take and my least favorite person to watch - ugh, so that will be a pain point. As for Jamie Foxx, other than in Collateral (he blew me away) and Law Abiding Citizen, I find him tough to take. I think he's one of those actors that has difficulty dropping his character after the film has wrapped, so he carries a lot of the same characteristics from the previous role into the new one.<br /><br />So I'm trying out the movie because of your review and the updated course it took :) Thank you.Cathy Pnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-51814541367473777852014-12-31T10:23:02.640-08:002014-12-31T10:23:02.640-08:00Hi John
If you're a hard bitten cynic, then so...Hi John<br />If you're a hard bitten cynic, then so am I, for when I saw the first teaser for "Annie" I posted a brief article on another site about the tiresome trend of remakes. I said the film looked terrible! <br />So much for snap judgments. , <br />That you got to play Bert Healy in NY production would most assuredly put you in the camp not overjoyed by the prospect of a remake. (How cool is that, by the way...your own song!)<br />Your tolerance for this film's unevenness may have a lot to do with how much you're willing to forgive in the name of a film that is rather sweet-natured and devoid of the kind of wise-ass humor that's grown so common in kid's movies today.<br />And no matter what you think of the finished film, we can all agree that being spared Will Smith's daughter in a film produced by her father is something we can all be thankful for. Good to hear from you, John!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-77161710580376074812014-12-31T09:49:07.204-08:002014-12-31T09:49:07.204-08:00I guess I'm such a hard bitten cynic all I cou...I guess I'm such a hard bitten cynic all I could think when I saw this trailer in the theater a few days ago was "Oh no, not again!" You're surprising review (from an unabashed child actor hater!) sees the movie for what it is and taught me a few things about my own prejudices. I can judge very quickly based on only two minutes of a movie trailer. I love the original so much. I had a blast playing Bert Healy, et al. in a non-Equity NY production ages ago when I was 25 so I of course will be biased in that regard. It's hard for me to want to like a re-envisioned version of ANNIE. I just may go see this now if only to witness the talents of the young girl in the lead. I have to admit Jamie Fox sure looked like he was having fun in his role in some of the scenes. I vaguely recall the story of Will Smith wanting to use this as a vehicle for his talentless daughter. So glad we were all spared another vanity project from the vast seas of Hollywood nepotism.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-2169069621534812462014-12-31T08:26:40.840-08:002014-12-31T08:26:40.840-08:00Hi Wille
Thank you, and I'm glad you enjoyed t...Hi Wille<br />Thank you, and I'm glad you enjoyed the review! I think it's my first time ever writing about a film I've only seen once. My personal taste in movies is sometimes so offbeat that I never feel i can say with much certainty that someone else will like a film I enjoy, but your dislike of the 1982 version at least puts you in the category of being potentially "receptive" to someone taking another crack at the musical. <br />The one thing that's undeniable is that Wallis is some kind of an actress. I tend to LOATHE children in movies, but she completely captivated me. I think she's fantastic in the role.<br />And you're so right, sometimes all a movie needs to do is make us smile, and on that score "Annie" came out a winner.<br />Wille, I extend my heartfelt thanks for your being such a longtime reader of this blog. I hope 2015 is a great year for you as well! Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-79398544128701348722014-12-31T08:00:31.358-08:002014-12-31T08:00:31.358-08:00Hello Ken, I enjoyed reading your review if the n...Hello Ken, I enjoyed reading your review if the new improved "Annie". It made me want to see it. It seems better than the 1982 version, which I never wanted watch again. I saw the trailer for the latest version and Quvenzhané Wallis is really charming and seems like a good actress. We'll hopefully be seeing much more of her in films to come. Sometimes all we need is a movie to make us smile. <br />I hope 2015 will be a good year for you. Thanks for all the great reviews!<br />-WilleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com