John C. Reilly

HEADS OR TAILS?: a spaghetti western goes off the rails

by
Photo caption: John C. Reilly in HEADS OR TAILS? Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Company.

Well, this was a disappointment. One of my personal favorite sub-genres is the Spaghetti Western. I really admired The Tale of King Crab, the first narrative by writer-directors Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis, and I was delighted to see these guys riffing off Sergio Leone in a movie starring Nadia Tereszkiewicz, with her sexy magnetism and feral unpredictability, Allesandro Borghi of the acclaimed The Eight Mountains, and the always hilarious John C. Reilly. This looked really good.

Heads or Tails? begins with a bizarre, but historical event – Buffalo Bill Cody (John C. Reilly) putting on his Wild West Show, a live spectacle of cowboys and Indians, for an Italian audience circa 1900. Buffalo Bill lived through the most exciting phase of the Old West, having been a Pony Express rider, buffalo hunter and a scout in the Indian Wars. A remarkable showman and entrepreneur, he capitalized on his experiences by creating the Wild West Show, which entertained Easterners and Europeans with riding, roping, shooting, real life bison and an Indian “battle”. Indigenous cast members even included Sitting Bull. Of course, Cody himself knew that the show was filled with hokum, but he happily became rich by playing the role. The Wild West Show did tour Italy twice, once performing for the Pope.

A local aristocrat, a scummy wife-beater, has hosted Buffalo Bill’s performance, and afterwards, tries to further enrich himself with a crooked wager. Santino (Borghi), a dim but virile cattle worker, screws up the wager, and, the furious nobleman suspects that Santino has also been involved with his young wife Rosa (Tereszkiewicz). The aristocrat is killed, and Santino and Rosa go on the run.

At this point, Heads or Tails? leaves conventional Spaghetti Western territory, adds a heavy dose of surrealism, and becomes less coherent – and less watchable.

John C. Reilly, who captures Buffalo Bill’s performative bluster and worldly cynicism, is brilliant, but 80% of the story follows Rosa and Santino without Buffalo Bill.

I streamed Heads or Tails? on Amazon Prime, and most of the dialogue, except for Reilly’s, seemed dubbed in English. I found it off-putting, and didn’t understand it because Tereszkiewicz, who is French, speaks both Italian and English. Besides Amazon, you can also stream Heads or Tails? on AppleTV, YouTube and Fandango.

STAN & OLLIE: comic geniuses facing the inevitable

by

Left to right: Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel, John C. Reilly as Oliver Hardy,
Photo by Nick Wall, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

In Stan & Ollie, Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel and John C. Reilly as Oliver Hardy deliver remarkable portraits of a partnership facing the inevitability of showbiz decline. An iconic movie comedy team, Laurel and Hardy made 107 films, including 23 features. Their run started in 1926 and made the transition into the sound era more successfully than their peers in silent comedy. But by 1945, their popularity was over, and most of Stan & Ollie is set in 1951, when they are trying to rekindle their careers with a British live tour.

Coogan and Reilly’s impersonations (and Reilly’s makeup) are impressive. However, the most interesting aspect to Stan & Ollie is the depiction of the partnership, which like any partnership, is unequal and complementary; each individual has a different personality and a different role. Together, their act was so seamless that we forget that the two, one English and the other from Georgia, were veteran professionals already in their mid-thirties when they hooked up. Hardy was bossy on-screen, but Laurel was the business and creative leader of the team.

In a flashback (during the 1937 filming of Way Out West), we see the two at the height of their career arc. That sets us up to watch the two manage struggle and disappointment later on.

The technical highlight of the Coogan and Reilly performances is a dead-on re-creation of Stan and Ollie’s dance in front of an Old West saloon in Way Out West, a dance which is comic perfection; it’s worth finding Way Out West for the original version of the dance, which is much longer. My own favorite Laurel & Hardy film is the 1933 Pre-Code Sons of the Desert, where the duo mislead their wives to sneak off to the rowdy convention/drinkfest of the titular fraternal organization.

As usual I’ve embedded the trailer for you, but I recommend not watching it if you’re going to see Stan & Ollie – it gives too much away.

DVD/Stream of the Week: Terri

by

terriWe’ve all seen the teen misfit movie. But Terri has some originality and lots of heart. Jacob Wysocki plays an overweight teen caring for his mentally ill uncle. He doesn’t have much going for him until John C. Reilly’s school counselor intervenes, sometimes clumsily (who knows what will make a teen respond?). Soon there’s a ripple effect among other troubled teens. Screenwriter Patrick Dewitt deserves some plaudits for the authenticity of the teen characters.

Terri is available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu and Xbox Video.

Carnage: a comic actors’ showpiece

by

The sons of two Brooklyn couples have tangled in a schoolboy row.  The couples meet to discuss the matter, but the personality clashes between and within the couples derails an encounter of forced politeness into comic chaos.

Carnage belongs to its actors, and the couples are played by John C. Reilly and Jodie Foster and Christoph Walz and Kate Winslet.  All are very good and very funny.  The Austrian actor Walz (Inglorious Basterds) is especially good; his eyes betray his indifference to parenting and social niceties, but finally gleam when he is spurred to conflict.

Carnage is directed by Roman Polanski, based on the popular comic play God of Carnage by the French playwright Yasmina Reza.   God of Carnage won the 2009 Tony for Best Play.

Polanski (Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, The Pianist) is one of the greatest living directors, and knows enough to eschew anything showy here.  He just lets the actors show their chops, which is a very good thing.  Carnage is not one of the year’s best movies, but is a smart and funny comedy.

DVD of the Week: Terri

by

We’ve all seen the teen misfit movie.  But Terri has some originality and lots of heart.  Jacob Wysocki plays an overweight teen caring for his mentally ill uncle.  He doesn’t have much going for him until John C. Reilly’s school counselor intervenes, sometimes clumsily (who knows what will make a teen respond?).  Soon there’s a ripple effect among other troubled teens.  Screenwriter Patrick Dewitt deserves some plaudits for the authenticity of the teen characters.

Terri: something new in a teen misfit movie

by

We’ve all seen the teen misfit movie.  But Terri has some originality and lots of heart.  Jacob Wysocki plays an overweight teen caring for his mentally ill uncle.  He doesn’t have much going for him until John C. Reilly’s school counselor intervenes, sometimes clumsily (who knows what will make a teen respond?).  Soon there’s a ripple effect among other troubled teens.  Screenwriter Patrick Dewitt deserves some plaudits for the authenticity of the teen characters.

It’s going to hard to find Terri in theaters, but it’s well worth it.

Some Carnage to Look Forward To

by

Christop Walz in his Oscar winning role in Inglorious Basterds

Roman Polanski is currently in post-production with his newest film Carnage, based on the popular comic play God of Carnage by the French playwright Yasmina Reza.   God of Carnage won the 2009 Tony for Best Play.  It is the story of two couples whose sons have tangled in a schoolboy row; the couples meet to discuss the matter, but the discussion keeps veers off into bickering and rants.

In Polanski’s movie, the couples are played by John C. Reilly and Jodie Foster and Christoph Walz and Kate Winslet.  On Broadway, the likes of Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden, James Gandolfini, Hope Davis, Christine Lahti, Jimmy Smits, Dylan Baker and Lucy Liu cycled through the roles.  Daniels has played both male roles and Harden won a Tony for Best Actress.

Polanski (Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, The Pianist) is one of the greatest living directors.  With last year’s The Ghost Writer, Polanski proved that he’s still on the top of game.  So I’m looking forward to this one, too.

Cedar Rapids

by

Cedar Rapids is surprisingly winning comedy about a guy (Ed Helm) whose life is so boring that an insurance agent conference in Cedar Rapids is a revelatory experience.   Helm plays a character whose sincerity and decency elevate his guileless cluelessness.  There are excellent supporting performances by Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr. and the irrepressible John C. Reilly.

This could have been a much courser and a lesser movie in the wrong hands.  It’s directed by Miguel Arteta, who also brought an appealing sense of humanity to the underrated The Good Girl and Youth in Revolt.

Cyrus

by

John C. Reilly plays a sad sack who kindles a romance with a woman played by Maris Tomei.  So far, so good.  But then he learns that she lives with her very smart and very possessive adult son (Jonah Hill).  This is a very, very dark comedy and a showcase for Jonah Hill, who plays a very manipulative and creepy character with contained intensity.  Reilly, Tomei and Cathrine Keener are excellent as always.  But, overall, not the most accessible comedy.