Because my in-laws are coming into town for the long weekend, I’ve been thinking about how parents are portrayed in film. Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers are obvious choices for worse-case scenarios, but I also suggest renting Home for the Holidays (directed by Jodie Foster) during Thanksgiving. You can’t go wrong with Eugene Levy in the American Pie trilogy, but my favorite parent of all is Steve Martin in Parenthood. Directed by Ron Howard and written by the team that also scripted City Slickers and EdTV, Parenthood features a great cast, including young Keanu Reeves and Joaquin Phoenix (known as Leaf at the time).

Steve Martin may be recognized more these days for being a dad in Cheaper By the Dozen and Father of the Bride, but if you have kids, Parenthood is a must.

Some of my favorite films fall under the ‘Movies that were Underrated and/or Underperformed at the Box Office’ category. A short list includes Gods & Monsters (Brendan Fraser at his best), To Die For (Nicole Kidman should have won an Oscar for this – she was incredible), A Walk on the Moon (Diane Lane + Viggo Mortensen = H O T), Wonder Boys (perhaps the only movie in history where you might like Michael Douglas), Bowfinger (Eddie Murphy’s first great performance since 1985), and Primal Fear (Edward Norton is mesmerizing in his first starring role).


Clint Eastwood has directed two of the most intense movies of the last few years, Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby, and both have left me with a new appreciation for the man. People seem to either love or hate his directing style. What I love about it is that every scene serves a purpose; there are no wasted shots or moments. Eastwood has the ability to put his actors (some of whom are infamously difficult) at ease, usually resulting in brilliant performances. The characters in his movies are always deeply conflicted, and Eastwood is very efficient about illustrating those struggles to the audience. As for Eastwood as an actor, I prefer his later work. I was very impressed by him in Million Dollar Baby, and I’ve always liked Absolute Power (which he also directed) and In the Line of Fire.


I never gave it much thought before today, but there are a good number of movies that are either about or are somehow related to baseball. As a fan of film and of the game, I made a list of those I’d recommend and those I’d avoid. For every two Kevin Costner gems, Bull Durham and Field of Dreams, there is the inevitable For the Love of the Game. I don’t think Kev will ever recover from not becoming a Major League baseball player after his success at Cal State Fullerton. He even played an ex-MLB player in the surprisingly decent independent film The Upside of Anger. I watch The Natural and Eight Men Out every time they’re on cable. Guilty pleasure baseball themed films include A League of Their Own, The Fan (De Niro plays a stalker better than anyone on earth – see Cape Fear), the original Bad News Bears, Major League, and Stealing Home (two words: Jodie Foster). And although it was made for HBO, 61* is a fantastic one as well. I still haven’t seen (it is about the Red Sox after all) Fever Pitch or Mr. 3000.  Here are a few that I wouldn’t even watch if I were home sick on the couch: Angels in the Outfield, The Scout and Summer Catch (is Freddie Prinze Jr. good in anything??). Yikes.

There have been a few phenomenal and mesmerizing performances that have stayed with me for years. Some have been recognized during award season, and others have somehow flown under the radar. Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth. Edward Norton in American History X. Hilary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry. Charlize Theron in Monster. Ryan Gosling in The Believer. Kate Winslet in Heavenly Creatures. I also love when the chemistry of an entire ensemble cast comes to life onscreen (Magnolia, The Hours, and Closer, to name a few).  


The most disturbing movies I’ve ever seen are also a select few I will never watch again. This short list includes Kids and Requiem for a Dream. There are others, and I will expand upon this at a later date. 

I dislike Gwyneth Paltrow for no reason at all. The only performances I ever really enjoyed of hers were in The Royal Tenenbaums and Sliding Doors. I will admit to owning Bounce on DVD, but only because it was a gift. I loathe Ben Affleck more than Gwynnie, and together they ruined a perfectly good Don Roos film. For reasons I cannot fathom, Bounce is actually a two disc set. I’d much rather see more extras on The Opposite of Sex DVD, Roos’ far superior 1998 film (he also wrote the guilty pleasure gems Boys on the Side and Single White Female). I recently saw his latest movie, Happy Endings, but I still haven’t decided how I feel about it. Roos wrote the role of a lifetime for Lisa Kudrow in The Opposite of Sex, which she then acted the hell out of and hit out of the ballpark. She played a character worlds apart from Phoebe on Friends, and it was the first time that Kudrow really illustrated her talent beyond the small screen. Perhaps it is because I’m currently watching The Comeback on Showtime, but I was not as dazzled by her in Happy Endings. I enjoy Roos’ films because of the intelligent and witty dialogue, and because his characters have very specific nuances that make them memorable and familiar. But of the many layers and stories woven throughout Happy Endings, Kudrow’s was my least favorite; a shame considering the entire film revolves around the circumstances of her life.
 

Back to Affleck…whatever agent first told him he was leading man material should be demoted back to the mailroom. He’s like the black sheep of every film he touches, dating back to his Kevin Smith days. I can’t hide my disappointment in Jennifer Garner’s choice to marry him and provide the world with future Afflecks, but they seem unusually happy among a world of loveless celebrity unions, so I’ll get over it. I was rooting for Scott Foley (I heart Felicity), and I knew Vartan was toast, just as he’s about to be on Alias. Anyway, Affleck just isn’t a very good actor, and he certainly does not possess enough heterosexual prowess to convincingly turn both Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy) and Jennifer Lopez (Gigli) into ex-lesbians. When he cries onscreen, I laugh out loud. He should play Kevin Costner’s son. That would be one hell of an emotional movie. Even when he played himself, in Good Will Hunting, I was distracted by his wavering accent (the one he conveniently returns to when appearing in a Boston-based film or attending to the true love of his life, the Boston Red Sox).