Every Bit The Winner You Might Have Heard, Milk Chronicles An Important American History Struggle!

The Good: Great acting, Decent directing, Engaging story, Good character development.
The Bad: Slight pacing issues
The Basics: Sean Penn's performance as gay right's activist and perennial San Francisco political candidate Harvey Milk lives up to its hype in Milk, now on DVD!


I loathe returning to my home town every year around the winter holidays. Sure, many people may dislike the journey or getting caught up in old roles with family members. I can't stand the newspaper in the city I grew up in. Since they got rid of their regular movie reviewer, the reviews are done by a hodgepodge of syndicated sources and their digest of movie listings (which includes ratings from the critics) is abysmal. Looking at the paper around the holidays is to be forced to consider that perhaps all of the movies out are being rated on a scale of ten (if you didn't read that right, go back and try again. Yes, it's not a scale of one to ten . . .). Around the end of the year, during what I cynically call "Oscar Pandering Season," the reviewers seem to get lazy and rate everything a "10." I can't stand that. Occasionally, that means I'll withhold a review of a great film just to not mistakenly get lumped in with those praising everything.

A couple years back, one of the films I waited to review was Milk and now with it out on DVD and me not wanting to wait for Gay Pride Month, I decided it was a good time to get mine posted. For the bottomline first, the hype surrounding Milk is worth is; Sean Penn is amazing, the film is important, but it is not perfect.

Shortly before his assassination, Harvey Milk sits at his kitchen table and contemplates his life as an activist for gay and lesbian civil rights in San Francisco. Starting then in the early 1970s in New York City, Milk turns forty and picks up Scott Smith. Their relationship takes them rapidly to San Francisco where the two set up a camera shop in the Castro district. Milk soon sees the inequities of how gays are treated in the area, including acts of police brutality. Determined to change things, Harvey Milk runs for one of the trustee positions on the City Council.

Milk loses and he continues fighting the good fight, building a political machine for the primarily gay Castro district for almost a decade. He makes powerful allies and when the time comes, he makes a powerful enemy on the city council in Dan White. As the political fights drive Scott away, Harvey develops a romance with a much less stable man and as change slowly comes, reactionary elements in the United States rise up to menace the progress Milk and his followers make in California.

Milk is a triumph of character and an argument for the inalienable human rights of all Americans, not just white heterosexual males. Sean Penn plays Harvey Milk as an average man in love who is treated poorly for who he loves. He organizes as a businessman would, quickly determining which businesses in the area are gay friendly and which are not and organizing the community around the principle of spending money to promote social justice. FYI, it is still a philosophy that works! Milk evolves from a radical who looks outside the mainstream into a politician who becomes slick and organized without ever losing touch with his base.

What is perhaps most important about Milk is that the film manages to make its statements while still being entertaining. The character struggle and journey of Harvey Milk is a compelling one. Writer Dustin Lance Black and director Gus Van Sant make the journey more than a preachy diatribe on gay rights, instead focusing on the dynamic man Harvey Milk was. As his personal life becomes complicated, his political career takes an upswing, the friendships and relationships offer wonderful contrasts and the viewer feels the tension Milk does as he is pulled in different directions.

As well, there is something entertaining watching Penn as he completely becomes Milk. Harvey Milk's rhetoric quickly becomes a universal call for human rights, not just a cry of "we're here, we're queer, get used to it." In fact, outside the film's earliest moments when those who might be squeamish about two men kissing might become uncomfortable, the film presents a remarkably sexless and surprisingly neutral take on homosexual love. Instead, the film becomes about social movements.

As a result, Milk and Harvey Milk become obsessed with creating infrastructure, improving upon failed attempts and growing to change the institutions of oppression. Milk is likable, utilizing a network of people who come to believe in him and the way the film is shot, we want to believe in him. Indeed, as the film goes along - and there are some slower points that allowed me to detach from the film to consider it - I began become increasingly depressed knowing that Milk was rushing toward his death (a fact revealed in the first two minutes of the movie).

Sean Penn is appropriately brilliant as Harvey Milk, creating a distinctive body language for the character that is looser than anything I've seen Penn in before, until Milk steps into a public setting. There, Penn adds tension to Milk's upper body and he holds himself with dignity and an awkwardness that is palpable. This might well be the performance of Penn's career, rivaling that of his work in I Am Sam (reviewed here!).

As well, Milk utilizes its supporting cast amazingly. Josh Brolin plays White with an unsettling quality that makes him a surprisingly good villain. Indeed, Brolin's performance here illustrates to me that he was woefully miscast as George W. Bush in W. (reviewed here!) because here he is able to throw his body into the performance and make himself appear nervous, uptight and troubled. Alison Pill is charming and realistically efficient at Anne Kronenberg and James Franco gives a performance that is likely to surprise most of the fans of his stoner comedies.

On DVD, Milk includes an insightful commentary track from director Gus Van Sant. As well, there is a tribute to Harvey Milk featuring some of the people who are portrayed in the film. The film is a little light on bonus features, but given that it is a drama and not a big special effects movie, this is understandable. Fans of the film will find a little extra value in the bonus features. Unfortunately, the DVD does not have Sean Penn's acceptance speech from when he won the Best Actor Oscar.

Ultimately, Milk is a socially important film which is unfortunately still teeming with relevancy now. As times change and the United States looks to grow and build, gay and lesbian civil rights continue to come up as an issue and until all people are granted equal rights under the law, the United States fails to live up to its potentials. We don't need Milk to teach us that, but it is refreshing that those of us who believe in the universal promise of the American dream have a film like Milk to remind us that progress can be made and change is inevitable.

For other political movies, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Frost/Nixon
Fahrenheit 9/11
All The King’s Men

9/10

For other film reviews, be sure to visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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The Joke Is On The Audience . . . But We Wanted It! Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back

The Good: Funny, Allusions, Character progression
The Bad: Predictable, So much was cut!
The Basics: Funny and enjoyable for movie buffs and people who enjoy Kevin Smith's movies, Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back ages well.


Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back is one of those films that people tend to take or leave and they take it if they enjoy Kevin Smith's prior works (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Dogma) and leave if they haven't seen or didn't enjoy Smith's previous works, this one is certainly not going to get people to watch his films. The 2-DVD set is pretty much the best argument ever for DVD short of The Criterion Collection DVD set of Brazil. The magic of the DVD is that there's a whole second film of Kevin Smith et al. introducing cut scenes from Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back.

Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back is a hard sell, so I won't try to sell it to those of you who haven't seen Kevin Smith's prior works. If you haven't seen Clerks, Chasing Amy, or Dogma, go see at least one of them and then come back to this. This film is appreciable if you know the players involved.

Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back follows the exploits of Jay and Silent Bob from New Jersey through Hollywood. The plot is simple; the pair has a comic book based upon them and when they learn there is a film being made of their characters, they discover the internet and criticism there. So, the pair heads to Hollywood under the logic that if the movie isn't made, no one can badmouth them. It's solid logic from stoners. Once you accept that, you're fine. The rest of the film is the caper of Jay and Silent Bob falling in with a group of diamond thieves, losing them, and getting to Hollywood.

Criticizing Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back is as stupid as those two yo-yos that went and sued the makers of Duce Bigalow, Male Gigolo (or was it The Animal?) because there was a faux reviewer who recommended the film. If you go to see a Rob Schneider flick, you're not expecting high brow or, if you are, you're an idiot. Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back is a stupid film making fun of stupid films being made. It's stupid, but it doesn't have the pretense of being anything more. So, why should the audience?

My theory is, we shouldn't. Accept the premise and you'll enjoy it. The film makes hilarious pokes as sequels and how lame they usually are, they mock themselves and other works expertly.

The real gem of the DVD is watching the film and then going through the bonus disk for all of the additional stuff that is packed on there. The whole commentary on the cuts scenes was easily more funny than the actual film and worth the price of the DVD alone. The different clips are great.

Here Kevin Smith makes a satire of the people he has worked with and it's amusing to see Ben Affleck and Matt Damon make fun of themselves while also playing other characters they have played in Smith's earlier films.

One of the surprises here is the quality of the acting. Ben Affleck convincingly plays Holden from Chasing Amy in a cameo early in the film as well as creating a very different character in the parody of himself. Similarly, Jason Lee's presence in the film as both Banky Edwards and Brody is strangely unconfusing; his physical appearance is not significantly altered between the two roles, but he actively portrays them as different people and he successfully sells them.

While many would applaud Will Farrell as Marshal Willenholly, I think he's simply being Farrell as a Federal Wildlife Marshal and if you've seen Farrell in a few roles, you've seen his range. He does nothing extraordinary here. However, Shannon Elizabeth is great as Jay's love interest, Justice. She is more than simply a pretty face and a body here; she's actualized enough to keep our interest for the film.

The acting talent that dominates Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back is Jason Mewes. Most of the airtime is his and here he recreates the quirky, angry, foul-mouthed drug dealer we've known from the other films.

This is not a film for the young. It's hilarious, but it uses a lot of harsh language and foul sexual references. It's not a terribly intellectual film, but it is one that those who despise pop culture will appreciate a lot: many recognizable faces from today's popular culture appear to do parodies of their more serious work.

If you want a treat and you've enjoyed Kevin Smith's other works, there's no better way to cap off the adventures of Jay and Silent Bob than this. And as a hint, stay through the end of the credits. :)

For other movies by Kevin Smith, please visit my reviews of:
Clerks
Chasing Amy
Dogma
Clerks II
Cop Out
Red State

6.5/10

For other movie reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2003 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Forrester Gets Lost: Finding Forrester

The Good: Amazing lead actor!
The Bad: Overdone plot, Stereotypical characters, Poor use of strong cast.
The Basics: Finding Forrester is a film with a lot of potential that does not get lived up to.


Finding Forrester came to me highly recommended by some people I tend to respect. They thought I would enjoy it because I am something of a reclusive writer and I do tend to enjoy films and books that have intelligent characters doing their own thing. I'm the kind of person who occasionally goes to Pizza Hut for their lunch buffet and sit and write about the people I see as I eat. It's a little writing exercise and the food isn't terrible. So, I went into this film with high expectations.

Finding Forrester is a collection of overused plot elements, stereotypical characters and overdone cliches. The redeeming aspect of this film is newcomer Robert Brown who plays the young black aspiring writer. What's so good about him? He can act. My initial reaction upon seeing the film was, "No way this guy is 16!" It turns out he is and the sense that he was a more mature actor attempting to play a 16 year-old and seeming a bit on the nose proves his ability.

Brown plays Jamal Wallace, an especially bright student living and going to school in New York City. When his test scores come back unusually high, this basketball player gets a chance to go to a private school on a full scholarship. Once there, he encounters elite white teachers and students who are pretty much all prejudiced and look down upon Jamal because he's black and a jock. But, he meets a reclusive writer named Forrester as the result of a prank and in an unlikely turn of events, the novelist supports Jamal and his abilities. The two become friends and ultimately, the friendship is tested when Jamal gets in trouble at school.

The other bright spot actors are, naturally Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham and the always impressive Anna Paquin. The problem comes in how they are used. Sean Connery as reclusive novelist Forrester is a complete cliche, F. Murray Abraham -throughout the film appears to be rolling his eyes, as if he's tired of being the villain in everything and the gorgeous Anna Paquin is completely wasting her talents here.

Paquin's character, Claire Spence, has a great amount of potential and is one of the more interesting facets of the film, however, the writers never resolve her place in the movie and the whole plot thread with her ends up going nowhere. In short, she is relegated to the part of "eye candy" and "potential seductress" and at most fits a very small, very flat character niche.

Nothing in this film lives up to its potential.  The plot of the film is a combination of "underprivileged minority youth gets opportunity to live up to his potential" with "recluse comes out of hiding" mixed, almost as an afterthought with "rich kid falls for poor guy because she sees his true potential."

Everything about the film is a cliche or underused. Nothing in this film lives up to its potential and it's unfortunate. Rent Dead Poet's Society instead.

For other inspiring dramas, please visit my reviews of:
Cradle Will Rock
The Family Man
Whip It


4.5/10

For other film reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2002 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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