R.I.P. Garry Marshall: Mother's Day Is An Unremarkable End To A Brilliant Career

The Good: Acting and directing are fine
The Bad: No memorable characters, Thematically monolithic, Lack of zest or cleverness
The Basics: In a subpar dramedy about mothers, characters are mashed together unmemorably in what became an unfortunate final film for director Garry Marshall.


During my month sabbatical, I missed writing tributes to all of the significant individuals who died, most notably, actor Anton Yelchin. As, possibly, the end of that Rule Of Three, Garry Marshall died a few days ago and I could not let his death pass without viewing some of his works. Garry Marshall effectively launched the screen careers of two of my favorite actors: Robin Williams and Anne Hathaway. Without Marshall, Williams would have remained one of my very favorite stand-up comics and while Anne Hathaway probably would have become a superstar in her own right, based upon her talent, but it helped when she was given the starring role in Marshall's adaptation The Princess Diaries (reviewed here!). In the last few years, the comedic writer in Garry Marshall had surrendered to masterful director . . . who was, sadly, rehashing the same film over and over again. Marshall's final film, Mother's Day is essentially Marshall's final reworking of his prior film Valentine's Day (reviewed here!).

Unfortunately, Mother's Day capped off Marshall's initially creative career with yet another attempt to create a box office success by throwing together as many a-list Hollywood actors in a character-packed film that ties together loosely-related characters in a narrative that is more about the surprise of how it comes together than about anything else. Mother's Day mashes together Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson, and the omnipresent Hector Elizondo, with a surprising number of new, younger, actors to flesh out a story of families in Atlanta coming together in the week before Mother's Day.

Opening with Sandy, who is surprised when her ex-husband is in her house with their child and his friends, she is told by Henry that he needs to talk to her. Sandy's inkling that he might want to reunite with her is dashed when he tells her he eloped, with a vastly younger woman. Jesse and her sister Gabi are living a lie from their estranged mother. Gabi is a lesbian who never came out to her parents and Jesse married Russell, whose family is from India, who her mother despised when they were still in contact. Widower Bradley has two daughters and he runs a gym, while Miranda prioritized career over having children.

Gabi and Jesse's lives become vastly more complicated when their redneck parents arrive as a surprise and they have to come clean with them. Sandy, freaking out about her ex-husband's new wife and the way Tina has inserted herself into her children's lives, freaks out in front of Bradley at the supermarket and Bradley - who is concerned about the boy his daughter is dating - notices her at his gym. When a girl approaches Miranda at a book signing and tells her she is her daughter, Miranda's life is turned upside down as well.

Mother's Day is one of those unfortunate films that lacks a spark. Works that Marshall wrote tended to have a sense of patter to them; humor and realism that were distinct. Mother's Day is a troublingly flat film. In fact, having just finished watching the film, there was not a single line I could recall or that I remember laughing at. This is especially troubling, as interspersed through some of the stories are sets from a comedy competition. When the stand-up comics in a film fail to illicit a laugh, that is not a good sign.

One of the fundamental problems with Mother's Day is that the movie is overstuffed. The entire plotline with Zack Zim, his bride-to-be and her sudden relationship with Miranda, is both cluttered and unnecessary. It is also the source of the film's most problematic lines. For sure, Mother's Day is a film that is exactly what it appears to be; a celebration of women who choose to be mothers. But, for a movie that is filled with a wide variety of characters, it lacks any complexity or subtlety. The racists encounter their grandchildren and can't hate them they way they have estranged their daughters, the mother who is protective of her children is a good influence on the single father and the young man idolizes his wife-to-be because, as a mother "she knows" . . . everything about their child. Mother's Day plays into the narcissism surrounding motherhood, as opposed to ever challenging it. The film's least-attached character, Miranda, is still a productive member of society - she prioritized career and is respectable, even though she gave up her daughter.

My point here is that mothers are idolized in Mother's Day in a way that is not universally-relatable, at least this day in age.

Mother's Day lacks memorable characters, but the performances are fine and Garry Marshall managed to get decent performances out of the young, unestablished members of the cast. But the movie is not engaging or held together in any compelling way. Instead, the performers do adequate jobs of representing the parts they were given, but those roles are not inherently interesting to watch or return to. That makes for a sad coda to a brilliant career for Garry Marshall.

For other works featuring Jennifer Aniston, please visit my reviews of:
Horrible Bosses 2
She's Funny That Way
Life Of Crime
We're The Millers
Wanderlust
Horrible Bosses
Just Go With It
The Bounty Hunter
The Switch
Love Happens
He's Just Not That Into You
30 Rock - Season 3
Friends With Money
Rumor Has It . . .
Friends
Office Space

2/10

For other movie reviews, please check out my Film Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Technically Magnicifent, Actually Miserable: Men, Women & Children Makes Us Want To Bail!

The Good: Amazing cast, Good direction
The Bad: Oppressive mood, Neglected character motivations
The Basics: Complicated and engaging, Men, Women & Children is enough to make any viewer absolutely miserable.


These days, it takes a lot to sell me on watching a movie by the preview. I've been busy and previews tend to either tell me not nearly enough or way too much (like, the entire film). When my wife was trying to choose a film for us to watch today, Men, Women & Children came up as an option and it suddenly reminded me that I had seen a preview for the film that made it look real good. It lived up to the previews - Men, Women & Children was awkward, insightful, and well-presented, though it was disturbing on a number of fronts.

Co-writer and director Jason Reitman does a decent job of capturing the way people are disconnected today by weaving together several thinly-related stories of people living in Austin, Texas in modern times. Reitman and Erin Cressida Wilson adapted the film from the book by the same name and it is worth noting that I've not read the book upon which it is based. This review is entirely of the film, not any sort of comparative analysis with the book.

Men, Women & Children is much like Magnolia (reviewed here!) or Cradle Will Rock (reviewed here!) in that it has a large cast of characters and explores relationships more than it tells a single, solid, cohesive story. Don Truby and his wife, Helen, have lost all passion for one another and both consider having affairs. Their son, Chris, has gotten so deep into online erotica that when he is faced with the potential of affection from one of his peers, he is utterly uninterested and unable to engage with her. Tim Mooney was a once-promising football player, but when his mother abandons him and his father, he quits the team and tries to find his own path. He becomes enamored with Brandy Beltmeyer, a girl whose mother is so incredibly overprotective of her that she oppressively monitors both her physical locations and her entire online presence.

Chris begins a relationship with Hannah Clint, a girl whose mother is actively trying to make her a celebrity (with a pretty skanky website). And there's Allison Doss, an anorexic who feels immense pressure to not eat and have sex. As Hannah's mother and Tim's father begin to explore a relationship, Don and Helen explore extramarital affairs and most of the teenagers become sexually active to varying degrees.

Men, Women & Children is a great example of a film that perfectly captures and characterizes the disconnect between people in the modern age of connective devices like smartphones and tablets. Virtually all of the characters are miserable and the performers do an excellent job of characterizing how fast societal and technological changes have come and families have not had the time or ability to respectfully adapt.

This is one of those films that is difficult to discuss in depth and I liked it for that. The performances are almost homogeneously raw. The brilliance of Jason Reitman as a director is that he captures some powerful and realistic performances out of both the young and seasoned castmembers and there is not a single moment of the film that felt like "first take theatre." The moments seem perfectly rendered and at times incredibly painful to watch, but the movie never feels like it was clumsily arrived at.

Arguably the best performances in Men, Women & Children come from Dean Norris, Jennifer Garner, and Adam Sandler. Sandler's best moment comes in a wordless moment late in the film that reminds viewers that the goofy former Saturday Night Live performer has evolved into a real dramatic powerhouse of an actor. Garner is cold and distant as Patricia and Dean Norris manages to make his role of Kent unlike his Breaking Bad part. Judy Greer delivers her usual wonderful performance as Donna Clint and is anything but goofy (as some of her talent often inspires her to be). Even the young cast is marvelous and well-utilized by Reitman.

But the film is far from perfect. Garner's Patricia is overbearing and controlling . . . for no stated reason. Similarly, Allison's storyline is unsatisfyingly unresolved and her relationship with her parents is underdeveloped. Men, Women & Children wastes the talents of J.K. Simmons in the role of Allison's father. Reitman managed to not be salacious with the teenagers who are having sex, but characters like Hannah are just troubling to watch.

Men, Women & Children did what great films ought to do; it inspired conversations in my household. My wife and I have been talking about it since we finished watching it (it unsettled both of us) and both of us remain delighted to be childfree by choice after watching the movie. But much of Men, Women & Children is plagued by characters who simply are not communicating and that is not a new problem at all, despite the filmmaker's attempts to blame that on the internet. The internet did not suddenly make people stop communicating or have affairs, though Men, Women & Children accurately explores how online porn has ruined the mystique and imagination people used to have for sex.

The other thing my wife and I realized was that despite the film's importance, Men, Women & Children is unlikely to reach the audience it needs to. Are overprotective parents going to watch Men, Women & Children and suddenly say, "Patricia is just crazy!"? No. They're likely to say, "if that mom was more lenient, their kid would end up like Allison." Men, Women & Children is like the interpersonal story analogous to Blood Diamond (reviewed here!). Is it going to make people feel terrible? Absolutely. Will it inspire conversations? Sure. Will it lead to profound change? Absolutely not.

Worth watching once, Men, Women & Children is difficult and unsettling in a way that makes one not want to ever watch it again.

For other works with Rosemarie DeWitt, please visit my reviews of:
The Odd Life Of Timothy Green
The Watch
Rachel Getting Married

7.5/10 (Not Recommended)

For other movie reviews, please check out my Film Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Butter Is A Wonderfully Quirky Comedy Worth Watching!

The Good: Funny, Quirky, Decent acting
The Bad: Somewhat predictable plot progression.
The Basics: A ten year-old girl takes on the horrible wife of the reigning butter sculptor in Iowa in Butter!


I am always amazed by how some films manage to assemble an impressive cast without my ever hearing about the finished movie. I swear, half the independent films that are out there would do better if only people knew they existed. I don’t even recall how I heard about Butter before I sat down to watch it today. And yet, Butter has a pretty amazing cast and is a clever, funny film.

Led by Jennifer Garner and Ty Burrell, Butter is an independent film that solidly entertains. Fleshed out by the likes of Alicia Silverstone, Ashley Greene, Olivia Wilde, Rob Corddry, and Hugh Jackman, Butter uses the wealth of talent that shows up for it remarkably well.

A year before Laura and Bob Pickler find themselves in Iowa running for office, Bob is muscled out of his fifteen years of butter sculpting success. His wife is unwilling to go quietly into obscurity and raises a fuss. When she catches Bob with a stripper/prostitute, Brooke, Laura decides to enter the annual contest herself.

Paralleling Laura’s journey is Destiny, a young black orphan who is taken in by Julie and Ethan. She illustrates a real artistic aptitude, but is supported by Ethan and her school teacher to apply herself. Ethan encourages Destiny to enter the county’s butter sculpting contest. When Brooke enters as well, the contest takes a very ugly turn. Impressing her foster parents, Destiny uses butter sculpting as a social commentary as well as an artistic outlet, winning contest after contest.

Butter is hilarious for its awkward moments. The scene where Destiny and Ethan sit outside in the car coming up with the worst things that could happen if she enters the contest is laugh-out-loud funny. Yara Shahidi (Destiny) has a wonderful sense of comic timing and plays off the far more seasoned Rob Corddry (Ethan) expertly. Corddry and Alicia Silverstone play a married couple exceptionally well and they seem like plausible foster parents to Shahidi’s Destiny. Shahidi explodes onto screen as a vibrant young talent who successfully carries most of the film. Responding to the foul-mouthed admonishments of Olivia Wilde’s Brooke, Shahidi has a great poker face.

As far as acting goes, Ashley Greene steals her scenes as Kaitlen, the bratty teenage step-daughter of Laura. Hugh Jackman has little more than a cameo, but playing off him allows Jennifer Garner to deliver one of her funniest lines of the film (“He slammed into something he shouldn’t have slammed into”).

The film is somewhat predictable, quickly turning from a meandering narrative where butter sculpting is peripheral to the family life of two weird Iowan families into a war of wills where an adult becomes to determined to beat a ten year-old at a contest. It is funny, surprisingly clever and thoroughly enjoyable for anyone who likes awkward, audacious comedies that do not play it safe.

For other works with Rob Corddry, please visit my reviews of:
Warm Bodies
Cedar Rapids
Hot Tub Time Machine
W.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry
Failure To Launch

7.5/10

For other movie reviews, please visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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DVD Extras Knock Juno Up Into Close-Enough-To-Perfect Territory!

The Good: Great acting, Wonderful story, Interesting characters, Good DVD extras, Fun, Funny, Soundtrack.
The Bad: A little underdeveloped on the love story.
The Basics: Juno impresses the viewer as a romantic dramedy about a pregnant sixteen year-old who is carrying her baby to term for another family and the struggles that entails.


I have absolutely no problem with admitting when I have seen an actor or actress who intrigues me. Sure, I've been known to look up the works of Anna Paquin and after Get Smart (reviewed here!), I'm pretty much bound to catch some more movies with Anne Hathaway. Since seeing X-Men 3: The Last Stand I have been looking forward to seeing Ellen Page in more films. So, when I finally was able to catch Juno on DVD, I was excited. I was eager to see Juno and not just because of a potential very little crush on Ellen Page, the film's star.

In fact, the only thing that kept me from seeing Juno when it was in theaters (other than being poor) was I had read numerous reviews that compared Juno to Napoleon Dynamite (reviewed here!). I was not a fan of Napoleon Dynamite and, if anything, I went into that movie biased in favor of it. So, with Juno, I wanted to go into it and be happy and excited, but I had trepidation based on other reviews. For those who might share the same trepidations, the only things Napoleon Dynamite and Juno have in common are titles based on the lead character's name, limited budgets, similar layouts of the movie poster and the way young people seemed to have latched onto the films. The truth is, Juno is funny, witty and wonderful in all of the ways that Napoleon Dynamite failed to be.

And on DVD, Juno is even better.

Juno MacGuff is a sixteen year old who makes love with her boyfriend, Paulie Bleeker and finds herself pregnant. Intimidated by the prospect of getting an abortion, Juno decides to carry the child to term and she finds a couple who are looking to adopt a baby. As Juno and Paulie become estranged from one another, Juno finds herself visiting Mark and Vanessa Loring more often with updates on the baby that will be theirs. While Juno's parents are remarkably supportive and her best friend Leah sticks by her, Paulie drifts away from her.

But soon, Mark and Juno's friendship opens Mark up to the memories of the life he wanted and his trepidations about being a father begin to override his marital vows. As Juno's pregnancy progresses, she experiences the solitary life of being a teenage girl carrying a baby and works to figure out who she is.

Juno works on so very many levels that it seems best for me to start with what doesn't work. Juno quickly becomes a movie that is a subtle love story. It's all about discovering love after the sex and it is clever and smart in that regard. The problem with Juno is only in that it does not devote nearly enough time to the relationship between Juno and Paulie. In other words, while the movie works exceptionally well at defining Juno and exploring the nature and struggles of being an unwed teenage mother-to-be, it falls down when it comes to developing the relationship between Paulie and Juno. Their relationship is strained but what genuinely brings them back together is not clear or well-defined in the film.

Fortunately, we have DVD. In the deleted scenes, there are more scenes wherein Juno describes her feelings for Paulie and that works exceptionally well. Lacking that, I have to admit Juno is not a perfect movie. On DVD, it is close enough. As an avid cinephile who watches an obscene amount of television and movies for edification and review, it has been such a long, long time since I even had the pleasure of debating whether or not a movie was perfect or a near miss. Juno makes that a damn good debate.

What makes Juno work so well is that it is smart and unsimple. The plot is one that has not been overdone for theatrical films. Young woman gets pregnant might be a common soap opera conceit, but it is not one that has been translated to cinema with any frequency. So, it is fresh in that regard. But perhaps as important, the fact that the surrogate family and the pregnant girl develop a relationship is - to my knowledge - unique in films of the new millennium.

The realism with which the circumstances are presented is enhanced by the vivid and unique characters that populate the Minnesota town where Juno lives. Juno is a disaffected teenager who is brash and quite happy to do her own thing. She fearlessly calls up a clinic "to schedule a hasty abortion" and while it generates an easy laugh, it cleverly defines a girl who - despite being in transition - has a strong sense of self. Indeed, one of the hallmark concepts of Juno is that the title character admits to not knowing just what kind of person she actually is. What she is, though, largely, is actualized enough to not worry about others' perceptions of her and instead focus on figuring herself out. While that might seem dry and only worthy of small, independent films like Juno, it actually works in a very cinematic way.

Director Jason Reitman, who also directed the satirical and clever Thank You For Smoking (reviewed here!), presents Juno as a fearless character who parts the sea of students at her high school in scenes that work for more than just the movie trailer. Moreover, Reitman has a great eye for directing Diablo Cody's ideas from the most simple - like driving a toy car over her enlarged abdomen - to the fast and complex dialogue. Scenes like Juno getting an ultrasound with her stepmother and best friend are instantly memorable, as is a very simple scene wherein Juno's father Mac tells her his notions of love. Juno looks good and has a sense of movement to it that tells the story in a simple, straightforward and refreshingly romantic way.

The relationship between Vanessa and Mark is as well-defined as it can be given how few scenes take the camera off Juno. The thing is, it becomes instantly clear that Vanessa is the driving force in the young couple's desire to have a child. Mark - from his first scene - seems much more lukewarm about the concept. The reality of the strain having a child puts on a relationship is beautifully and entertainingly transposed for the viewers.

Moreover, the budding relationship between Juno and Mark keeps a sense of tension to the movie, which might otherwise seem slower than many would like. Cody's script infuses a sense of tension between the two characters that is vivid and is effortlessly brought out by Reitman and the cast.

On that subject, Juno is an easy winner for viewers. This is a movie that not only has an exceptional cast, but it knows how to use it very well. For example, Allison Janney, who established her dramatic presence on television's The West Wing (reviewed here!) with a sense of consistency appears in Juno is a role that is very different. She is allowed to be much more expressive and that range that she illustrates from her opening moments will please those who are fans. It's always refreshing to see actors and actresses we know do things in a way that they have not before.

Conversely, it becomes clear from his opening scenes that Jason Bateman was cast based on his work from Arrested Development (reviewed here!). Bateman does not so much wow us with anything he has not done before, as he impresses viewers once again with the notion that he is a master of the deadpan and portraying irony. Bateman is a cool, sly performer and his performance in Juno makes Mark memorable for a man who misses being part of the cool crowd. It is Bateman who defines that undertone to the character and it works beautifully, especially playing off Page's Juno.

The other noteworthy performance - outside the star - comes from Jennifer Garner. Garner reminds the viewer that she has range. Just as in Catch And Release (reviewed here!), Garner plays a woman who is struggling with complex emotions and Garner's ability to act, even without saying a word, defines her character beautifully. As Vanessa, there are scenes where Garner does such simple things as look into a wine glass while Mark is talking to her and it speaks volumes. Garner is impressive and Juno adds to her repertoire of memorable performances.

But it is, in fact, Ellen Page who is forced to carry much of Juno and Page is brilliant. As a young actress, there is often a push to be active and more sensual than anything else. Page devotes her time on screen to emoting with her eyes, delivering her lines with genuine wit and convincing the viewer that she is actually pregnant. She does all of these things magnificently. She makes the comedic aspects funny and she keeps the dramatic moments real. Despite my problem with the love story between Juno and Paulie being underdeveloped, the scenes where Page interacts with Michael Cera's Paulie are completely convincing. When Page delivers lines about her character's feelings she is absolutely real and she deserves every nomination and award she won for her performance as Juno.

On DVD, Juno appears packed with extras. The commentary track featuring Reitman and Cody is insightful, funny and worth listening to more than once. The deleted scenes are entertaining and the commentary that accompanies them to tell the reasons for their exclusion are engaging and worthwhile. There are enough bonuses on the DVD that make the viewer want to celebrate the movie and be satisfied with it as a work worth owning and rewatching over and over again.

Who could ask for more?

For once, it's easy to say I'm satisfied.

For other works with Ellen Page, please visit my reviews of:
Super
Inception
Whip It
An American Crime
X-Men III: The Last Stand
Hard Candy

9.5/10

For other film reviews, be sure to check out my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the movies I have reviewed!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Catch And Release: Not Quite A Kevin Smith Movie, With Kevin Smith!

The Good: Excellent writing, Decent acting, Interesting characters
The Bad: Somewhat predictable plot, Never truly launches
The Basics: After the death of her fiance, Gray Wheeler begins to learn about the man she was engaged to and discovers his various secrets and those of his friends.


No matter what one thinks of the quality of the films of Kevin Smith, it is hard to argue that they are not memorable. After offending scads of people with Dogma (reviewed here!) and having possibly the only bestiality scene on record in an "R" movie with Clerks 2 (reviewed here!), Kevin Smith basically became indelibly rooted in the collective unconscious of American moviegoers. So when Susannah Grant's Catch And Release premiered and the person whose works it seemed most like was Kevin Smith, it seemed funny that Smith himself appears prominently as an actor in the film. Sadly, for as good as Catch And Release is, it never quite gets off the ground, it never becomes quite as memorable as one of Kevin Smith's films.

Gray Wheeler, a woman in her late twenties/early thirties, is preparing for her wedding when she suddenly finds herself hosting a funeral instead. Her fiance dies and Gray's life is caught in something of a freefall. Friends of her fiance, Fritz, Dennis and Sam, help Gray begin to restart her life as they bond over memories of their absent friend. However, the unreliable Fritz soon begins to appear to know quite a bit more than Gray ever did and Fritz refuses to lie to her about such things as her dead fiance's finances and the son he had with another woman. Gray soon finds her life and emotions complicated by Fritz, the boy, and the ex-fling all coming into her life in very real ways.

Catch And Release is charming, entertaining, but little more than that. The film is well written with decent dialogue, though the diction and pacing does seem derivative of a Kevin Smith film. Susannah Grant, who wrote this film, had more of a distinct voice on 28 Days (reviewed here!) a film she wrote the screenplay for, but did not direct. It's strange because the film feels like it's trying to be more hip and clever than it actually is, like it is trying to appeal to the same market as a Kevin Smith film with the phrases and mannerisms it employs, but it just falls flat on that end.

On the writing front, the story works well in the way it unfolds and presents a more complicated narrative than is typical. The film most assuredly focuses on Gray Wheeler, but the peripheral characters like Sam and Dennis seem fully realized as well. Fritz has a story that seems to do more than simply intersect with Gray and that's decent, but it is Maureen (the mother of the boy) who seems to have so much more of her own narrative in the story told and the insinuation of that works to benefit the movie.

And at worst, the characters are fun and interesting. Sam's mental health issues are well placed in the film and are not something that is often highlighted by films or television these days. Similarly, Dennis's romantic obsession with Gray is well-executed as is his inability to bond with anyone else as a result. Fritz is a fun character and it is easy to see why he dominates things like the film's trailer. It is assumed that he is irresponsible and jock-like, but as the film goes on that perception is steadily worn away.

As for Gray, who dominates most of the screentime, she is an interesting enough character and perhaps one of the best moments is when she begins to blurt out characterization at a dinner party (it's in the trailer). It's funny and her character struggle is a worthwhile one as she tries pretty desperately to form a new life now that all of her plans have been overturned. And honestly, the struggles of someone surviving a death, especially the financial ones, are seldom tackled in films, which might be why this movie tops out just a little bit over the average. Gray's struggles and her attempts to bond with those who may have known her fiance better than she did are entertaining and interesting to watch.

And the humor is well balanced in Catch And Release.

What is a little more shaky is the acting. The acting is fine, for the most part, but it's not anything new. Fans of Kevin Smith who have listened to even one of his commentary tracks will find his performance in Catch And Release to be pretty much in tune with the public persona he presents in his commentary tracks, etc. Sure, as Sam, he delivers sage one-liners, but his delivery is very Kevin Smith and it's almost impossible to see through it to divorce his performance from himself in this one. Can Kevin Smith act? Probably, but this isn't the film to prove it.

Similarly, Jennifer Garner provides a performance that is difficult for fans to write home about. Jennifer Garner made her first lasting mark on viewers through her portrayal of Sydney Bristow on Alias, a character whose fiance is killed in the pilot episode. As a result, much of Alias - The Complete First Season (reviewed here!) is obsessed with how Sydney moves on after the murder of her lover. On the acting front, then, what one might want to see from Garner in Catch And Release is something different. We, alas, do not. This is not to say Garner isn't good, but her performance is nothing we have not seen from her before and that's unfortunate.

On DVD, there is a commentary track which is all right and previews for the film. The DVD extras will not light the world on fire, but given the shoestring budget feel of the film (it looks good, but it feels like a small movie), it's to be expected.

Ultimately, Catch And Release is entertaining, it's a romantic comedy with a slightly different bent to it and it works well. But it's not one I'm adding to my permanent collection and while I recommend it, it's mostly for the viewing, not the buy.

For other works with Timothy Olyphant, be sure to check out my reviews of:
I Am Number Four
Meet Bill
Dreamcatcher
Go

5.5/10

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

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Collectible Value Means Nothing When Your Figure Doesn’t Stand Up! The Alias “So It Begins” Figure Falls Down!

The Good: Good sculpt, Good concept, Collectible value
The Bad: Terrible balance, Limited articulation, Disproportionately large head
The Basics: The Mirage Classified Plastic Alias Sydney Bristow figure from “So It Begins” captures one of Bristow’s most memorable outfits, but makes for a figure that is poorly engineered.


One of reviewing toys is that I have the chance to relay some fun stories from time to time. As it happens, my enjoyment of the process of acquiring the Sydney Bristow figure from “So It Begins” is much more interesting, I believe, than the figure itself. Back in the day, I was a bit of an Alias fan. I enthusiastically watched it from its first episode and I thought the idea and execution were clever (eventually, it went off the deep end, but it started awesome). The second episode, “So It Begins” featured Sydney Bristow in one of her first iconic outfits; a long blonde wig and a tight, short, vinyl dress that came after she was playing a French maid. Yup, every teenage guy’s fantasy, right?

So, when they made an action figure of it, I was casually interested. I heard about the figure in advance, but then missed its primary release in stores (though I recall finding the two-pack of her and Vaughn easily enough at the time). So, when I went to a convention that year and asked one of my dealer friends if he had any, he frowned and said that yes, he did, but the going rate (and best price he could give me) was about $95. I passed. A few years later, I was nowhere near as into Alias, but I liked it enough that when MediaPlay was closing near me and the workers began moving fixtures aside and I happened to be in the store when they did, I quickly scooped up the faded, water-warped package that housed a perfectly mint Sydney Bristow figure in it! It took the workers fifteen minutes to re-add the figure into the database, but I got my “So It Begins” Sydney Bristow figure for a cool $9.99 + tax!

That was pretty cool. Unfortunately, the figure is not.

To date, Mirage Classified Plastic Toys is the only company to make an action figure of Sydney Bristow as she appeared in the episode “So It Begins.”

Basics

Sydney Bristow from “So It Begins” is a great concept for an action figure. Mirage Classified Plastic toys clearly tried to make the figure look accurate and the facial sculpt is impressive. Unfortunately, it is slightly larger (proportionately) than the rest of the figure! However, this Alias figure has all of the key elements of Sydney Bristow from “So It Begins.” She has the blonde wig, tight blue dress, choker and a lot of skin showing!

Standing six and three-eighths inches tall, Sydney Bristow is a skinny, pleather-clad spy with shoulder-length blonde hair. With red lips and a choker that is so detailed it looks like it has tiny pedals at the throat, it is hard to deny that this Sydney Bristow is one cool looking action figure. Yes, Sydney Bristow looked pretty badass on television and in plastic, she's well-represented. The skintones look decent and the tiny blue dress has a metallic sheen to it!

The sculpt is pretty incredible; the figure looks like Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow. The figure is so detailed that the cheekbones and nose look just like the actress! Mirage Classified Plastic even sculpted fingernails and the hints of knuckles onto the figure! The dress even looks like it is tight, implying force from within, which is pretty impressive for such a static sculpt of a figure.

Accessories

Sydney Bristow does not come with any accessories.

Poseability

Because Sydney Bristow does not have foot holes and corresponding pegs, posing Sydney Bristow is based entirely on balance. Unfortunately, she has no balance! This is a ridiculous oversight in the part of Mirage Classified Plastics as they made the figure with only three points of articulation! Sydney Bristow has simple swivel joints at the shoulders and neck. That means that her feet cannot be moved and even though her platform heel shoes are flatfooted, she tips over when one attempts to stand her up. The only way I have ever gotten my Sydney Bristow to stand up is to swivel her arms so they are raised above her head – in a dancing or surrender position!

The head articulation is not at all inhibited by the hair, as the hair is made of a soft, flexible, rubbery plastic that easily moves.

Playability

Given that this Sydney Bristow is poorly articulated and comes without any accessories, she is not a decent toy for play. One suspects those who would recognize Sydney Bristow enough to enjoy the figure would not be the type to actually play with it. For those adults who might want to play with the figure instead of using it for display, it does require hand support.

Collectibility

Mirage Classified Plastic Toys made the right figure at the right time: when Alias was hot! This figure remains valuable, but given how few of them were made and how hard they are and were to find, it is unlikely one will find them to be a great investment figure now . . . unless they find one under some shelving somewhere!

The figure was not, however, a limited edition figure, nor does it have any sort of individual number that would make it more collectible. In general, though, the most valuable collectibles are the ones that capture well the essence of the subject and Sydney Bristow looks great as an action figure, at least in her packaging!

Overview

Given the poseability problems and the inflated price for a figure that cannot stand up, to me it matters little that the Sydney Bristow “So It Begins” figure looks good. I want my strong women of science fiction figures to actually stand up and this Sydney Bristow does not!

This version of Sydney Bristow appears solely in the first season of Alias, reviewed here!

For other toys of cool women, please visit my reviews of:
Catwoman from The Dark Knight
Illyria from Angel
Silk Spectre from Watchmen

4/10

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

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Sappy And Entirely Predictable, The Odd Life Of Timothy Green Is Still Remarkably Good!

The Good: Decent acting, Good characters, Great tone
The Bad: Entirely predictable plot
The Basics: The Odd Life Of Timothy Green might be predictable, but it’s still surprisingly easy to connect to, even for those who are not predisposed toward such films!


I have a litmus test for films that I very use very seldomly. That test is if the movie evokes a strong emotional reaction, I often have to acknowledge that it is not simply the most technical rating system that defines how good the film is. Usually, that experience for me goes the other way; gut-wrenching horror movies, for example, that leave me wishing I was blind and deaf for how gross and stupid they are often earn ratings that are probably lower than the technical rating would honestly give them. For a very rare change of pace, The Odd Life Of Timothy Green is one that might not be as honestly good as it was emotionally enjoyable.

The Odd Life Of Timothy Green is a tearjerker and it works on that front. In the tradition of Pay It Forward (reviewed here!), The Odd Life Of Timothy Green is a largely predictable film that tugs on the heartstrings and is designed for the big emotional reaction from the audience. I’m not a huge fan of cheesy films that are designed to evoke tears from the audience. In fact, in my collection, I think only The Spitfire Grill (reviewed here!) might qualify. But as one who largely loathes children, if a movie about having children can actually evoke a strong emotional reaction in me, there is some inherent quality to the film.

The Odd Life Of Timothy Green is that film.

Beginning with Cindy and Jim Green appearing at a U.S. Adoption Services for a hearing, the pair begins to tell the two agents why they should be allowed to adopt. Their reason is simply “Timothy” and they begin to tell the story of what happened to them the prior September. Flashing back, Jim and Cindy tell the story of living and working in Stanleyville, the Pencil Capitol Of The World. Told that they cannot have a child of their own, the adults head back home to mourn. Unable to move on immediately, Jim decides to play a game with Cindy where they list all of the attributes they would want for a child of their own. Burying the box with their attributes, a magical rainstorm breaks the drought only over the Green house. Jim wakes up and he and Cindy discover a child there.

The child, Timothy, has leaves growing out of his ankles and to protect their new charge, Jim and Cindy have him hide them under socks. Discovering that Timothy’s leaves cannot be cut off, Cindy and Jim decide to sent him to school. Unfortunately, he is bullied there by the sons of Jim’s boss at the pencil factory and a mysterious girl. Taking Jim’s advice, Timothy attempts to flee from Joni the next time she encounters him and the two form a friendship based on their both being outsiders. As Timothy starts to have a profound effect on those around him, Jim and Cindy become more attached, not knowing the secret that Timothy is keeping from them both!

In fact, in plot structure, The Odd Life Of Timothy Green is remarkably like The Spitfire Grill, but with a more obvious “ticking clock” element. Almost immediately, Timothy begins to exhibit the traits that Jim and Cindy came up with for their ideal child. Oddly, they reference having different names for their ideal child in the box (Timothy being the only male name compared to the fifty-four girl names), but that scene is not actually included in the film. Timothy is a cute, honest child who has a big heart and a great sense of humor. As the film progresses, Jim and Cindy begin waiting for him to make the winning goal in a soccer game, which was one of the aspects of their ideal child they put in on a lark.

The other ticking clock comes from Timothy losing his leaves. After meeting Joni and when Uncle Bub is hospitalized, Timothy’s leaves begin to die and fall off. Still, he works to inspire his parents, getting them to create a new type of pencil in an attempt to save the Stanleyville pencil plant. At the same time, Timothy and Joni become closer and it becomes very clear that they share an uncommon bond.

In addition to the ultimately predictable element of The Odd Life Of Timothy Green, director Peter Hedges fails to land the original meeting between Timothy and Joni. Joni claims to be different and when she shows him her birthmark, it is not exactly clear what is different about her (her birthmark looks like a splotch of jelly on her shoulder and simply saying that she is different is not immediately clear). But as she and Timothy get closer, they have good chemistry and there is a refreshingly energetic and childish aspect to their relationship!

The characters in The Odd Life Of Timothy Green are interesting and engaging to watch. From the moment Timothy Green gets cleaned up and wrapped up in a towel, he dominates the scenes in the film. Jim’s problematic relationship with his father, Big Jim, makes him far less whitebread than he might initially appear and when Cindy becomes unrestrained with the head of the pencil industry’s family, Bernice Crudstaff, she’s actually hilarious.

On the acting front, The Odd Life Of Timothy Green is good. Child actors C.J. Adams and Odeya Rush (Timothy Green and Joni, respectively) actually do remarkably well with their characters. They play off one another incredibly well. This was actually the most significant role I had seen Joel Edgerton in and he lived up as Jim. He held up opposite David Morse, which is no small feat. Jennifer Garner is good, but given how many roles she played early on in Alias (reviewed here!), it is hard to tell how good her acting is in The Odd Life Of Timothy Green. She certainly does not show any new side to her performance as Cindy.

The Odd Life Of Timothy Green is heartwarming and fun and it works to its appropriate crescendo for the exact result it intends to get. And despite the faults it has in being obvious, The Odd Life Of Timothy Green is enjoyable and worth watching for the whole family.

For other Disney live-action works, please check out my reviews of:
John Carter
Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Tron: Legacy
Oceans
Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time
Alice In Wonderland
Old Dogs
G-Force
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
The Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement
The Princess Diaries
Tron

7/10

For other film reviews, be sure to check out my Movie Review Index Page!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Bubblegum For Stoners, A Science Fiction Comedy: Dude, Where’s My Car?

The Good: It's ALWAYS nice to see Jennifer Garner and Marla Sokoloff, Convincing acting
The Bad: This is a largely dumb movie
The Basics: With mild entertainment value, Dude, Where’s My Car? is a science fiction comedy that is largely a witless trek around to find a lost car while two stoners are hunted by smarter people and aliens.


For years there was someone in my life trying to convince me that the seminal American movie was Dude Where’s My Car? so last night, I finally broke down and watched it. I now have one less holiday card to send out. Even recognizing Dude Where’s My Car? as a stupid, teen-oriented stoner flick, this movie manages to be lousy.

Best friends Jesse and Chester wake up from a night of being stoned and/or heavy drinking on their anniversary to their girlfriends (who are twins) to discover they have lost the previous night and Jesse's car. As they search for their car to get to their girlfriends, they find themselves hunted by a transsexual, a cadre of "hot chicks," two muscly men and a cult focused on entering outer space. As Jesse and Chester are manipulated for the whereabouts of a device they supposedly possess, they reconstruct the outrageous night they had the night before.

First, what works. At the end of the day, Dude Where’s My Car? is a science fiction comedy. In my book, there are too few of those. Dude Where’s My Car? is, in part, a dimwitted science fiction comedy about two people who stumble upon a device that could destroy the universe and the forces that hunt them to insure that will not happen. As a drama, this is a compelling plot. As a comedy, it has the elements to be very funny.

The problem is in the execution. What might have been an excellent situation for a farce or satire or even a referential comedy quickly becomes a stoner movie. Lacking any of the intelligence in dialogue of a Kevin Smith movie - the average joke in Dude Where’s My Car? involves repetition - this simply becomes a stoner comedy about two slackers who try to be funny.

The other thing that works, though, in this movie, is the acting. Yup, the acting. Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott are utterly convincing as stoners who are clueless and out of control. Kutcher has the ability to make his face go slack with stupidity that no other young actor can master. Seann William Scott plays an adequate sidekick who seems just functional enough to perform his plot-dictated roles.

Sadly, this is a waste of the talents of Jennifer Garner and Marla Sokoloff, who are usually worth the price of admission for me. Garner and Sokoloff play the twins Wanda and Wilma and the final joke of the movie is insulting to these two professionals and the viewers alike. Strangely, two of the better names who appear in the movie are not even credited. Brent Spiner ("Data" on Star Trek The Next Generation) and Andy Dick appear midway through the movie for a scene.

There's not much to say about this movie. Minutes are spent with Jesse fighting with a speakerbox while ordering Chinese food. Similarly, a portion of time is spent with Jesse and Chester reading each other's tattooed backs and mistaking "Dude" and "Sweet" for terms of affection as opposed to what the tattoos say. And there's a requisite number of oral sex jokes and jokes based on secondary sex characteristics that could only be found amusing by high school dropouts and preteens.

What sinks Dude Where’s My Car? ultimately is that it's not funny. I was amused by the movie, but there was little to actually laugh at. I did find the movie refreshingly direct; the characters are witlessly looking for their car. If you want a movie smarter than that, this is certainly telling the viewer off the bat, it is not it.

For other science fiction comedies, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Men In Black 3
The Back To The Future Trilogy
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

5/10

For other movie reviews, check out my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the films I have reviewed!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Season After The Shark Is Better Upon The Second Viewing: Alias Season Five

The Good: Interesting new characters, Generally good acting, Specific episodes ("Bob"), Series resolution.
The Bad: Tired character elements, Very predictable plot and character elements, Some commentaries
The Basics: With its disappointing resolution and plotlines avid Alias viewers have already seen, Alias - The Complete Fifth Season is largely an argument for terminating a series before it's too late.


There are two examples in recent memory that stand up as the archetypes in my mind for how a television show may go from being the pride and cornerstone of a network to a dismal, quiet end. The first is Ally McBeal, which struggled after losing Gil Bellows and then Robert Downey Jr. to end its run quickly, anonymously and with finality. Alias, which I was much more vested in is a tragedy of underperformance for its final season. Paired with Lost during Lost's first season (reviewed here!), Alias took a hiatus to postpone most of its fifth season and as Lost gained in popularity, ABC stopped betting on Alias. When Jennifer Garner expressed the desire to end her tenure on Alias, the fifth season was cut back from 22 episodes to 20 and ultimately was cut back to 17 episodes, despite published reports that the writing staff was working hard to wrap up all the complex plotlines in the allotted episodes.

Following the climactic events of Season Four's finale, Sydney Bristow finds herself pregnant with Vaughn's child. As well, Bristow takes up the task of investigating an old enemy called Prophet Five, which Vaughn had (apparently) been investigating for some time. Jack takes over APO and Sloane works for a pardon in order to find a cure for Nadia's ailment.

There is a sense of transition in APO as Sydney heads for maternity leave and the group takes on two new agents, Rachel Gibson and Thomas Grace. Gibson, in a position Sydney was in the first season, is clearly being groomed to take her place. Grace, who fills a Vaughn-like role is established as a potential romantic interest for her. The season also begins with a rogue ally who is an uneasy ally of the CIA, a trained killer named Renee Rienne.

Yeah, there's the sense from almost the end of the first episode of the fifth (and final) season that the show has jumped the shark. When Vaughn exposes his past to Sydney, the viewer gets the feeling that the show is going nowhere good. When Rachel Gibson joins the team, the viewer instantly gets the sense of transition that fans of The X-Files got when Agent Dogget showed up. That is, "this is a fundamental change from the show we were enjoying, I don't know if I can live with it."

In some ways, I suppose, it's fortunate Alias dies a quick death with the fifth season rather than dragging on for years after it outlived itself. It's a shame it did not go out on a higher note, that it did not wrap in a way that was surprising or unpredictable or otherwise at the top of its game.

I say that because the tired refrain on Alias has become, "I won't make that mistake again." The characters have been betrayed time and time again, so one wonders why they ever trust anyone again. They always claim they won't, but then they do. For CIA agents, they're a bunch of idiots at times.

This critique is centered around the character of Sloane. Sloane is a great character and he was one of the most compelling villains on television. But one of the problems with his character is that - starting in the third season - he has to have a legitimate reason for his continued presence on the show. Without the immediacy of his villainous organization SD-6, the writers had to come up with a way to keep him around - on the show and in the lives of the Bristows. In season three, he betrays his allies to rescue (and meet) his daughter. In season four, well, he actually does the same thing. In season five, as the tired generic villainy of Prophet Five wanes, we expect Sloane to do the same thing. At least we - the viewers - see it coming.

Sadly, Rachel Gibson's presence is more awkward than reassuring. We are never weaned off Sydney enough to believe Gibson will be a vital member of the team. So the most intriguing character of season five ends up being . . . Thomas Grace. An agent with a checkered past, Grace has a rogue quality that is drawn out throughout the season and his arc is the most satisfying of the season.

So, following the season premiere, the pursuit of Prophet Five seems like something we have seen before. The shark has been jumped. There are no distinct alias's in season five . . . save in the episode "Bob." "Bob" marks the return of Sark and his alias playing off an alias Gibson is playing at makes for the season's most satisfying episode. Beyond that, it's pretty stale.

I will say, though, that it was better the second time around. When I watched the fifth season of Alias on television, I remember feeling disappointment after each episode. Watching it again on DVD, without interruptions, some of the interplay works better. Jack Bristow's relationship with Sydney is wonderfully tender, Kelly Peyton's ruthlessness is delicious to watch and even Gibson's slow meld into a field agent works better.

But is it enough to save the series? No. The only reason to purchase Alias - The Complete Fifth Season is to have the opportunity to complete one's collection, to see the ultimate resolution of the prior four years.

As Alias focuses on characters, here is how the fifth season finds them:

Sydney Bristow - Pregnant with Vaughn's child, Sydney finds herself uncomfortably unable to do all she wants to to make the world safe for her impending child,

Michael Vaughn - Disappearing after revealing his true past to Sydney, Vaughn's place is as an absent element in Sydney's life,

Dixon - Occasionally aids Jack, though his relationship with Chase - established late in the fourth season - is not even mentioned,

Weiss - Leaves APO to join the NSA,

Marshall - Finds a kindred spirit in the geeky Rachel Gibson, but otherwise remains relegated to his usual tech role,

Rachel Gibson - Betrayed by a Sloane-like character named Gordon Dean, Gibson joins APO as the resident expert on Prophet Five and she works to fit in,

Renee Rienne - Working free-lance with Sydney, Renee has ties to Vaughn and her own pursuit of Prophet Five leads to danger and mayhem,

Thomas Grace - A perennial risk-taker, Grace almost seems to have a death wish, which as his backstory is revealed, is motivated by some pretty heavy guilt,

Sloane - Desperate to find a cure for Nadia's ailment, he makes a partnership with an unlikely source that allows him his freedom and hope, for a terrible price,

and Jack Bristow - With grandfatherhood impending, Jack finds his leadership position at APO a wonderful distraction, especially as he works to thwart the endgames of his various enemies.

The best reason to watch the fifth season of Alias is for the few scenes containing Balthazar Getty as Thomas Grace, an irony considering the best episode of the season ("Bob") utilizes newcomer Rachel Nichols extraordinarily well and neglects Getty for the most part. Getty brings a quality that instantly defines Thomas Grace and makes him intriguing. He is able to successfully keep the viewer glued to him for his tenure on the series.

Other than that, the series simply wraps itself up. And it's not as satisfying as it could be. Rewatching this WAS a better experience on DVD, but it still is not enough to recommend. One immediately wonders if the writers and producers had known the fifth season would fizzle, would they have had the courage to end the fourth season with more finality?

For other works with Rachel Nichols, be sure to visit my reviews of:
G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra
Star Trek
Charlie Wilson’s War


5/10

For other television reviews, please be sure to check out my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the shows and seasons I have reviewed!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Season On The Fence: Alias Season Four!

The Good: Moments where characters develop, Jack's story, Acting
The Bad: Vaughn's storyline, The general plot, Lack of a coherent enemy
The Basics: Lacking a coherent enemy, season four of Alias attempts to rework the series with poor results until all of the threads come together in the last seven episodes.


When reviewing Alias the Complete Fourth Season, one must remember that the end of the season cannot redeem the whole rest of the season. The truth is, Alias' fourth season was its most inconsistent and it is impossible to recommend to those who are not already fans of the spy show.

To clarify, fans are likely to enjoy moments of the fourth season of Alias, but the truth is, it has a plot that is weaker than the previous seasons. Unlike season's one and two, season three ended with a far more nebulous and mysterious ending. Following up on that was a feat that the producers of Alias did not entirely succeed with. Unlike the previous seasons where the end set a high bar to leap over, season three ended with a "well, okaaaay, eh" feeling and Season four begins with much the same feeling.

After Sydney Bristow is apparently ejected from the CIA, she enlists in a black-ops program called APO that acts as an autonomous intelligence organization, like a CIA without the bureaucracy. Sydney finds herself once again working under Sloane and her father, partnered with Vaughn and Dixon. It does not take long before Weiss, Marshall and Nadia, Sydney's newly discovered half-sister, join the team and are set out into the world to fight evil.

The fundamental problem is the setup for the season. In the prior season, the villain was The Covenant and it was a worthy foe of our CIA heroes. The Covenant's mission appeared to be tied to the 16th Century technological prophet Milo Rambaldi and it was a pretty impressive organization. In the third season, the element that worked exceptionally well was that the Covenant was fairly well-matched to the protagonists of Alias, resulting in several draws or times when the Covenant actually achieved its goal. It took the risk of letting the good guys lose from time to time, even if they ultimately did not.

Season four is far more monolithic, our heroes always win and there is no villain as Coherent as SD-6, the unholy alliance between Sloane, Irina Derevko and Sark, or the Covenant. This leaves much of the season on far shakier ground and the plots become much more convoluted and ridiculous. Take, for example, the fifth episode of the season "Welcome To Liberty Village." In this awkward episode, Sydney and Vaughn end up impersonating Chechnians who are impersonating Americans as part of a long-term infiltration training camp. It calls to mind the equally ridiculous episode of The X-Files where Mulder and Scully impersonate a married couple to infiltrate a planned community that is plagued by a golem.

Moreover, the show takes turns that seem implausible even for Alias. Take, for example, episode eight, "Echoes." "Echoes" marks the return of Anna Espinoza, villainess from the first season of Alias. First, when Espinoza was last seen, she was an operative of K Directorate. Sark, in his ominous early appearances, killed the leadership of K Directorate for "The Man." With the destruction of K Directorate by the organization that was run by Irina Derevko, it seems unlikely that agents like Anna Espinoza would have survived, especially if such an agent was such a threat to Derevko's cherished daughter, Sydney Bristow. But even beyond that, the producers ask us to believe that the brilliantly dangerous Anna Espinoza would have paired with Sark, the man who sent her into free agenthood by killing off her employers and her steady paycheck. Sigh. Doesn't work for me. Espinoza made sense to have been dead and her reappearance was more blah than anything else. And I'm a fan of Gina Torres, who plays Espinoza.

Outside two exceptions, the first twelve episodes are mostly disappointing, leaving less than half a season for the show to recover. Unfortunately, a portion of those remaining episodes deal with the ridiculous and banal plot involving Vaughn's search for his possibly-not-dead father. Given that Vaughn's characterization involves the death of his father at the hands of Sydney's mother, and given how many characters have investigated Vaughn in previous seasons, the concept that Vaughn's father might be alive is just stupid. And it weakens - somewhat retroactively - the menace posed by Irina Derevko. After all, if Irina wasn't able to really take out Vaughn's father, who did she really kill?!

The season takes a turn for the better when an impersonator of Arvin Sloane surfaces, attempting to complete an ultra-powerful Rambaldi device. This leads to the ultimate villain and leads to a pretty kick-butt acceleration toward the end of the season. Also in the last few episodes of the season, Jack Bristow is focused on in a pair of exceptional episodes that bring him to the brink of death.

The characters in the fourth season have moments of worthwhile development, but they are terribly inconsistent. Here is how the fourth season finds our heroes:

Sydney Bristow - Having learned that her father has killed her mother, Sydney feels lost and joins the Black-ops group APO where she is forced to monitor her nemesis Arvin Sloane. As she begins to know her sister, Nadia, she tries to reform her bond with Michael Vaughn and with her father. The show does not focus on developing her much this season,

Jack Bristow - Arguably the most intriguing character on the show, Jack continues to illustrate the devotion he has toward protecting his daughter and in the process, he puts himself in serious jeopardy,

Arvin Sloane - While no one seems to remember that Sloane is - as far as the rest of the world knows - dead, Sloane is put in command of APO and is predictably deceptive while keeping up the guise of legitimacy,

Michael Vaughn - Apparently became an idiot when he joined APO because he falls for the ridiculous notion that his father is still alive and goes rogue to find out the truth,

Dixon - Always a character we've wanted to see develop more, Dixon is put in the awkward position of monitoring the man who killed his wife. There are moments when Dixon rises to be interesting, especially late in the season when he actually goes on a mission undercover that hinges on him. Unfortunately, late in the season Dixon is put in the awkward position of ending up in a relationship, as if the producers simply said "hey, we have two people of color on the show, they should hook up." Sigh,

Marshall - Almost entirely neglecting his family life, Marshall's sole character endeavor comes in a rescue mission that is his episode of the season. And in the finale, he and Weiss actually are given some dialogue,

Weiss - Sadly relegated to APO by chance - not talent - Weiss' character development is most interesting outside APO and a welcome change for his character,

and Nadia Santos - The daughter of Arvin Sloane and Irina Derevko who was introduced in the final episodes of season three, joins APO and develops as a character. When she is targeted by followers of Rambaldi, she begins to wonder if she has a destiny and what that fate is tied to.

Conversely, while the characters are inconsistent, the acting is consistently strong. Victor Garber, especially, stands out in the cast for his always-amazing portrayal of Jack Bristow.

Unlike the previous three seasons, Alias' fourth season, while enjoyable, is not the compelling spy thriller is has been. The last six episodes are worthy of being a part of the series and the last moments of the season are incredible, but the rest of the season is hard to justify. Not for those who are not already fans of the series, this season is inconsistent and works best for those who have already been invested in the show.

For other works with Greg Grunberg, be sure to check out my reviews at:
Super 8
Star Trek
Heroes - The Complete Series
Lost - Season 1
Mission: Impossible III

4.5/10

For other television reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for a complete listing of all the television reviews I have written.

© 2012, 2006 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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