January 25, 2021

MY FELLOW AMERICANS (1996) AND THE CROSSROADS OF THE NINETIES

Few things define an era better than its politics and films, whether borrowing too many aspects from each other, or capturing an optimism that would soon evaporate in the next decade. While it seemed to get lost in the shuffle of political satires released during the Clinton administration, Peter Segal's 1996 effort has become (for this writer) a microcosm of the post-TCM/Grumpy Old Men era, nestled in that "Cold War is over, let's rest on our laurels" cultural zeitgeist.

Jack Lemmon as Former President Russell Kramer

James Garner as Former President Matt Douglas

Dan Aykroyd as President William Haney

John Heard as Vice President Ted Matthews

Bradley Whitford as Carl Witnaur

Everett McGill as Colonel Paul Tanner,
continuing his run of playing villainous government officials.

Wilford Brimley as Joe Hollis

Lauren Bacall as Margaret Kramer

Intended as yet another Jack Lemmon-Walter Matthau vehicle, My Fellow Americans came off the heels of box-office hits Grumpy Old Men (1993) and Grumpier Old Men (1995), but with Matthau having to drop out for health reasons, he would be replaced by James Garner, himself coming off a successful run of Rockford Files T.V. movie revivals.

Truth be told, Garner pulls off the "ladies man" part of Douglas
better than 90s Matthau would have.

Armed with a solid script and excellent cast, MFA is a surprisingly difficult movie to gauge in that there's so much going on in it. But while it barely made back its budget and was considered weak for a political satire, it, like many 90s mainstream comedies, comes off as more and more wide-eyed with the passage of time.

It's an old premise, but the "two enemies forced to work together" plot
is the movie's glue, given the talents of Garner and Lemmon.

Former Presidents Kramer (Lemmon) and Douglas (Garner) are drawn into an elaborate conspiracy involving bribery, assassinations, cover-ups, and a nationwide manhunt. All the while, they have to contend with both each other and the truth of their unfulfilled lives after their presidencies.

Kramer merchandises his image to all hell in the hopes
of staying relevant after his presidency.

MFA is certainly dated in more ways than one, but its script, cast, direction, and chemistry bring it well above its negative critical reception.

Lemmon somewhat outshines Garner due to having more of a character arc,
and Kramer is surprisingly earnest and vulnerable given the genre.

Douglas is hardly a stretch for Garner's (underrated) capabilities,
but he's perfectly ornery and has terrific chemistry with Lemmon.
(Especially considering the role wasn't intended for him.)

Heard is pitch perfect as Matthews, a few-years-removed riff
on former Vice President Dan Quayle.

Matthews offensively apologizing to the black golfer he hit with his ball
is unfortunately all too timeless today.

The film's only tonal off note is when Genny (Connie Ray), mother of a homeless family
that's driving Kramer and Douglas, explains how she and her husband lost their jobs
and home due to the presidents' policies. The scene is played almost totally seriously, at odds
with the earlier lighter-hearted satire. (The piano music doesn't help, either.)

Sela Ward as Kaye Griffin
Ward only has roughly two scenes in the film, which is a touch weird,
given how the film doesn't have many female characters to start with.
Did she originally have more scenes, or did I overestimate Sisters' popularity?

A more contentious point is that this movie has a serious lack of Bacall.
That, and I don't quite buy her as Lemmon's wife.
Why not have her as his badass campaign manager instead?


While stereotypical, the LGBT characters are equally as kind
as the other characters who help Kramer and Douglas,
and (spoiler!) even help save their lives.

THE ROLE OF THE NINETIES (AND DID WE ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING?)

Being a 90s kid too young to remember much of that decade, MFA represents for me a warmer, sunnier, safer time, when normalcy and optimism prevailed, and things were in a state of calm. Of course, this outlook has the downside of obscuring systemic problems that were already rife in the 90s, but were conveniently ignored by the white mainstream. 

Still, as I've said before, MFA and Kramer's character arc come off as idealistic in light of what would later happen in real life (especially as reflected in other political satires). Even just a few years later, a movie like MFA probably couldn't be made with the tone that it has. In its present state, MFA may dip into sentimentality at times, but one could make the argument that those "dips" were emblematic of the time, when treacly shows and movies were still popular.

But the microcosm I referred to at the start of this post is how MFA would turn out to be one of the last in a series of comedies aimed at an older adult audience, with casts having at least one Old Hollywood star as a headliner. 

It's mind-boggling now to think of how short the post-Grumpy Old Men era truly was. Seemingly overnight, studios were scrambling to cast Matthau and Lemmon (and/or their contemporaries) in comedy vehicles dependent on their chemistry. Adding to the trend was a renewed interest in Old Hollywood, a large chunk of which was precipitated by Ted Turner's 1986 purchase of the MGM film library. Growing cable channels not only aired classic films, but commissioned many T.V. movies starring the same actors. (Lemmon, Bacall, Gregory Peck, and George C. Scott easily come to mind.)


Lemmon and Scott would even star together in the T.V. movie adaptations of
12 Angry Men (1997) and Inherit the Wind (1999).

After 1996 (or '97) however, things would take a turn. Not only were younger stars like Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler now headlining the biggest comedy hits (and hitting that much-desired 18-35 demographic), but the culture at large was skewing younger and younger. (Even my memory of the time had the Y2K/aliens/dance music aesthetic hit virtually overnight.) Perhaps the best indicator of this shift in retrospect was Bacall, much-hyped for her nomination for The Mirror Has Two Faces, famously losing the Best Actress Oscar to Juliette Binoche. 

But even had this era lasted longer... well, I don't mean to sound morbid, but... the stars were dying. And since the 80s, in increasingly rapid succession. 

Matthau would pass away in 2000, with Lemmon following a year later.
Close friends Garner and Bacall would pass away less than a month apart in 2014.

It may have ended abruptly, but seeing this era's renewed appreciation for the stars and talents while they were still around (and seeing these films appreciated by younger folks now) warms my heart as a classic film and T.V. buff. 

AND THE REST...

In addition to its great main cast, MFA boasts a multitude of character actors and future stars, including (but not limited to)...

90s villain mainstay James Rebhorn as defense contractor Charlie Reynolds

Conchata Ferrell as a truck driver who picks up Kramer and Douglas

While MFA won't win any awards for its depiction of Mexican immigrants,
it does give a small role to Michael Peña in turn.

Comedian and future Simpsons writer Dana Gould as a sandwich delivery boy
who Douglas has tackled by his Secret Service agents as a distraction

Director Paul Feig as a reporter who gets a cramp from writing
down Matthews' cringeworthy apology

John O'Leary as Ben, the night guard of Kramer's presidential library

The legendary Esther Rolle as Rita, the White House Chef

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

Jack Lemmon as one half of a duo on the run who hides on a train?
(And with a Marilyn impersonator to boot!)


Before he would perfect the "walk and talk" on The West Wing
Bradley Whitford pioneered the "spin and talk" and the "jog and talk".


In case you forgot this was made in the 90s,
James Garner on the toilet singing "Macarena".

Believe it or not, The Odd Couple II would later pretty much
steal this immigrants scene (and do it noticeably worse).




It was only in screencapping for this post that I noticed these priceless
facial expressions from Bacall.

TIDBITS AND SUCH


Although I thought he did a fine job with this film, Garner and Lemmon didn't get along with director Segal, as Garner stated in his 2011 autobiography The Garner Files that Segal "was a self-appointed genius who didn't know his ass from second base and Jack and [Garner] both knew it."

Chris Roberts' podcast I Saw It On Linden Street has a greatly informative episode on MFA here.

All political satires grow more and more relevant with time, but My Fellow Americans proves that satirizing the worst of politics could at least at one time be done with a reassuring counterbalance of American optimism and sense of justice, and the film deserves more notice for its talent, its place in time, and as a companion to the Matthau/Lemmon renaissance.

"You son of a..."

Copyright © Chynna Moore

January 12, 2021

ROOMS IN A VIEW: DECIDING YOUR SETTINGS


It can be easy to take for granted the importance of setting in a scene. Setting, however, is one opportunity of many to deepen the overall story. Here are a few useful pointers to keep this setting from being boring on paper and onscreen.

WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE SCENE? WHO IS IN IT?

Action and plot come first if you're undecided on a setting for your scene, or the setting you currently have just isn't working. Let your eventual setting choice accommodate those first, of course, before deciding on the multitude of factors below.

For Rick Dalton to simply be told what kind of character he's playing on Lancer would be boring. 
In the show's hair and makeup trailer, however, he's confronted with the aesthetic aspects of 
his villainous character as well as those of the currently-popular stars of 1969,
driving home just how "out of time" he truly feels.

WHAT IS THE SPACE?

Is it wide open? Claustrophobic? Old, decrepit? Or new with the plasticky smell still present? What are the sounds? If your scene takes place indoors during the summer, it's likely the A/C will be heard in the background. Outside, you'll likely hear birds and passing cars. Is it a setting that's loose and laid-back? Or uptight and solemn?

Lex Luthor repurposes an abandoned subway station into his lair, which is large and grand
in nature, but still possesses his means of villainy and "hiding in plain sight".

WHAT PROPS WILL BE THERE?

No props would be fine if your scene in question is about two characters merely verbally sparring, but especially in comedies, it's important to remember that props can be your friend. After all, a character's stern point can be undercut by a considerably sillier prop.

This would not be an example of the above.

HOW WILL THEY INFORM YOUR CHARACTERS (AND VICE VERSA)?

Is the setting intrusive enough to affect the characters' conversation? Or so deadly quiet that they feel exceptionally nervous and self-conscious? It may not even influence their conversation directly, but perhaps it's not as secure as they think. Like props, let the room be your friend.

The claustrophobic, bustling courthouse press room in The Front Page (1974) influences
Hildy Johnson's tension in hiding Earl Williams from his fellow press men.

ARE THERE PARALLELS OR THEMATIC CONNECTIONS?

Similar to the above, the room in question can be indicative of a character's personality, past, present, and future. Is it as stifling as their nature? Open and barren? Or just there because the character is barely in there to begin with?

Despite being one of the smaller spaces in Luthor's lair, this map room is spacious, with plenty of room
for Luthor's various computers (because 1978), furniture, and distance between him and
Miss Teschmacher, signifying their opulent, but emotionally cold dynamic.

ARE THEY REAL? FICTIONAL? 

Real locations can be enhanced with regional and other details (see in my "Screenwriting" tag), but a fictional setting can still parody a real one to hilarious effect. What are its further surroundings? Is the larger setting the Mojave desert? Or Churchill, Manitoba with polar bears?

Three words that strike fear into the hearts of animal lovers
and lovesick old folks alike.

Copyright © Chynna Moore