WE'RE ONLY HUMAN
PARANOIA PARADE
ByBy Rob Fagin
Rob Fagin
Katharine Hepburn, John Howard, and Cary Grant in The Philadelphia Story
J
uly arrives with a bang as Terminator
Genisys hits theaters on the 1st. The scifi franchise continues with Arnold
Schwarzenegger reprising his role as the
titular character. And for the ladies, Magic
Mike XXL sequal joins the party on the
same day, starring Channing Tatum, Matt
Bomer, Joe Manganiello and Adam
Rodriguez writhing around on stage as
male strippers. The Minions are back on July
17th and sure to be bringing in lots of cash
all around the world in this much-anticipated sequel to Despicable Me 2. And Marvel
gets its second comic book super-hero flick
of the summer with in Paul Rudd in AntMan (July 17).
However, July 17th also sees the big
screen debut of Amy Schumer, who has
teamed up with Judd Apatow on
Trainwreck, about a commitment-phobic
magazine writer who realizes that she has
to change her dating habits when she meets
Bill Hader in the summer’s first big romcom. These comedic heavyweights will
undoubtedly deliver riotous laughs, but
also an unflinching examination of relation-
ship moments that most people would find
excruciatingly embarrassing and undeniably recognizable.
Later in the month (July 31), the wellreceived Sundance road-trip drama, End of
the Tour, will feature two effortlessly funny
actors (Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg) in
what is described as "the greatest conversation you've ever had" between a reporter
and the writer David Foster Wallace, who
would later succumb to his lifelong depression and hang himself.
With movies that are true to human
behavior and the relationships formed
within them, there is a thin crack in the concrete between comedy and drama where
tremendous humor and poignant reflection
blossoms. Here are two films that showcase
different elements of this theme, both
extraordinarily well made and classics in
their own right.
First up:
Broadcast News (1988)
Director: James L. Brooks
133 Minutes, Rated R
It wouldn't be a surprise if a movie
(made-for-TV) were produced chronicling
the humiliating downfall of the former NBC
Nightly News anchor, Brian Williams. But
there is already a masterpiece from 27 years
ago that may as well have tuned into something very close to Williams' ascendence.
William Hurt's performance in Broadcast
News strikes an uncanny resemblance to
Brian Williams - blandly handsome and
kempt, skillfully trustworthy, a performer
of intelligent mannerisms, a salesman of
important information. With the ability to
muster tears on command, you could imagine Hurt's fictional version of a news anchor
telling his own fictional stories of nearly
getting shot down in Afghanistan and making everyone believe every word.
"What do you think the Devil is going to
look like if he's around? He will be attractive! He'll be nice and helpful. He'll get a job
where he influences a great God-fearing
nation. He'll never do an evil thing! He will
just bit by little bit lower our standards
where they are important. And he'll get all
the great women." A serious re ܝ\