MOVIES
No Guinea Pigs or Video Games Allowed
Jerry Bruckheimer escapes from his funk to create “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.”
Jerry Bruckheimer (left) with his since deceased partner, Don Simpson
circa 1990. Despite their contradictory personalities, they shared “the
world’s longest desk.” Photo by permission of From the Desk Of – co-written
by Sid Lerner & Hal Drucker. © Sing-Si Ltd.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Our old friend Jerry has let us down recently with films such as G-Force (2009) and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (two months ago), barraging us with explosive, in-your-face scenes encompassing everything from Parkour (Prince of Persia) to action-packed flight scenes (G-Force) even if the latter did involve only an armored mosquito with a voice like a falling grenade. His new work, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, came out two days earlier than planned in hope that the media would frenzy, assuming they liked it. But there was no frenzy, not even a negative one, and perhaps this was because critics saw it as being too similar to the crime-fighting rodents and bulked-up Jake Gyllenhaal’s of yore. And with all the money on hand obviously spent on special effects to enhance the fight scenes of the Merlinians and the Morganians, that’s partly true. But I’d like to think that the production team was thinking about more than visuals when this movie was made, and since it’s a Disney film, I believe that they did (though watch the trailer for this December’s Tron 2: Legacy and you will find yourself doubting them).
You’ll love it without even watching it, because Who couldn’t? The original short from Fantasia (1940) has helped shape one of the greatest animated characters of all time and will live in our hearts and minds forever. And in fact, a person watching the movie can imagine the yellow-toothed and childlike Jay Baruchel (who also starred in this year’s runaway 3-D blockbuster How to Train Your Dragon) voicing the mouse himself, as he plays Mickey’s live-action parallel character in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Speaking of which, that bearded old wizard in the short could have the rugged voice Nicholas Cage uses for the 1400-year-old Balthazar Blake, a former apprentice of Merlin himself. Balthazar spends hundreds of years attempting to find Merlin’s successor, the Prime Merlinian (release of burden, or replacement of father figure?) and finds what he’s looking for in young Dave Stutler (Baruchel) in 2000, attempts to recruit him with a magic item (a ring, not a hat) and then gets trapped in a magical Chinese urn for ten years with his nemesis, Horvath (Alfred Molina), another apprentice of Merlin who bailed (to use crude terms) on his master in 740 C.E., siding instead with the evil Morgana (presumably the legendary Morgana le Fay, who in the King Arthur tales was a fairy who locked Merlin under a tree for eternity). In the film, however, she kills Merlin with a well-timed spell and a poker. Subtle.
To save Balthazar’s life, the third apprentice, Veronica, draws Morgana’s essence into herself and has Balthazar trap her and Morgana in a Russian nesting doll. All the history of sorcery from that point on is essentially the Morganians vs. the Merlinians until Dave accidentally loses the nesting doll after releasing Horvath, who is trapped in a layer of the doll. Thanks a lot, buddy. But then Balthazar traps Horvath and himself in a jar for 10 years and, well… the rest is showdowns and graphics.
As the Newark Star-Ledger so aptly put it, the film really is more of a premise than a plot, relying on the audience to follow along with the long-standing facts of the story and relationships between characters. The best part of the film is the recreation of the short (with the music) when Dave enchants brooms, mops, and other cleaning supplies to get his “lair” on the Lower East Side nice and tidy in preparation for a date with his longtime crush, Becky (Teresa Palmer). Of course- where would Bruckheimer be without eye candy? When Dave emerges from the shower, he is shocked- and we are in stitches- to find that the brooms have not stopped cleaning, and the lair and magic circle where he practices have been flooded. Dave turns Becky away, and Balthazar is fuming when he returns to find the circle wrecked.
If this movie was a way of negating the bad press about Bruckheimer’s previous films, it has failed. The film relies heavily on action and repeated animation effects such as the plasma bolt, which Dave uses to jump-start his mentor’s stopped heart, for where would a movie be if a character died? (May I input here- the man is almost a millennium and a half old, and he said himself Merlin’s spell to stop his disciples from aging only lasted until they found the Prime Merlinian- Dave. BEEP BEEP! Continuity error! Oh wait- no one cares.) But The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is an enjoyable and fun movie, because it not only brings legends to life in modern times, which I love, but it also brings you back. And how many movies do that these days?
Steve Carell as Gru in Despicable Me. Universal Pictures.
On the Subject: A.O. Scott
Despicable Me
Let me begin by asking: Where does A.O. Scott get off?
Does the critic of The New York Times have some kind of grudge against every piece of animation that passes beneath his nose? Because in the past five years, I have seen him pan, not only every single CGI masterpiece, but also every great family comedy known to the general public. Ever since the (let’s say) unfavorable review of Madagascar in 2005 Scott has steam-rollered such great films as Grown-Ups (2010), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). Even the review of Brüno (2009) has some elements of negativity. But now comes the last straw, for Despicable Me, which has revitalized my view of both animation and voice acting, received a review that included such claims such as “[Despicable Me] is not exercising the imagination” but rather is “just making stuff up.” I must ask you, Mr. Scott: in your cold, calculating eyes, is there really a difference?
But the real point of this article is not to berate Anthony Oliver Scott for his lamentable hatred of new animation (though he does like continuations of classics like Toy Story 3) but rather to, essentially, worship the comic genius, ingenuity, and almost divine skill with a computer that caused Despicable Me to come to be. With a star-studded cast that includes the always hilarious Steve Carell (who appeared on the Colbert Report recently to reprise his familiar role from The Daily Show as co-host of Even Stephven), the wonderful and lovable Julie Andrews (who voiced a villain for what must be the first time in her life), Jason Segel (whom I had not known much of before this film, but delivers an admirable performance), and the up-and-coming Miranda Cosgrove of iCarly, the brilliant 3-D animation. With bouts of unforgettable humor appearing at every turn, the plot is almost secondary. But not quite.
Anti-hero films have been becoming increasingly popular lately, and Despicable Me is no exception. Hook-nosed and Eastern European Gru (Steve Carell) works from his basement creating profitable evil schemes with his Corn Puff-like minions (voiced by Chris Renaud, who also directed) and financed by the domineering Bank of Evil (formerly Lehman Brothers). Thwarted at every turn (what villain isn’t?) by the up-and-coming mad scientist Vector (Jason Segel), Gru requires the help of three orphans (voiced by Miranda Cosgrove and two other child actors no one bothers to name) to infiltrate Vector’s fortress. (Another bit of hilarity here- Vector has stolen the Pyramids of Giza, arranged them in his backyard and painted them to look like the sky.) Along the way we grow to love Gru for his undying ambition and eventual acceptance of new elements in his life such as the girls, as well as for his lovable flashbacks of a little kid with a passion for space travel, and an unimpressed mother (Julie Andrews) who brings him down at every turn. By contrast, Gru’s partner and full technical department, Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) sees the children as interruptions of their latest plan to steal the moon and actively attempts to get rid of them. And it all turns out to be heartwarming. Well, we all expected that.
This film was an opportunity for actors such as Carell (who also stars in the remake of the French film, Dinner for Shmucks) to explore new voices and new sides of themselves- and this applies to actors such as Brand, who plays an old man, and Andrews, who plays an unkind mother. What’s more, the animation was extremely impressive, and 3-D is always enjoyable. In short, the film is a great experience for all ages, and the humor is understandable and genius.
Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. Paramount Pictures.
“The Dinner Game” Revisited
Dinner for Schmucks
“This is something I like to call The Tower of Dreamers. From the beginning of time, the apes said to each other, ‘We’ll never walk erectus. We’ll never use tools. We’ll never talk.’ But one of the apes said, ‘Yes, we will. I’m doing it right now.’ Fast-forward five hundred years. The Wright brothers build their flying machine. People said, ‘That thing will never fly. Plywood is heavier than air.’ And the Wrights said, ‘No it’s not.’ … Van Gogh. People said, ‘You can’t be an artist. You only have one ear.’ And do you know what he said? ‘I can’t hear you.’ So if you have a dream that’s impossible, keep trying: You’re doing it right now.”
This is the philosophy of Barry Speck (Steve Carell), an IRS agent and taxidermist who arranges dead mice into historical and personal scenes. He is also, by the standards of equity firm employee, Tim Conrad (Paul Rudd), an idiot. Tim is being forced by his bosses (Bruce Greenwood, Ron Livingston, Larry Wilmore) to invite an idiot to a monthly dinner at which the bosses and their new Swiss client (David Walliams) can make fun of them, while the idiots believe that they are being honored for their talent. There you have it. That’s the movie. But it’s more than what it seems.
The comedy in this film is on a level that may seem impossible to the human ear but is altogether real, and so is the laughter that echoes around the room as Carell’s slapstick and vocal humor sinks in, however briefly or long it may take. Paul Rudd, too, is a valuable addition, though his part could be played as easily by Ben Stiller, who is well versed in having his life ruined in movies such as this. Yet, Rudd is an excellent candidate to be on the receiving end of Speck’s life-destroying antics. What can I say? The movie is funny, and there’s not much more to discuss. Anything bad that can happen, it does. Anything that can go wrong on any level does, to the point that the new client’s finger is chopped off and eaten by a renegade vulture (a vulture trainer is invited to the dinner. DWS is an incredible film I wouldn’t mind seeing a few more times and am anticipating eagerly its release on DVD (or whatever technology exists when it is released).
In James Feinberg’s next Grandkid’s Eye View column, he will view and review his second annual “My Week in New York City.” Among the attractions he will visit and report on are:
- August 9 – New York Water Taxi to the Museum of Jewish Heritage
- August 10 – Metropolitan Museum of Art Roof and Musical Instrument Collection.
The Cedar Walton Quintet
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Dizzy's Club Coca Cola
33 W. 60th St.
212-258-9595
- August 11 Matinee: South Pacific
The Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center
Final Performance, August 22.
212-239-6200
- August 12 – Blue Man Group
Astor Place, 434 Lafayette Place
212-307-4100
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