Cannery Row

I rented this film on a recommendation of a friend. I really love this movie and as I've noticed others say, I would watch it again. One thing that I like about this movie is that there isn't anything pretentious. All the characters come across with excellent harmony as real people in a movie and also as characters in a film. The tone is totally natural. The real beautiful part about the people in this film is that they enjoy their surroundings and even though Cannery Row has seen much better times, everyone is content with their lives and it comes across brilliantly. Kudos to all involved. I love it and hope you will watch it and enjoy it as much as I. I give this one a definite ten out of ten stars!

MGM was in a slump in 1982, and nobody knew how to market this episodic, whimsical adaptation of two plot-light John Steinbeck novels. So a lot of people were deprived of a life-affirming, atmospheric wartime romance that preserves the democratic, people-loving tone of the Steinbeck originals. Shot partly on an elaborate sound stage and partly on or near Monterey seaside locations, it's a leisurely collection of likable losers and near-losers inhabiting the titular sardine- canning center that's seen better days. Nick Nolte as Doc, a marine biologist with a not-too-secret past, is perfection, as is Debra Winger as Suzy, a combative but yearning drifter--the movie captures the character's mercurial, changeable nature far better than Rodgers and Hammerstein did in their own adaptation, "Pipe Dream." We'd like to see more of the gang, and don't really get to know Mac (M. Emmett Walsh) and his cohorts very well. But Frank McRae's a wonderful Hazel, and John Huston's narration, much of it verbatim Steinbeck, ties things together neatly. A bit slow, and a bit fanciful, it's nonetheless a wonderful date movie, best experienced with a good California wine.

When this film was released, it was under-marketed and for studio-based political reasons, all but buried. Additionally, some critics tried to frame it as a failed attempt at "art-house" cinema. However, this simply is one of the best films ever made of a Steinbeck work, and one of the best films of the 1980s. Poignant, masterfully photographed, funny and sweet, brilliantly acted and directed, it is a must see for anyone who loathes mainstream American film making and yearns for literate cinema. Nolte is at his best, acting with a magnificent range. Winger is perfect as Suzy. The adaptation of Steinbeck's "Sweet Thursday" is spot on. The ensemble acting of the tramps led by one of the greatest character actors of all time, M. Emmett Walsh and Frank McRae and the soundtrack including Doctor John's piano stylings, make this a film of metaphor and wonderful enchantment. If you haven't seen this film, turn off your phone, light a fire, and settle in for the ride of your life, emotionally and artistically.

I find it easy to believe that many critics panned this movie, after all as William Peter Blatty once said about critics: "They neither reap, nor sow, nor harvest. They are malignant lilies of the field." For the most part, they are smart a--es who like to be cute and only have praise for "important films". Those of us who actually buy tickets prefer good movies and this was one.

For those who disliked this wonderful (and I truly mean filled with wonder) movie because it was different from the book (or books) I can only say a book is a book, a movie is a movie. It was delightful from beginning to end filled with likable characters. I remember when I first saw it, looking at the Cannery Row denizens with a feeling of envy. They had nothing, but somehow knew how to live.

Typically I only comment when I can make the following statement, which I now make unhesitatingly:

If you have a heart, it will be touched.

The one author whose writing I consistently enjoy reading is John Steinbeck.

Cannery Row is my favorite of his stories. I've read my way through one paperback and am now preserving my second. His short novel "Sweet Thursday" is as much of a sequel to Cannery Row as it's possible to be.

The only non-paper version of the tale that I rate at least as highly as the book is the audio version, narrated by Jerry Farden. If the book is a 10, Jerry's reading is a 15. It's difficult to track down, though. If you want a real treat for your ears and your mind, get it.

Back to the movie. It's difficult to appreciate a film when you've read the book beforehand. And vice versa. So when I borrowed the VHS a few years ago, I had plenty of preconceptions, and some eager anticipation. It didn't take long for my preconceptions to shatter the anticipation.

This movie is NOT Cannery Row, but a mix of parts of it and Sweet Thursday.

I could easily be critical of it... Nick Nolte is much too much of a Man, and does not fit my mental image of Ed Ricketts at all. Debra Winger fits, more or less. The mix of two books changed the whole pace of the story, and spoiled it wholesale. There were bright spots, but tainted with those same old preconceptions.

So, don't expect to see a visual equivalent of the books, because it isn't. I don't go along with those who say that it's not worth watching. It's different than the book, and sometimes that can be hard to work through.

But, standing apart from the books, the movie is good. Darn good. It is well worth at least two viewings. And, I think, the more it's viewed, the better it gets.