Movie Movie

Stanley Donen in 1978 was old enough to remember how Warner Brothers double features of the 1930s played, and he brings them pretty gloriously back to life in this affectionate double-bill-within-a-single-movie, helped by a knowing, funny script by Larry Gelbart and Sheldon Keller. The first, a Kid Galahad-type boxing melo reveling in bad Clifford Odets-style metaphors, looks wonderful in black and white and is superbly cast, with, among others, George C. Scott in what might have been the Walter Huston role, Red Buttons doing Frank McHugh, Harry Hamlin as Wayne Morris, and a very funny Trish van Devere lampooning Eva Marie Saint in On the Waterfront. The 42nd Street parody rounding it out has some curiosities--it's in color, which it wouldn't have been in in 1933, the songs aren't all diegetic as they would have been, the camera work's a little more sophisticated than it should be--but gets most of it right, including Barry Bostwick and Rebecca York doing Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler and Barbara Harris doing a Joan Blondell. The in-between preview, Zero Hour--War at Its Best!--is a riot, with Scott, Buttons, and Eli Wallach parading around as some hilariously overage young World War I fliers. This didn't make much noise in 1978, and it's hard to know why--it's marvelously entertaining, the cast is aces, and plenty of people around then remembered the originals it so expertly spoofs.

I viewed this movie in Israel, where it was shown with subtiles. Whilst discusing the movie what stood out was how those who had relied only on the text viewed it as a serious presentation exactly as the style/era that it was spofing. Contrast this with native English speakers, who also were familiar with the era could detect the various sendups and would frequently burst out in peals of laughter. All in all I found it very well presented and acted, well worth viewing both for it's content and social comment.

For anyone who has grown up loving Hollywood musicals, the second half of this film is an absolute joy. Stanley Donen, who has arguably directed the greatest of these, had a chance to create an homage to them which includes every silly musical plot and song and dance device he could think of. Barry Bostwick's first number will knock your socks off and the finale (including dancers on bikes!) will put a grin on your face from start to finish. Watch for Stanley Donen's cameo as a cab driver.

Fun parody of 30s movies showing two "movies" (they're actually only 50 minutes each) done by Warren Bros. (ha ha)

The first is "Dynamite Hands" with Harry Hamlin (so young and full of life) playing a boxer to save money to...well, the plot is familar...VERY familar. Every single boxing movie cliche is hit head on with sledgehammer subtlety and the dialogue is way over the top. It's not half as clever as it thinks it is but it still works. It's quick and so energetic it's impossible to dislike. Also Hamlin is obviously enjoying himself. George C. Scott (who's in both) is in it briefly and Red Buttons (also in both) lends strong support. It was in black and white up the theatres in 1978, but it's in color on cable. Why?

"Baxter's Beauties of 1933" is a parody of those big, splashy colorful musicals. The plot is basically a combination of every cliche from musicals back then. Barry Bostwick is in it and he's just "swell" as a Dick Powell type and Rebecca York is just great as a Ruby Keeler type. The music and lyrics are just OK but this is lots of fun--beautiful sets, great singing and dancing, impressive production numbers and full of fun.

As said before, George C. Scott is in both but is (surprisingly) bad--he looks bored and unsure of his lines. Buttons is great in both but Trish Van Devere is just terrible. She's very good-looking but a horrible actress.

No great film but worth catching--a must for movie buffs.

A quick glance at the user comments will tell you that this film is worth seeing. I'm neither a musical fanatic nor a boxing enthusiast, but the numbers, performances and nuances were entrancing.

Somehow, Donen found the perfect blend for the self-reflexive genre picture, a combination that is exceedingly difficult for modern filmmakers to get a handle on. The viewer is watching a spoof yet all of the elements are still real. We feel for the pitifully archetypal characters because it seems that they realize their fate as symbols. George C. Scott's glances of reaction, just askew of breaking the third wall, depict someone who is aware of his limited fate, but still experiences with all of his emotions every situation as if he doesn't know it's coming. In this way, the actors, as in the Brechtian mode of theater, are somewhat like audience members themselves. They know the story and the ending, but they can't help suspending their disbelief, just for fun.

The musical numbers work in the same way. They are spoofs, fulfilling specific purposes and making all the proper illusions, yet are thoroughly enjoyable as musical numbers.

"Movie Movie" isn't necessarily a great movie, but it gives the illusion of greatness in its sincerity. In a medium where the audience often feels that they are the butt of a joke only the director knows the setup to, "Movie Movie" puts across the feeling that the director genuinely enjoys movies and expects everyone involved to derive the same pleasure from them.