Bellybub

THE SUBSTITUTE is the only Tom Berenger movie I own -- because it shows him playing a character that is fairly sympathetic and NOT merely a militaristic bully, as has been his earlier roles. His granite-fisted, metal-jacketed action scenes are tempered by his humanity-driven scenes that reveal his concern for the students' education (sort of a "TO SIR, WITH TOUGH LOVE").

"The Three Stooges" was wonderful in its display of the DRAMATIC scenes behind the comedy -- the comedy re-creations were less sure-footed. I'm NOT knocking the performances of Chiklis, Ben-Victor, and Handler, but the PACING of the re-creations. Director James Frawley should've known to ZIP the Stooges' slapstick at a fast clip instead of letting the comedy sag; that's how knockabout comedy works -- PACING, PACING, PACING! One of the recreations was good: Moe-"Why can't a chicken lay a loaf of bread?" Curly-"She ain't got the crust!" Moe-"You win!" Curly-"Gimmee, gimmee!" [KLONK!]

Well ... Jim Carrey is letter-PERFECT in his portrayal of Andy Kaufman's on-stage schtick, but my unfortunate bias is that while I felt that Kaufman's "foreign man/Latka" character was hilarious, SOME of his other material was a pain in the tokus. A reading of the entire "Great Gatsby" novel??? Genius, my foot!---He was just being a mercurial nuisance. Now, I want to focus on one of the celebrity cameos that I admired---if pro wrestler Jerry Lawler ever wants to break into acting, he's got my vote! Lawler re-creates his skirmish with Kaufman in a VERY three-dimensional way that displays a natural ability to perform in front of the camera. -----Oh, do you think I'm just some wrestling fanatic who elevates those ring competitors to some godlike status? NO. I couldn't necessarily even BE paid to go see a wrestling match, and I didn't even really know what Jerry Lawler looked like before I saw the movie. BUT, I admire great acting, and I feel that movie producers should give Lawler a nod in the future.