evanston_dad

This won't erase memories of the original movie starring Leslie Nielsen, but did any of us expect it to, or even want it to for that matter?

Taken on its own terms, the newest version starring Liam Neeson is more uneven than the original. Every single joke in the Nielsen version landed, while not all of them do here. On the other hand, this one goes to more bonkers places, none of them more bonkers than a romcom montage featuring a psychopathic snowman. There's a lot more toilet humor in this one, which isn't my favorite. But I laughed a lot, and god knows we need more comedies in movie theaters that are actually funny, so by that measure it's a hit.

Pamela Anderson is game but underutilized as Neeson's love interest.

Grade: B+

If you're a film noir purist, you'll think "Stranger on the Third Floor" was released a hair too early to truly qualify as part of the genre. But it's got a lot of the same qualities, not least of which is a central protagonist tortured by guilt and Peter Lorre.

Lorre isn't in this movie much, but he makes quite an impression when he is. The coolest parts are the surrealist dream sequences that represent our hero being driven crazy by his conscience. I had never heard of John McGuire, but he's good.

I watched this on one of my film noir Fridays, and while I consider myself one of those noir purists mentioned above, I'm not such a stickler as to not find room for this fun little movie.

Grade: A-

The Academy has a long history of giving actors Oscars for undeserving performances as a consolation for NOT giving them Oscars when they should have. The practice goes back to at least 1935, apparently.

The year before, Bette Davis had stunned audiences with her performance in "Of Human Bondage," but because Warner Bros. Was mad at her for being difficult, they rigged the system against her getting a nomination. So the Academy threw her a bone the following year for this instantly forgettable film about a bad girl who sees the error of her ways and has a change of heart. Davis is fine, but the best performance in the movie comes from Franchot Tone, who also received a nomination in 1935, albeit not for this movie (he was one of a trio of actors nominated for "Mutiny on the Bounty").

Throw a dart and you will hit any number of other Davis films and performances that are better than this one, but who's going to begrudge Bette her due?

Grade: C.