Kansas City

I happen to like this film... apparently quite a bit more than most people. I even still have a copy of it on VHS somewhere. First and foremost is the music. Absolutely INCREDIBLE old time jazz. The best scene to me is clearly the 'battle' between the sax players at the club. The music in the club throughout the movie and the background score during the non-club scenes is about as good as it gets. And I'm not really a huge jazz guy though I have always liked the Miles Davis - John Coltrane type stuff. This is my favorite non - Angelo Badalamente (sp?)film score. Seriously, see this flick just for the music alone.

And, see it for Miranda Richardson who is AWESOME in this movie. I think she really steals the show in this one. J. Jason Leigh is solid and plays the part of a not too bright, not very successful midwest girl decently. Also, Harry Belafonte is great as Seldom Seen and he just looks and sounds the part so well. Steve Buscemi, Dermot Mulroney and the woman who plays J. Jason Leigh's sister are all quite good in supporting roles, and Michael Murphy is perfect for the part of the slightly confused, yet somewhat powerful husband to the kidnapped Richardson character.

The clothes, cars, and look of the film is nicely done (cmon it IS an Altman picture!!!) and really does make you feel as if you are in Missouri circa 1935-1940. Add to that a slightly twisted ending and you have a really good and def. underrated film that I really want to see again... on DVD this time to REALLY crank up the music scenes. I give Kansas City 7.5/10

One night in 1934, in Kansas City, Blondie O'Hara (Jennifer Jason Lee) kidnaps Carolyn Stilton (Miranda Richardson), the wife of an eminent politician, trying to save her husband Johnny (Dermot Mulroney) from the claws of the gangster Seldon Seen (Harry Belafonte). Many events, as usual in a Robert Altman movie, happen along this night. This movie has a beautiful reconstitution of this period, some jazz songs, but the plot is too short for a running time of 116 minutes. Therefore, there are many parts very boring, or highlight in minor plots. My vote is six.

The music is superb. The movie is so-so. The period sets are perfect and its just like being back in KC during the infamous Pendergast era. Altman made this movie as a paean to his hometown and the music that came out of it. One cannot divorce the music from the movie. Either you are a jazz fan or you're not. If you're not, you won't like this movie. Its that simple. If you are, you are really in for a treat. The film features all of the "new" stars in jazz from the mid-90's (James Carter and Craig Handy on saxes, Mark Whitfield on guitar, Geri Allen and Cyrus Chestnut on piano....the list goes on and on. They all play the legends of jazz that came out of Kansas City-people like Count Basie, Joe Williams, Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins. A veritable treat for the in-the-know jazz fan but probably a bore for anyone else. Altman stays on the music longer than most directors would because this is a film about the music as much as it is about the plot.

And here's the real irony. Movie buffs will say they wished Altman wouldn't have devoted so much time to the music and jazz buffs will say they wished Altman would have done away with the ridiculous, annoying plot and grating performance by Jennifer Jason Leigh and focused entirely on the music. How to please everyone? The end result is uneven but there's enough here to keep all parties interested.

If any actor should be singled out, it should be Harry Belafonte. His turn as the underworld kingpin, Seldom Seen, is fantastic. He speaks in a low, gruff rasp but his dialogue is truly worth the effort to understand. When he goes off on the Marcus Garvey speech, its worth the price of admission. Of course, it helps to know who Marcus Garvey was. Jazz fans (and reggae fans, too) will get it. After all, this is a movie for them/us.

Like the films of Orson Welles, Federico Fellini or Woody Allen, there's almost always a reason to watch, even if the completed whole doesn't quite add up to the sum of it's parts. Kansas City fits that bill for me.

Altman weaves his usual rich tapestry of lives affected by history in a city alive with jazz and political chicanery, and Kansas City is worth watching for the unexpectedly mesmerizing performance by Harry Belafonte as "Seldom Seen," mobster boss.

The jazz on display is equally dazzling, but just when your mind is settling into some rich, heady music, the film cuts back to the deadly, mannered, whiny performance turned in by Jennifer Jason Leigh; when most film fans recall the disaster that became Godfather III, the director's indulgence of the lackluster performance turned in by Sofia Coppola comes to mind; Leigh's performance similarly affects the tone of Kansas City, and since she is the protagonist, the film's interest flags with her director-free indulgence in some kind of method acting that fails to evoke much but self-indulgence.

In short, Kansas City is well worth a look for superb mise-en-scene,for the music and atmosphere, but is deeply frustrating for it's central performance.

Kansas City is absolutely stunning! Jazz is played practically throughout the entire movie, and one scene in particular could have gone on forever as far as I'm concerned. You'll know which scene I mean when you see it! A real get up and jump 10 minutes or so. Jennifer Jason Leigh was at her best. It was a complex role and her development of the character was incredible. Belefonte was chilling! Altman really picked up a sense of the time and place. This is a must see for jazz fans.