Man of the Century

Caught this on cable quite by accident-- the idea behind it seemed really cute, and I decided to give it 10 minutes, to at least see how long it took for the filmmakers to screw it up.

Surprisingly, it held my attention for the entire film. The gimmick never got old; just when it seemed in danger of doing so, something new would happen to keep it fresh. A new character here, a plot twist there. Good, thoughtful filmmaking... and I really dug the 1920's slang. I wish I could remember more of it. Why DID we stop talking like this, anyway?

Good acting, some clever writing and a smartly-plotted story. The ending was a little cheesy, I thought, as I wanted to know the fates of the characters beyond the newspaper-story driven plot. But considering the source material, it really ended the only way it could have. So it's an amusing distraction for 90 minutes or so. And kind of educational, too. Banana Oil!

I saw "Man of the Century" at the Best of Slamdance compilation at the Egyptian Theatre earlier this year. I LOVED the film, but what surprised me was the response of the audience, which practically gave it a standing ovation. Brilliant piece of work.

"Man of the Century" is inspired by silent comedies, early talking movies, vaudeville, and old RKO films.

It gives us a light-hearted look at the different ways in which cultural mores are portrayed in the 1920's and in the 1990's. The opening sequence has the look of the earliest films -- complete with scratches and grainy images and the jerkiness of old home movies. The rest of the film is in high-quality black and white with fine camera work. The film is co-written by Adam Abraham (who also directs) and Gibson Frazier (who stars in the title role as Johnny Twennies).

Johnny Twennies writes a column for a New York newspaper. The time is the 1990's, but Johnny is clearly living in the 1920's. We hear 1920's cliches from him and 1990's cliches from others. Johnny's tenacious innocence is refreshing and quite funny beside Samantha Winter's (Susan Egan) modern day social values. It is funny to hear Johnny swear with words like Applesauce! and Rats! while also hearing the ubiquitous use of f___ing by the others on

screen. The "endless stairs" is a brilliant sequence that breaks up the fast-talking dialogue. Since I love to dance, I was particularly overjoyed with a dance number with Johnny and Samantha dancing the Charlston while the others who are clearly older were dancing the jitterbug and swing and other more modern dances. Johnny's dance partner / leading lady is played impeccably by Susan Egan.

The film is face-paced. I know that I missed many of the innuendos and jokes. I love old movies, but I am not a student of those films or times. I found much pleasure in the experience even though I missed the significance of many one-liners. I also found that I had to adjust to the initial few minutes, first wondering if I was going to have to sit through 80 minutes of scratched film and then wondering what year it was because of the juxtaposition of modern cars and archaic language. About six persons left the audience in a group of about 100-120 individuals who were in an advance screening of the movie. Most of those who stayed were thoroughly engrossed in the film and applauded at the end.

It is similar in many ways to the "Purple Rose of Cairo" and "Pleasantville" in that it carries the charm of someone out of the current time or environment, frozen in another time and culture. Gestures, language, and tempo can be best compared to early films as a whole rather than to a specific film.

"Man of the Century" won the audience award at the 1999 Slamdance Film Festival. If the team of Abraham and Frazier can create another film of comparable quality in a different genre, they will make an enormous contribution to film making.

A newspaperman (Johnny Twennies) living in the 90's with a complete 20's personality and lifestyle - fedora, manual typewriter, the Charleston, the works. It's a great idea for a movie and it couldn't have been done better.

Johnny doesn't miss a cliche, but never uses the same one twice. You'll find yourself anticipating his reactions to the harsher '90s world as the movie goes along, you'll often guess right - but that makes the movie just that much more fun.

Lots of fun when Johnny is called on to save the same damsel in distress (named Virginia, natch) on three different occasions. She responds with appropriate fluttering eyelids each time.

His reaction to independent women, openly gay men, and the general '90s milieu is delightful. He remains happily oblivious.

Don't worry, the movie never takes itself seriously. Nobody preaches about the evil of the present, or the shallowness of the past. You end up with a warm feeling for all the characters, even the bad guys. This was one of those rare movies where you can actually feel that the performers are thoroughly enjoying their characters. The film makers make sure you know that with a delightfully offbeat ending.

Some movies are just meant to be a great deal of fun, and this is one of them. What a delight - I'd never heard of it but stumbled on it on IFC and adored it. The sweetness and good-natured aspects of the film are part of the charm, as is the dead-on dialogue, situations and even camera angles/cinematography. For people who try and find reasons why this guy exists or why women would date him, you're missing the point of the movie. The Marx Brothers ending (no spoiler really), and the short Egyptian tomb sequence show the care that was taken with getting all the 1920's aspects down perfectly (and don't forget the musical numbers, when people would break into song in any sort of film back then -well, the talkies at least). Going incognito as Harold Lloyd? too funny - don't pass this one by when it shows up next time!