One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

A great deal of art is a reflection of the culture that spawned it. Some of the very best art holds up a mirror to that culture, putting its hypocrisies on display for all to see. In our culture there has always been a strong inclination to both aid individuals who are mentally unbalanced, and at the same time to separate them from those who do possess that balance. That begs the question, who qualifies as mentally unbalanced? Can we call someone crazy just because they are far enough outside the realm of what we consider normal? And finally, once we agree on who needs that aid, how to we go about providing it? Milos Forman's 1975 Best Picture winning, masterpiece, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, asks all these questions.

The film takes place on one ward in a mental hospital. The main character, Randle Patrick McMurphy, is a force of nature and a man who lives life to the fullest. In order to avoid jail time, Mac finagles his way onto the ward and immediately shakes up the inhabitants. The other men on the ward have been reduced to shadows through a strict regimen of tranquilizing medicine, and oppressive therapy. The preferred method of treatment seems to be sedation, with the intent of reverting the patients to an almost child-like state. Mac's arrival both brings them out of their stupor, and initiates a conflict with one of the all-time great screen villains in Nurse Ratched, the head of the ward.

Jack Nicholson as McMurphy is such a perfect casting decision, and the character is written so well that if nothing else had gone right, this movie would still be worth a watch. Nicholson switches back and forth from comedy to tragedy so effortlessly that it is hard to imagine another actor pulling the role off. There is an extended closeup late in the film that is jarring, thanks solely to Nicholson's ability to captivate. Mac is the heart and soul of the movie. Part of the reason the character is so wonderful is his depth given to him by both the writers, and Nicholson. In other words, they don't suger coat him. He is a violent man, prone to anger, he struggles to understand and deal with some of the more serious mental illnesses present on the ward, and he is a blatant sexist. Mac's original crime that got him thrown onto the ward is statutory rape. And yet, this makes his heroic struggle to awaken the slumbering and terrified patients all the more real.

The same principle applies to Mac's nemesis, Nurse Ratched. Stoically played by Louis Fletcher (both Fletcher and Nicholson won Oscar's for their efforts), Ratched appears to be devoted to the care of her patients. However, as her need to control them slowly surfaces, Ratched is not demonized. One of the pivotal moments of the movie occurs as the hospital administrators discuss options to remove McMurphy from the ward, and Ratched admonishes them all for shying away from their duty to aid Mr. McMurphy.

Louise Fletcher and Brad Dourif

The film also benefits from a number of strong performances by patients on the ward. Brad Dourif (later famous for his role as the murderous doll Chucky), makes an Oscar nominated film debut here. Will Sampson, also making his big screen debut, is magnificent as a large mute Native American ward member. Early appearances from screen legends like Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd give a human touch to the patients.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is not a perfect film. Some mild sexism, an inconsistent tone, and a tendency to discount legitimate mental illnesses are all significant flaws within the story structure. Still, it makes a persuasive point while telling a very touching story, chock full of interesting characters and a career making performance by a legend in Jack Nicholson. 

Jack Nicholson

At the film's close it is unable ultimately to provide an answer to its central question. Many of the patients are clearly unfit to live and cope in the real world. However, turning them into children is not a healing process. The criticism is sharp and to the point. The larger motif of Mac as a rebel fighting agains the establishment fits nicely into the more literal plot lines, and the direction, score, and cinematography are all sharp. A true classic.

28/30

Big Night

The majority of movies that make it on my to-watch list are either classic films or the recent releases being talked about today. However, sometimes the best movie-watching experiences I have are those where I take a chance on a film that is recommended to me, that is neither a time-tested classic nor a movie presently being hyped. If I’m lucky, I not only get to watch a good movie, I also feel that I’ve made a kind of rare discovery.

Such was the case with Big Night, a clever culinary dramedy: a story of two Italian immigrant brothers (amusingly named Primo and Secondo — "First" and "Second") who run a superb restaurant that is failing because their inspired cuisine is on a different level from the unsophisticated palates of their few New Yorker patrons. The brothers, charmingly played by Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci respectively, try to save it by going for broke on one big night to which they have invited renowned band leader Louis Prima. The star of the film, however, is the food, which takes center stage.

Before it was mentioned to me, I had never noticed Big Night on an AFI list or on comparable lists of must-sees. It’s not an old movie by any means, but its 1996 release date means that it came out considerably before I was paying attention to good cinema. So this underrated gem could have slipped right past me, were it not for the chance conversation that made me aware of it, and although it is sad that this movie is not as recognized as it deserves to be, at the same time that makes the experience of having come across it more valuable.

Perhaps the reason Big Night remains so unacknowledged despite its delightful story, excellent performances and stylistic flair is that the lead and supporting roles are all filled by character actors rather than major Hollywood stars. Those who are familiar with Tucci, Shalhoub, Minnie Driver, and Ian Holm know that they do very fine work, but they hardly rake in box office cash. The movie doesn’t feature grandiose effects and it’s not a blockbuster of epic figures and events. It’s just a story about a few ordinary people trying to create something extraordinary.

The film is primarily Tucci’s baby: he co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred in it. And watching the final result, it is clear that he took great care in each of these steps, from the soundtrack full of wonderful Italian and Italian-American artists, to the beautiful long take of the final shot. If you enjoy seeing little known or underrated flicks, rent this fun movie for a night with friends and family. Watch it with a bottle of wine, heck, go all-out and cook a nice lasagna bolognese or risotto to go with it, and then sit back to enjoy Tucci and a mustachioed Shalhoub bantering in thick Italian accents. Fine movies, like fine cuisine, are the result of passionate and painstaking work. And they are something rare. They should be recognized and appreciated for what they are, and they need to be sought out.

“To eat good food is to be close to God” — Primo

25/30

The Tourist

Well that was boring. I'm sorry if I gave away the reveal of this review too early, but I'm afraid there isn't a whole lot else to say about this disappointing excuse for a thriller. Spy movies can be formulaic and still work, but at least some level of originality is required. It really doesn't matter whether that originality grows out of an interesting character study, a twisty-turny plot full of unseen surprises, or inventive and well choreographed action set pieces. Preferably it includes all of the above, but I'm not greedy. A movie can be full of cliches and well worn plot points if it provides the viewer with something new. Unfortunately, and despite a great deal of talent, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's new star vehicle, The Tourist, had none of the above.

The film opens with the femme fatale, Elise, leading Interpol on a wild goose chase. The police suspect her of attempting to reunite with her old flame, who also happens to be an international criminal. However, we are aware that while that is exactly what she is trying to do, Elise has also chosen a fall guy as a distraction to delay the police. The unsuspecting sap Frank falls in love with Elise (of course), and follows her through a hail of bullets and rooftop chases to an easily predictable ending. Brutal gangsters, relentless police officers, a beautiful woman, a crafty criminal, and an average Joe are all thrown together without much in the way of logic or character development.

The most surprising thing is the enormous amount of talent involved. Von Donnersmarck made his directorial feature film debut with the 2006 The Lives of Others and has been justly praised for it. Along with a bevy of critically acclaimed co-writers (including Christopher McQuarrie of The Usual Suspects), von Donnersmarck constructed a script that contained little of interest, and even less that was fresh or new.

Rufus Sewell watches Angelina Jolie in The Tourist

The elegant Elise is played by Angelina Jolie, who appears almost as if made of porcelain in this movie. Jolie never overacts, and tries her best, but seems to be as bored as I was throughout most of the film. The American "tourist" Frank, is played by Johnny Depp in a very reserved manner. Depp as well, never really seems to be sure of what von Donnersmarck is trying to do, and as a result gives an inconsistent and mostly irritating performance. As a huge fan of both Depp and Jolie, it was frustrating to watch these two talented actors get by on reputation alone. Paul Bettany fulfills the obligatory role of the British policeman attempting to track Jolie, and he does so in uninteresting fashion.

While this is an overwhelmingly negative review, I will mention a couple of positives here. The canals of Venice are gorgeous and von Donnersmarck does provide numerous beautiful scenery shots. Timothy Dalton, as the police supervisor, and Steven Berkoff as the lead gangster both do well in limited roles. The film opens well actually. Jolie eludes the police in a scene reminiscent of The French Connection, and the initial meeting between Jolie and Depp's characters is charming and intriguing. Of course, then as the plot progresses, we realize it actually has nowhere to go.

14/30

True Grit

Joel and Ethan Coen have been on a hot streak. The filmmaker brothers are among the most original and adept directors, screenwriters, and producers working today. Their films range from dark and cruel to hilarious absurdity, frequently even from scene to scene. The Coens are at their most creative when they are deconstructing the various archetypes of different film genres. The Big Lebowski poked fun at film noir, No Country For Old Men radically reshaped the Western, Burn After Reading is a romp through spy movie stereotypes. In each of these films, the story and dialogue is shaped in such a way to simultaneously pay homage to the genre, while at the same time clearly distinguishing itself as a separate entity. All of this is part of what makes their latest effort so intriguing.

True Grit is a remake of a 1969 John Wayne movie by the same name. Both were adapted from an outstanding Charles Portis novel. While the 1969 version was slightly romanticized, the basic outline remains the same. A 14-year old girl named Mattie Ross embarks on a mission to bring her father's murderer to justice. To that end she hires Rueben "Rooster" Cogburn, a US Marshal. Along the way Cogburn and Ross hook up with a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf who has been tracking the killer for some time due to earlier crimes.

Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld

The cast is impressive. Matt Damon takes on the role of LaBoeuf, bringing infinitely more talent and ability to the part than his 1969 counterpart Glen Campbell. Josh Brolin as the killer Chaney and Barry Pepper as the gang leader Chaney falls in with are appropriately ominous as the two leading villains. The supremely talented Jeff Bridges takes over the John Wayne role of Rooster and makes it his own. Bridges and Damon provide much of the levity in their relationship and banter and Bridges deftly maneuvers around any comparisons to Wayne's Oscar winning turn in the original, avoiding the Dude vs. Duke arguments. It is clear that Bridges knows what is expected of him, and his experience with the Coens shines through.

I have left someone out however. The true star of this movie is the 14-year old Mattie Ross. Making her film debut here, Hailee Steinfeld owns the character and is justly receiving the lion's share of the critical praise. Her toughness, intelligence, and yes, grit drive the plot. Steinfeld (who was 13 during shooting), despite being paired for most of the movie with two of the biggest stars, and most talented actors working today in Bridges and Damon, does not give an inch.

Steinfeld and Barry Pepper

As with all Coen Brothers movies, the technical aspects of the film are pitch perfect. Long time collaborator Roger Deakins handles the camera work and creates some starkly beautiful images. The dialogue clearly has the Coen brothers touch, but it is vastly lighter here. This film does not mix and match genre stereotypes, critiquing them as they go. Instead is a straightforward revenge tale, firmly set as a Western. Cogburn is a gruff old drunkard looking for redemption and seems to walk straight out of the pages of the Portis novel. LaBoeuf is the young and inexperienced, and yet brave man trying to play the hero, but unsure of what that entails. Only Ross transcends genre boundaries, and even she only does so to limits.

True Grit is a movie that defies a traditional explanation. It appears to simply be a very well made Western, but considering who made it, there is a unique feel to it all the same. A good Western is a very rare thing these days, and the Coens seem to want to rectify that. For at least one film, they have done so.

26/30

The Blues Brothers

Since my birthday was yesterday, I thought I would give myself a belated birthday gift by reviewing the first DVD I ever bought, and one of my all time favorite comedies. On tap for today is the John Landis, 1980 film, The Blues Brothers.

For a movie that cost $30 million to make (at the time an enormous figure for a comedy), it had fairly minimalist beginnings. It was born out of a series of hilarious Saturday Night Live skits, when Landis and Dan Aykroyd co-wrote a feature-length screenplay that is chock full of jokes and movie references. Elwood and Jake Blues are a pair of bumbling brothers who can really only do one thing right. Play the blues. When they discover their old orphanage is in dire financial straights, the two are determined to do something right for a change. As Elwood classically puts it, "we're on a mission from god." The plot of the movie follows the misfit pair as they attempt to reassemble their old blues band, and then book a big enough show to haul in some cash.

The Blues Brothers is a classic screwball movie filled with iconic performances and set pieces. This film, set in Chicago, has not one, but two of the most memorable car chases in on-screen history. The city is almost a separate character in itself as the brothers travel from Joliet, to Wacker Drive, and hit everything in between. Aykroyd and John Belushi own the lead roles of Elwood and Jake and work off of each other perfectly. Belushi especially stands out in what has come to be one of his career defining roles. Cameos abound as Carrie Fisher, John Candy, Frank Oz, Paul Reubens, Steven Spielberg and Twiggy all make appearances. Supposedly Mr. T is in the background of a scene although I haven't spotted him yet.

Where the film really excels though, are the numerous blues performances by music legends. Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, Chaka Khan and James Brown all help provide one of the greatest soundtracks of all time. Not to mention the talent that makes up the rest of the Blues Brothers band, which by the way, is the same band that played with them as SNL musical guests.

Aykroyd and Belush as the Blues Brothers with Ray Charles

If you enjoy good blues music, this movie is an absolute must see. For all you unsophisticated heathens, don't worry. There is plenty here besides the blues. Loads of great comedy and some really funny and exciting set pieces will keep you interested. One of the best.

27/30

News and Links

Hey everyone, been a while since we did a news column here. Lots of good stuff happening recently so I thought I would clue you in on some of it.

To start out with, two extremely interesting trailers have been released in the past couple of months, both of which I'm dying to see. Here, we have a Coen brothers remake of the John Wayne western, True Grit, which looks appropriately gritty, and as long time followers of this blog know, I'm a sucker for Jeff Bridges. This movie looks awesome and I can't wait. The other trailer I'd like to bring to your attention is The Tourist. This film appears to be your traditional action escape fare, but when a cast of Johnny Depp (yes), Angelina Jolie (YES) and Paul Bettany (umm, thats cool I guess) gets together, there is potential for a great action film there. If you can't tell I really like Angelina Jolie.

Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit

Next up we have some casting news. John C. Reilly has joined an already impressive cast for the new film God of Carnage. Contrary to what you might expect from that name, its actually based on a play about two sets of parents who face off after their kids have an altercation at school. This is already turning heads because its going to be directed by the talented Roman Polanski. I very nearly made a crack about Polanski and kids here, but I showed restraint. I'm proud of myself.

Kate Beckinsale

Also in the casting arena, Deadline.com is reporting that Kate Beckinsale is in talks to sign on for the new crime thriller Contraband. It is a remake of a 2008 scandinavian movie (we seem to be doing that a lot recently), and Mark Wahlberg is already attached. There is also some info about Wahlberg's upcoming boxing film, The Fighter, for those of you who are interested.


Finally we have a fun series at the British online paper, The Guardian. They have created a top 25 list of the greatest action and/or war movies of all time. That is here, plus a pretty funny article by Guardian reporter Joe Queenan on action movie cliches. Click around a bit as there is some other good stuff around their site.

That's all we have time for today readers. To quote Mr. Carrey, that's the way the cookie crumbles.

The Blind Side

Let me start out this post by saying, I have nothing against Sandra Bullock. Ok, well, maybe I do. She has constructed a successful movie career by repeatedly playing her patented character in movies that I have long since dismissed as fluff. To put it harshly, I do not take her seriously as an artist. When I first saw the trailers for the 2009 film The Blind Side I dismissed it as her regular fare and did not bother to see it until now. I simply thought the box office geniuses saw a movie that combined elements of your standard chick-flick tearjerker with a football story, immediately turning it into the perfect date movie. That is why I was so shocked when it not only was nominated for Best Picture, but actually won a Best Actress award for Bullock.

Now, I frequently disagree with many of the nominations and awards handed out by the Academy of Motion Pictures. But, since what constitutes a good movie is so subjective, I can usually stomach the decisions and move on. For some reason John Lee Hancock's The Blind Side gave me a little extra twist. Now having seen it, I think I can explain why.

The Blind Side tells the story of Michael Oher, a young and homeless black boy, who is befriended and eventually adopted by the Tuohy family. Thanks to their love, support, and financial resources, he is able to attend a quality school and blossom into a top collegiate athlete. Honestly, as a sports movie, it works fine. Many of my favorite sports movies are fairly simplistic. There is a good team and a bad team, there is a personal conflict for the main character that mirrors the movie's sporting conflict. Throw in some funny cameos by sports personalities and a hearty catharsis at the end. Check, check, check and check. Even as your standard tearjerker the film makes do with some heartwarming scenes between Mrs. Tuohy and Oher. My problems are of a different nature. Beyond the troubling narrative of rich, white family saves poor, black boy from his black peers (the story is true so it is hard to complain), beyond the thinly veiled conservative viewpoint that is passed off as progressive and even beyond some particularly cheesy Hollywood moments, for me, it is as a character-driven drama where the movie falls short.

Two of the most important features for any drama are the character development and arc. After having watched the film, I can truthfully say I know next to nothing about the supposedly altruistic Tuohys. The Blind Side completely turns a blind eye to any of the difficulties that would be inherent in this situation. Leigh Anne Tuohy, the mother and central character played by Bullock, is not humanized. She is idealized and glorified. We never see any internal struggle or self-doubt from her. Mrs. Tuohy spends very little time questioning whether or not to bring a hulking stranger into her house with her young daughter and son. She spends an equally small amount of time brushing off the racist-tinged clucking of high society, embodied here by a few, peacockish, local women.

Still, Sandra Bullock does have a certain charm. She drives the movie and it misses her when she is off-screen. The climactic scenes of the movie determine whether or not Oher will be accepted to college and they suffer for her absence. They also do not have much of a connection with any of the other themes of the story making them a fairly pointless (and predictable) exercise. Oher himself, played by Quinton Aaron, has little to do for most of the movie besides breath quietly. We are never given a real glimpse inside this young man's head besides a couple of throw away scenes with some of his teachers.

Quinton Aaron and Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side

Mr. Tuohy (Tim McGraw), and the Tuohy kids (Lily Collins and Jae Head) also don't have much to do. They never seem to mind that their already busy mother's time has been usurped by a total stranger and the adjustment period that would be both natural and interesting is glossed over. The only other major character in the film is Michael's explicitly liberal tutor (see, it's balanced!), Miss Sue, who is played by Kathy Bates and possesses a pretty creepy manipulative streak (see, liberals are creepy!). To phrase it bluntly, the film takes a very complex situation and boils it down to platitude level.

John Lee Hancock has some experience directing both sports movies (2002's The Rookie) and black and white/good vs evil films (2004's The Alamo). From a technical standpoint, the movie is decently put together. The direction, cinematography and score are all merely adequate. Bullock continues to play Bullock, so I guess her Oscar is more of a lifetime achievement award. In summary, The Blind Side is a perfectly capable sports movie and a watchable enough family drama. I just expect more from my Oscar nominees and winners.

18/30

La Haine (Hate)

Although the majority of Americans love to idealize Paris, France has unfortunately had a long history of intolerence toward outsiders, especially Black and Maghrebi immigrants. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has himself incited racial hatred. During the 2005 riots, Sarkozy, who was then Minister of the Interior, famously said he would wash the "scum" out of the slums with a street-cleaning hose. The questions of ethnic and religious discrimination as well as the role of immigrants in contemporary French society have become important themes in French cinema. The 1990s gave rise to the notion of banlieue cinema, which takes its name from the "banlieues" (suburbs), the socially disadvantaged urban areas with which minority ethnic groups are mostly identified. Perhaps the most successful banlieue film, La Haine, winner of the Cesar Award as France's best film in 1995, offers a raw and captivating look at urban class and racial struggles in the French capital. In this powerful drama, director Mathieu Kassovitz gives us a portrait of the marginal and excluded in France.

The story, loosely based on actual events, begins with a series of riots in the streets of Paris involving the burning of cars and public buildings. The unrest breaks out after an Arab student, named Abdel, is beaten into a coma by the police. Shot in black and white and told in a one-day period, the film follows a group of three friends: Hubert (Hubert Koundé), who is Black, Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui), who is Arab, and Vinz (Vincent Cassel), who is Jewish. They are from immigrant families living in a volatile housing project in an outer suburb of Paris. Deprived of a healthy community and alienated by a self-involved society, the young outcasts form a family among themselves. Their ethnic backgrounds is not important to them; they are united against "the system".

Vinz is a hot-tempered guy with a huge authority problem and a deep hatred of the police. He fantasizes about being a gangster, and does impressions of Robert de Niro in Taxi Driver in front of his bathroom mirror. During the riot, Vinz finds a policeman's gun, lost in the chaos. He vows to use the gun to kill a cop, should his friend Abdel die. Saïd, on the other hand, is good-natured, sensible and calm; he seems unwilling to acknowledge the problems of his surroundings. The most mature and most thoughtful of the three is Hubert, an aspiring boxer who wishes to leave this decadent world behind him.

The film uses a repeated metaphor comparing life in urban Paris to someone jumping off a building. With each passing floor, the jumper thinks that up until now, everything is okay. Then he hits bottom. This embodies the ultimate doom that the protagonists face, since there is very little hope of escaping life in the banlieue.

Vinz, Saïd and Hubert are not criminals but because of their appearance, they are treated that way by the police and they are discriminated against continuously by society. During the course of less than 24 hours, they wander the streets filled with rage and find themselves in one troublesome situation after another. In one scene, Hubert and Saïd are interrogated by policemen who intimidate and humiliate them by using choke holds and racial slurs. Later on, the trio gets into a scuffle with a group of racist anti-immigrant skinheads. Vinz shows the skinheads his gun, and all but one, played by the director Mathieu Kassovitz, escape. Vinz is ready to kill but he does not go through with his intention. The young men are able to keep their cool and to not act stupidly, but it is only a matter of time until heartbreak strikes.

Evidently, Kassovitz sees everything in black and white. On one side, there is the bigots and bullies, on the other, defenseless minorities. However, La Haine does not ask us to sympathize with the protagonists. It invites us instead to face up to the social challenges of our time in order to avoid violence and tragedy. It is interesting how this film reflects our own problems of race and class division here in America. Its setting would translate perfectly to any US inner-city.

26/30

The Town

Not every good movie has to be wildly original or terrifically written. Sometimes just a solidly acted, directed and authored formula movie comes along that can be a fun ride. I think this year's The Town falls under that heading. That I was able to write the preceding sentence comes as a bit of a surprise to me since it stars, was co-written, and is directed by the critically reviled Ben Affleck. From the boring Daredevil, to the cheese fest that is Pearl Harbor, to the comically bad Gigli, Affleck has spent much of his career starring in cheaply constructed box office bombs. His recent form has been so bad that people often forget he achieved stardom by co-writing and starring in Good Will Hunting. That is part of why his recent resurgence to artistic respectability is so surprising.

After his directorial debut with the outstanding, but depressing Gone Baby Gone, Affleck moved to far more traditional action fare with The Town. The film tells the story of a crew of bank robbers in a neighborhood of Boston and the FBI agent chasing them. The leader of the crew, played by Affleck, falls for a former hostage, and tries to get out of the game, but his fellow bank robber/best friend, and the local crime boss keep pulling him back in. Meanwhile the FBI agent pursues doggedly and comes ever closer.

The Town is very solidly acted with notable performances from Jeremy Renner and Jon Hamm. Career character actors Chris Cooper and Pete Postlethwaite turn in nice cameos. Affleck and the romantic lead, Rebecca Hall, are merely serviceable. What sets the movie apart from others of its ilk, is actually the direction. Affleck creates a believable atmosphere in Boston, keeps a steady and entertaining pace for the film, and spices it up with a few really terrific action sequences sprinkled in. It is in those sequences where he shines with some exciting bank heists and getaways.

Hamm and Affleck facing off as FBI Agent and thief

As Affleck's directing career progresses I find it fascinating to compare his first two movies. Gone Baby Gone is the superior film, but suffers from some inexperience on the part of its director. Affleck was clearly learning on the go as he overemphasizes certain moments and lets the film drag in other areas. The Town on the other hand, is nowhere near the intellectual equal of Gone Baby Gone, but benefits from far more professional direction.

In summary, The Town is an entertaining thriller that could end up being anything from the high point in an underachieving career, all the way to an important step for the next great American director. Either way its worth a watch.

22/30

In the Loop

Tired of poop jokes in comedies? Want to laugh at a film without having to see male genitalia on the screen? You’re not alone. Much as I love the outrageous antics of Ben Stiller in Zoolander and Will Ferrell in Anchorman, much as I laughed in shock at the daring of some choice shots in the break-up scene of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, these hilarious films have been succeeded by a wave of cheap imitations that dominated the 2000’s, achieving the same level of stupidity or shock value but lacking in genuine humor.

However, if you have been looking for that rare comedy that can make you laugh and still make you think, look no further: last year’s political farce In the Loop was just the sort of intellectually stimulating entertainment that every American should be watching but which few seem to be interested in. Unsurprisingly, this level of sharpness is found in a foreign movie, but for those of you with a phobia of subtitles, never fear, it’s a UK film by a Scottish director, and, barring certain actors’ thick accents, is in intelligible English.

Director Armando Iannucci brings his highly acclaimed BBC show “The Thick of It,” about underhanded maneuvering in British government, both to the Silver Screen and across the pond in this masterpiece of political satire. As the President of the US and the Prime Minister of the UK agree to a war in the Middle East, various officials in both governments scramble into action to either speed up or impede the march to war. Bull-headed but clever US Lieutenant General Miller (James Gandolfini) and gaffe-prone British Secretary of State for International Development Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) do their best, to varying levels of success, to block the movement; oily US Assistant Secretary for Policy Linton Barwick (David Rasche) and foul-mouthed and superbly vicious Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), the Scottish political finagler, scheme to ensure the conflict’s approval. Said parties clash in DC to hilarious effect: we watch with equal parts glee and disgust as these “public servants” bolster their careers and interests by creating secret committees, bedding interns, leaking and altering documents, harassing subordinates, and attempting alternately to slow down and speed up a UN vote.

In the Loop is nothing short of brilliant. It displays tour de force performances by Capaldi and Gandolfini. The handheld, documentary-style cinematography aids in making the satirical world of vaguely familiar events feel uncomfortably realistic. Nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, the dialogue is quick and biting. And despite being so funny (and how I wish I didn’t have to use the word ‘despite’), it’s one of the most intelligent films of the past several years.

"In the land of truth, my friend, the man with one fact is the king."

— Linton Barwick

26/30