Category Archives: Gina Gershon

1986 Films, Andrew Dice Clay, Andrew McCarthy, Drama, Gina Gershon, Harry Dean Stanton, James Spader, Jon Cryer, Molly Ringwald, Romantic Drama

Pretty in Pink-1986

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Pretty in Pink-1986

Director Howard Deutch

Starring Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, Jon Cryer

Scott’s Review #1,376

Reviewed July 10, 2023

Grade: B+

A superior grade of ‘B+’ may surprise some who know that I’m not a big fan of generic 1980s films, romantic comedies, or dramas.

Formulaic or nostalgic doesn’t always sit well with me but I was baited hook, line, and sinker for an implausible coming of age sweet story.

Pretty in Pink (1986) and its writer John Hughes epitomizes the 1980s and teen angst films in general but looking beneath the surface the film has a lot of heart.

Star Molly Ringwald was the ‘it’ girl of the decade perfectly portraying the girl next door facing the trials and tribulations ordinary sixteen-year-olds faced.

Of course, my favorite Hughes film is The Breakfast Club (1985), also starring Ringwald but Pretty in Pink is hardly as daring as that film. It’s softer and kinder with a lovely message of individuality and romance.

The film’s secret weapon is the spectacular musical soundtrack featuring among other songs the groovy title track by Psychedelic Furs and the mega-hit ballad ‘If You Leave’ by Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark.

Andie (Ringwald) is an outcast at her Midwest USA high school. From a working-class household with an unemployed father (Harry Dean Stanton) and an absent mother she makes her clothes and has an individual fashion sense.

She’s not exactly popular with the bitchy and materialistic cheerleaders.

She works at a record store for her older boss and friend Iona (Annie Potts) and is usually seen with her best friend and fellow outcast Duckie (Jon Cryer), who has a crush on her.

When one of the rich and famous kids at school, Blane (Andrew McCarthy), asks Andie out, it seems too good to be true. As Andie starts falling for Blane, she begins to realize that dating someone from a different social class has its challenges.

Pretty in Pink has a few different angles going on including a social sphere, a romantic triangle, and conformity.

The triangle is ultimately divisive. Should Andie choose a best friend and confidante Ducky or Blane, the boy she truly is smitten with? Her choice has divided audiences since the film was released decades ago.

She has so much in common with Ducky who also has blue-collar roots but her heart belongs to Blane who could offer her so much more. Andie is headed for University and couldn’t Blane be proper sophistication for her?

I’m on team Blane.

Strangely and offputting is Ducky. Meant to be cute he all but harasses Andie, smothering her and pressuring her. His repeated phone calls would make me run the other way.

Social class is a wise topic explored and one that many audiences can relate to. The classic upper-class boy falls in love with a working-class girl and family and friend pressures develop.

Hughes doesn’t delve too much into the upper-middle-class parents but only into the students which I find interesting. The character of Steff (James Spader) is the villain antagonizing Andie because he can’t get her into bed.

Andie inspired and continues to inspire teenage girls everywhere who refuse to conform to norms and standards. The film offers a strong female character with real emotions and hopes, fears, and dreams.

Thanks to an outstanding performance by Ringwald we see all her emotions and a beautiful dynamic forms between father and daughter.

The conclusion of the film (related to the triangle) occurs at the high school prom where a jilted Andie attends alone. A quick sequence where she reconnects with a character is very rushed and the film ends quickly.

Unsurprisingly, this is the result of the finale being re-written at the last minute after the original ending didn’t go over well with test audiences.

There is something to be said for the writer and director having complete creative control but sadly this isn’t the case in Pretty in Pink and the audience can see the void.

Pretty in Pink (1986) may scream ‘1980s film’ and the tacky hairstyles and outfits that go along with the decade and the genre but the messages relayed hit their marks.

Though dated in some ways the film is timeless in others.

1992 Films, Andie MacDowell, Best Feature- Independent Spirit Award Winners, Bruce Willis, Comedy, Dark Comedy, Dean Stockwell, Drama, Gary Busey, Gina Gershon, Independent, Independent Drama, Jeff Goldblum, Joel Grey, Julia Roberts, Lyle Lovett, Nick Nolte, Peter Gallagher, Richard E. Grant, Robert Altman, Satire, Scott Glenn, Sydney Pollack, Tim Robbins, Vincent D'Onofrio, Whoopi Goldberg

The Player-1992

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The Player-1992

Director Robert Altman

Starring Tim Robbins, Peter Gallagher

Scott’s Review #601

Reviewed January 11, 2017

Grade: A

The Player (1992) ranks up there with other Robert Altman classics such as Gosford Park (2001), Nashville (1975), and Short Cuts (1993).

The film is an excellent piece of Hollywood satire and centers around a jaded movie executive, played by Tim Robbins, who does an incredible job with his role.

Robbins plays Griffin Mill, a man with no scruples. Feeling usurped by a younger executive, played by Peter Gallagher, as well as receiving death threats, he goes on the hunt for the person he feels responsible for, which leads to murder.

The audience is unsure whether to love or hate Mill, thanks to Robbin’s performance. He is snarky, but also vulnerable and a tad sympathetic.

The film contains a slew of real Hollywood celebrities (Cher, Malcolm McDowell, Bruce Willis) playing themselves and is largely improvised (as many of Altman’s films are).

Whoopi Goldberg and Lyle Lovett star as odd police detectives.

The plot is nothing that hasn’t been done before, but it’s the realness and the direction that make this movie a must-see, especially for Robert Altman fans.

The Player (1992) is a hidden gem.

Oscar Nominations: Best Director-Robert Altman, Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published, Best Film Editing

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-Best Feature (won)

2011 Films, Crime Thriller, Emile Hirsch, Gina Gershon, Independent, Independent Thriller, Juno Temple, Matthew McConaughey, Thomas Haden Church, Thriller, Tracy Letts, William Friedkin

Killer Joe-2011

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Killer Joe-2011

Director William Friedkin

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch

Scott’s Review #450

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Reviewed July 14, 2016

Grade: A-

Killer Joe (2011) is a must-see for any fan of director Quentin Tarantino because this small, independent, gem of a feature is worth checking out.

Tarantino’s films influence the film in style, characters, and violence. The violence mixed with humor, wit, and great writing is stamped on the film.

Surprisingly, given the influence of another director, Killer Joe is directed by William Friedkin, who is a very acclaimed filmmaker in his own right. Classics such as The Exorcist (1973) and The French Connection (1971) were created by this talent.

Matthew McConaughey owns Killer Joe and he has thankfully graduated from silly, fluffy, romantic comedies to smart, delicious roles in independent films of late. He has come to be a respected Hollywood actor.

His lengthy nude scene is daring for such an A-list actor.

The film is satirical, without being too campy, and the setting of a suffocating, trailer-trash, Texas town is extremely well done.

I loved the violent and gruesome fried chicken dinner table scene the best.

I especially liked the overall food references throughout the film which adds even more macabre comedy to this dark (on the surface) film.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Male Lead-Matthew McConaughey

1995 Films, Camp, Drama, Elizabeth Berkley, Gina Gershon, Kyle MacLachlan, Lowest Rated Films, Paul Verhoeven, Thriller

Showgirls-1995

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Showgirls-1995

Director Paul Verhoeven

Starring Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan

Scott’s Review #372

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Reviewed January 31, 2016

Grade: D

Having heard much about the infamously badly reviewed Showgirls (1995), and its ranking as one of the worst films ever made, I finally got around to watching this (twenty years after its release).

Now considered something of a camp classic, I am glad I did.

While I recognize the dubious distinction it holds and does not disagree with it, I also found something slightly entertaining about the film, and my thought process throughout was “this film is so bad that it might be good”, but in the end, it is pretty much just a bad film.

Nomi Malone (Elizabeth Berkley) hitchhikes to Las Vegas intending to find success as a showgirl. Having her belongings stolen, she is then befriended by a kind-hearted woman named Molly, who works as a seamstress at the topless dance revue, Goddess.

Molly takes her in and introduces her to the star of the show-Cristal (Gina Gershon).

A rivalry immediately develops between the women as Cristal mocks Nomi’s job at another topless club. The main story centers on this rivalry, as Nomi attempts to climb the ranks and achieve success in the shady world of adult entertainment.

Along the way she becomes involved with various men, specifically entertainment director (and Cristal’s boyfriend), Zack, played by Kyle MacLachlan, leading to further tensions.

Let me be honest here- Showgirls is a bad film in every way. I observed three major flaws in the film- poor acting, poor writing, and the film being over-the-top on every level.

Let’s break it down.

Within minutes, I knew the acting was sub-par, and I wondered if that was the fault of the director’s (Paul Verhoeven) directing or the actors themselves- or a combination.

Known for directing Basic Instinct (a sexy, smoldering film), one wonders if he had the same success in mind for Showgirls.

Berkeley gets the brunt of the mention since she is the lead character, but, wow what a bad performance. From the over-dramatic delivery to the phony earnestness, I did not buy the performance for a minute and fantasized on more than one occasion about how a different actress might have tackled the role (Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts came to mind).

Gershon was almost worse as her sexiness and vixen-like character were fraught with an irritating brooding pout.

The writing is one-dimensional- a poor girl tries to achieve success in a bad, bad world and meets challenge after challenge. Nothing new here.

The predictability was apparent almost immediately and most of the characters were unlikable. When Nomi garners interest in a man, he turns into a player with another aspiring female star on the side, feeding her the same lines as he did Nomi.

Even the one sympathetic character (Molly), exists only to make Nomi more likable as is the case when Molly is attacked and Nomi races to her bedside.

Forced and formulaic, this scene is a prime example of poor and contrived writing.

Most scenes play over the top.

Brimming with nudity and sexual excitement, the film is bawdy and party-friendly. In one scene, dancers take a line of coke before hitting the stage and a feud between two of the dancers results in one sabotaging the production so that the other dancer will break her hip.

The larger-than-life (in more than one way) x-rated, well-endowed, mama dancer, while entertaining, is also silly and foolish.

Chaotic and pointless, each scene was hard to believe and take seriously.

You may be wondering what positives can be found in Showgirls- the answer is not many, but there is a charm I found in the film, but perhaps I am glutenous for punishment.

I think the film “feels” like it wants to have fun and a certain level of entertainment can be found in viewing it, but this is like trying to find a needle in the haystack to see any good in Showgirls.

I do not disagree with the distinction that Showgirls (1995) is one of the worst films ever made, but I found a sliver of charm, interest, and fun mixed in with the more prevalent drivel, poor quality, and painfully bad acting.

But perhaps that is because it is so bad.