"Shrek Forever After": It's a Wonderful Strife

Details

Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Monday, 24 May 2010 23:27

Written by Frank Lovece

Directed by Mike Mitchell
Written by Josh Klausner, Darren Lemke, based on the book Shrek! by William Steig
Starring Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Walt Dohrn, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Jon Hamm, Jane Lynch, Craig Robinson

Once upon a time there was the exquisite Shrek and the hilarious Shrek 2. Then darkness fell over the kingdom, and the heavy-handed, horribly sitcomy Shrek the Third strode hard upon the land. But then somewhere, a magic wand waved, and soon goodness and laughter and the sharp, polished wit of filmmakers trying once again to be fresh and funny rather than coasting on momentum and goodwill reigned. And there was much rejoicing. Yay. Verily.

"Fresh" might seem not the right word to describe a film that utilizes the most trusty plot device since that of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, namely the what-if-I'd-never-been born conceit of Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. But a device is just a tool -- it's all in how you use it. Despite a tiny bit of shtick here and there in Shrek Forever After, director Mike Mitchell and company have given us a story of genuine, grownup romance and regret, suffused with a middle-aged longing that has nothing to do with the slow-burn, poor-put-upon-dad antics of the execrable third movie, which might as well have been a 1950s episode of TV's The Life of Riley -- talk about a revoltin' development.

No, here, instead, bitter real-life emotions anchor the jumping-off point, and yet somehow the tragedy of everyday life becomes not only roaringly funny but also gets camouflaged enough that kids too young to understand can simply enjoy the colorful characters running through the plot mechanics, and maybe years later will see how much deeper it all was.

Shrek (voice of Mike Myers), once a feared ogre outside the fairy-tale kingdom of Duloc, has now become, to his exasperated irritation, a cuddly celebrity in the once faraway kingdom of Far Far Away (which is now within walking distance of Shrek's original swamp—let's just call it geographical magic). What with infant triplets, neighbors who barge in and make themselves at home every night, tour-carriage announcers invading his privacy and an endless battle with backed-up toilets, it seems more or less reasonable for him to blow his top at a birthday party where strangers and friends alike demands things from him constantly. When his wife, the ogress princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), chastises and guilt-trips him for it, showing no empathy, it's no wonder he storms off -- or that he becomes easy prey for the Machiavellian Rumpelstiltskin (the Paul Reubens-like voice of Walt Dohrn, one of the lead animators).

That leprechaun-like goblin sweet-talks Shrek into a disastrous deal: The ogre can have one day all to himself, scaring people and being a carefree bachelor, in exchange for losing one day in his life. Of course, that turns out to be the day he was born, and so when Shrek's present is over, so is he.

The deliciousness of what-if universes never gets old, and the filmmakers create a logical Dystopia that'd have made Fritz Lang proud. Rumpel is now king of a decaying kingdom, where inside the castle is a nonstop party that appears to be, hilariously, a lesbian witches’ rave -- there certainly aren't any warlocks around, and the animators could have drawn them easily enough. What a riot! The Gingerbread Man (Conrad Vernon, a co-director of Shrek 2) is now a gladiator fighting animal crackers, Puss in Boots (a scene-stealing Antonio Banderas) is now literally a fat cat, and Fiona's become essentially Xena, Warrior Princess, leading an ogre underground in revolution against Rumpel.

Throughout, the CGI characters have more expressiveness than ever, and carry such a grounded solidity that when a flying dragon lands, you can almost feel the weight. Unfortunately, the 3D effects at an IMAX screening fell flat, except for the startlingly lifelike InTru3D logo.

The studio has billed this as the final movie in the Shrek series -- we'll see. But if this is indeed the final Shrek, it all ends happily ever after

For more by Frank Lovece: FrankLovece.com

Theater: Russian Satire "The Forest" Is Tree-mendous

Details

Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Monday, 24 May 2010 22:58

Written by Lucy Komisar

Written by Alexander Ostrovsky; adapted by Kathleen Tolan
Directed by Brian Kulick
Starring Dianne Wiest, Herb Foster, George Morfogen, Lisa Joyce, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Sam Tsoutsouvas, John Douglass Thompson, Tony Torn

A table is set with bread and cakes, back-dropped by a forest created from a jumble of cross-hatched planks painted and splotched to suggest leaves. On this set by Santo Loquasto, a servant is angry at the housekeeper who enters the space without warning. "Do we barge in on you?" Class stratification and conflicts ripple through this richly comic production of Alexander Ostrovsky's satire of a Russian aristocracy high on self-importance and low on cash.

The play at the Classic Stage, expert in staging old dramas with modern inflections, is given a lively production by Brian Kulick who, with a new adaptation by Kathleen Tolan, makes it seem quite current in spirit. After all, class snobbery and hypocrisy haven't changed much. If you haven't seen an Ostrovsky play, go to this one.

Plays about Russian aristocrats immediately conjure up Chekhov, and there's a lot in this play that reminds one of  The Cherry Orchard. Raisa (a fulsome Dianne Wiest), a widow in her fifties who owns the estate, has been having a good time in the big city, but returns to take care of business, which includes selling off some of the forest to pay expenses. Chekhov, who completed his play in 1903, showed his female estate owner, also selling off trees to support her lifestyle, as spoiled, but not ridiculous. Not so Ostrovsky in 1870.

Ostrovsky's nobles, Raisa as well as her friends Milonov (Herb Foster) and Bodaev (George Morfogen) fall all over each other proclaiming how generous they are to the peasants. "Do I live only for myself, gentlemen? All that I have belongs to the poor," she declares. "I keep it safe for them, I am only a clerk. The poor and wretched of this world are the true owners."

Minonov wishes they could go back to the time of "severity in treatment, yes, but love in our souls." West, Foster and Morfogen (in a top hat) are hypocrites who really believe the nonsense they spout. The actors present just the right mix of seriousness and absurdity.

The most useless aristocrat is Aleksei (an appropriately clueless Adam Driver) who, having failed at school, has been invited for the summer to court Raisa's young niece, Aksyusha (Lisa Joyce). She, the compleat ingénue, is in love with the merchant's son, Pyotr (Quincy Dunn-Baker). But the merchant, Vosmibratov (Sam Tsoutsouvas), ever counting his kopeks, won't let his son marry without a dowry, and Raisa won't give the cash for anyone but Aleksei.

So, here, symbolically, is the challenge posed by the new economic class that exerts the power of self-made money against old-line status. Raisa is selling her forest piecemeal to the merchant, so we know who will win eventually. And for the moment, both cash and status seem to trump love.

Ostrovsky, quite ahead of his time, also directs some jabs at egregious male chauvinism. Bodaev tells Raisa, "Please don't take offense, but the fact is so many of our fine estates have been ruined by women. If a man squanders his money, nevertheless there is some sense to his extravagance, but in a woman, the stupidity knows no bounds." Vosmibratov the merchant agrees: "Nothing good comes from giving womenfolk their freedom."

However, Raisa seems quite modern, or perhaps timeless, when she makes a play for Aleksei, who, fool that he is, doesn't figure out what is happening.

The best part of the play is when Ostrovsky speaks through two itinerant actors who remind one of Shakespeare's buffoons. The tragedian, Gennady (an exuberant and commanding John Douglass Thompson), is Raisa's late husband's nephew, once in the military, now gone for 15 years, but keeping in touch by sending her presents from all over Russia. His foil is the comedian Arkady (Tony Torn).

Gennady is a theatrical charmer and ultimately the truth teller of the story, which he expounds with dialogue from Schiller's play The Robbers. At the end, you'll ask why we don't see more of Ostrovsky. Fortunately, there's the Classic Stage to make sure he's not forgotten.

The Forest
Classic Stage
136 East 13th Street
New York City
212-352-3101.
Opened May 6, 2010; closes May 30, 2010
http://www.classicstage.org/

For more by Lucy Komisar: TheKomisarScoop.com

Photos: Joan Marcus

Mayday Parade Brought Energy to the Take Action Tour

Details

Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Sunday, 23 May 2010 02:33

Written by Sam Leon

A packed House of Blues (8430 West Sunset Boulevard) buzzed with electricity on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010, where the Take Action Tour  (running Spring 2010 ending in Dallas, Texas, Mar. 2) hit the Sunset Strip. Stereo Skyline, There For Tomorrow, and A Rocket to the Moon played three quick sets.

Then pop rockers Mayday Parade launched into their first song, rich in upbeat riffs and catchy choruses, energizing the crowd. With thrashing guitars thrown over their heads and their bodies flailing all around the stage, this quintet pumped up the room. Given how charged Mayday’s energetic performances can be, it was a pleasant change to hear lead singer Derek Sanders perform a stripped down version of “I Swear This Time I Mean It,” bringing a needed change of pace to the set. With the many Mayday fans in the crowd, audience members sang along to this acoustic version.

After this short reprieve, these Tallahassee FL rockers kicked back into a lively set that propelled them to a full-strength performance. One crowd surfer after another had to be pulled down from the stage front as the audience reacted to Mayday's frenetic pace. While they played a string of powerful songs, “Black Cat” was the one that stood out due to its infectious guitar hook. With their most popular song, “Jamie All Over,” -- their best in this humble crit's opinion -- Mayday closed out their set and showed that while their stage presence was incredible, their set was truly impressive because they had great music to back it up.

Before headliners We The Kings took the stage, The Take Action Tour organizers played a brief video. Take Action sheds light on important issues from depression to volunteerism for young people and shows how everyone can make a difference. These issues have taken center stage since it was founded in 1999.

Twelve-year-old Patrick Pedraja then stepped up to talk about Driving For Donors, an organization he founded when he was diagnosed with Leukemia. A friend of Pedraja died because they were unable to find a matching bone marrow donor. He then realized the importance of people signing up to the National Marrow Registry, which has a critical shortage of minority donors.

Best known for two Top 40 hits, “Check Yes Juliet” and “Heaven Can Wait,” power poppers We The Kings offers a more middle-of-the-road style so they didn't benefit from following the compelling, balls-out Mayday Parade. Neither as fast or in-your-face as MP, this Florida-based quartet simply couldn't match in performance the previous band's explosiveness and intensity. That's not to say that We The Kings was not able to get the crowd pumping with their impressive array of songs including a favorite, “She Takes Me High.”

Disney star Demi Lovato's surprise guest duet with WTK front man Travis Clark on “We’ll Be A Dream" provided additional support from the Lovato fans who found out through Twitter that the pop singer would be performing there. Although following Mayday Parade was a tall task, the charismatic Clark does his job well, so We The Kings was able to deliver a strong performance that also rocked the House of Blues.

The female-skewing, teenage audience departed from the venue with smiles on their faces. It was clear the bands had left it all on the stage. Ears ringing, this was a night to remember.

For more info on how to be added to the National Marrow Registry, visit: www.marrow.org/JOIN

To support Driving For Donors, please text ACTION to 85944 to donate $5.

For info on next year's annual Take Action Tour! info go to: http://www.takeactiontour.com/