Dazed and Confused (1993) *****

 

I've been catching up on some classic horror films lately, and the lesson from those is that teenagers hang out, get drunk, get high, get laid, and then get killed. It's nice to revisit a movie about teens doing the first four, without having to get slaughtered. Richard Linklater's coming-of-age story is a classic slice of life, full of classic lines and classic rock.

The film takes place on the last day of school, in Austin, TX, 1976. A varied collection of students prepare for their summer. For the rising Seniors who happen to be jocks and cheerleaders, this means hazing the incoming Freshman, a time-honored process that will continue all summer. On the receiving end of this abuse are Mitch and Sabrina, who tolerate the hazing and are rewarded by getting to hang out and party all night with the older kids. Rising Senior Randall “Pink” Floyd is the star quarterback, and he takes part in the hazing halfheartedly. Pink basically gets along with everyone, including the stoners at his school, and he lacks the sadism of his fellow athletes. He spends the night debating whether he should continue playing football, which will involve signing a hypocritical, “voluntary” pledge to avoid alcohol and drugs.

Not everyone in the film is a popular jock or cheerleader. The story includes stoners, thugs, and nerds, including a trio of intellectuals who cruise around overthinking everything, trying to find a literal party and trying to find the party in themselves.

The most memorable character in “Dazed and Confused” was almost a footnote. David Wooderson is one of those guys in his early 20s who still hangs around high school kids, leching on the girls, and trying to act cool and wise. In the original script, Wooderson was just an extra. The legend goes that Matthew McConaughey, a film student at the time, spotted casting director Don Phillips in an Austin bar, and introduced himself. The two hit it off, and Phillips offered him the small part. Once McConaughey got on set and started bringing the character to life, everyone was blown away, the part was expanded, and Wooderson became a classic character with lines like “That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older; they stay the same age.”

More lighthearted than “Fast Times at Ridgemont High, “ and without the obligatory tragedy of “American Graffiti,” “Dazed and Confused” is much closer to a slice of real teenage life, although a bit idealized. Belying its title, the film depicts teens who are much cooler and more self-aware than my friends and I ever were. It's a reasonable fantasy, though, about a perfect party night, hanging with friends and making new friends, meeting a guy or girl, and feeling cool.

5 stars out of 5

Miller's Crossing (1990) *****

 

We all have a handful of films that are absolute favorites, and the Coen brothers' “Miller's Crossing” is one of mine.

Gabriel Byrne plays Tom, top advisor to Leo, a crime boss played by Albert Finney. Leo owns the city, but he is slipping. Out of affection for a dancer named Verna (Marcia Gay Harden), Leo is protecting her cheating scumbag of a brother, Bernie (John Turturro), and that protection triggers a gang war. Leo is a complete simp for Verna, who is just using him, so Tom plays both sides against the middle in an attempt to save Leo from himself.

I wouldn't want to give away any more of the plot, which, with all its setups and double-crosses, requires you to pay some attention. It's well worth the time, and worth multiple viewings. This is simply a perfect movie. Gabriel Byrne plays Tom as a cipher, a man of complex loyalties whom we never fully understand. I could write volumes about this character, but in the end I'm still not sure how many of his actions were carefully planned and how many decisions were simply made on the fly. The supporting cast is outstanding, each better than the last, including Finney, Turturro, Steve Buscemi, and others. Really, every actor who crosses the screen in this movie gets a chance to shine.

The thing about writing about a perfect movie is that there isn't a whole lot to say. The plot, dialogue, acting, even the music are golden. If you like gangster movies, you simply have to see it, and if you don't like gangster movies, you will after watching “Miller's Crossing.”

5 stars out of 5

Coming 2 America (2021) ****

 

“Now, more than ever” is the official tagline of the Covid pandemic, and now, more than ever, we need a feel-good movie. “Coming 2 America” is that movie, for fans of the original film, at least.

When last we saw Prince Akeem, of the African nation of Zamunda, he had found his queen in Queens, NY. I figured they were just going to live happily ever after. That was 1988, in the Eddie Murphy classic, “Coming to America.” 2020-2021 has been a year of surprises, perhaps none of them bigger than the arrival, 33 years later, of a “Coming to America” sequel.

Thirty years into a happy marriage, Akeem (Murphy) and his wife, Lisa, have 3 lovely daughters. What they do not have is a son, which is what Zamunda requires for an heir. As Akeem prepares to inherit the throne from his dying father, this lack of an heir in the next generation draws the attentions of Zamunda's warlike neighbor. Nextdooria is ruled by General Izzi (Wesley Snipes), who is ever eager to exploit a weakness. On his death-bed, Akeem's father (James Earl Jones) reveals that Akeem unwittingly fathered a child on that long-ago trip to America, a son who could rightfully become the next Prince of Zamunda. Akeem and his faithful sidekick Semmi (Arsenio Hall) travel back to Queens to recruit this young prince. Meanwhile, Akeem's oldest daughter, Meeka (Kiki Layne), chafes at being passed over for the throne.

“Coming 2 America” is every bit as dumb as you think it would be, and every bit as fun! They got an incredible number of cast members from the original movie to pop in for the sequel, including John Amos (as Cleo McDowell), Louie Anderson, and the list goes on. Is there Sexual Chocolate in the mix? Are the barber shop guys back? Yes and yes!

The sequel does bring in some fresh blood, including Tracy Morgan, Leslie Jones, and the promising, young Jermaine Fowler. Leslie Jones, in particular, is hilarious! The main attraction here, however, is all the callbacks to the original film. Even the plot is a retread of the original – a headstrong prince defies his father's plans for a political marriage.

It's tempting to say that Eddie Murphy is back. He was outstanding in 2019's "Dolemite is my Name," and he delivers the goods in “Coming 2 America,” but this film is very much a celebration of the past. If Murphy is hoping to move from beloved 80s icon to a relevant comedian today, “Coming 2 America” is not the project that will do it.

The bottom line is that “Coming 2 America” is a stupid-fun tribute to the original film. Fans of the original should absolutely watch it, and everyone else should not bother.

4 stars out of 5 (for fans of the original)

Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) ***1/2

 

 

You should definitely watch the first movie before this sequel, but just to catch you up, the world has been destroyed by a zombie plague, and the few human survivors eke out a living on pilfered food and siphoned gas. They refer to the horrifying, new world as Zombieland, and in Zombieland, people give up their original names and refer to each other by their hometowns. This presumably works because there are so few survivors, roughly 1 per city, I guess. I wasn't impressed by the original "Zombieland" at first, but the movie grew on me, so I was looking forward to spending some more time with these crazy characters: the tough zombie-hunter Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), the neurotic, rule-obsessed survivalist Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), and the grifting sisters Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). By the end of “Zombieland,” they had formed the kind of unlikely family that is so likely in movies. “Zombieland: Double Tap” finds the crew still together 10 years later, in D.C., inhabiting the White House. Togetherness is starting to grate on these lone wolves, and they also face an increasingly dangerous world as the zombies evolve to become smarter, faster, and harder to kill.

The crew splits up, but... you guessed it, they are going to have to come back together in order to survive. Meanwhile, they meet some new survivors, including the dumb, pretty Madison (Zoey Deutch), the smart, pretty Nevada (Rosario Dawson), and a handful of others (including a cameo from Luke Wilson).

This is what Joe Bob Briggs would call a classic sequel, in that they basically remade the original movie. Anything you liked in the original is here, just amped up. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Director Ruben Fleischer keeps the mood light and the jokes coming. Like the original “Zombieland,” this is not in any way a serious zombie flick. It's just a rollicking good time and a good distraction from the actual end of the world.

3.5 stars out of 5