The Competition (1980) ***1/2

This film is remarkable not for the story or the acting, but for how it puts classical music front and center. Richard Dreyfuss plays Paul, a classical pianist approaching 30 and struggling to win a major competition before he is too old. His parents, particularly his father, have always supported his playing, but now he is starting to think he needs to just settle down and get a teaching job. He decides to take one more shot at the big time, a piano competition in San Francisco.

In San Fran, Paul runs into Heidi (Amy Irving), a gorgeous pianist he knows from previous competitions. Paul wants to avoid any romantic distractions, and Heidi's teacher (Lee Remick) gives her the same advice, but then a Russian competitor's teacher defects. This delays the final competition for a week, and with all that extra time, Paul and Heidi yield to the inevitable. This, of course, creates complications when the competition resumes.

This is a fine, romantic story, with good chemistry between the leads and an excellent supporting cast, particularly Lee Remick. (It's almost too many brilliant, blue eyes in one movie!) It's also rather predictable. There's never any doubt that Paul and Heidi are going to hook up, and the outcome of the competition isn't particularly surprising, either. The film does get into some interesting themes, however, including the plight of a talented artist like Paul, who hasn't quite broken into the top tier of his profession, and is running out of time to do so. Then there's the role of gender stereotypes. Heidi's teacher advises her that there will always be a talented man in her life whose fragile ego requires her to yield him the spotlight. Her career success will be determined by how she responds to that female voice inside her, telling her to let the man win.

The best thing in the movie, though, is the classical piano music. The cast do a great job making it look as if they are the ones playing. They aren't, of course; the music is played by talented professionals. The actors took lessons for 4 months, however, just to be able to simulate playing these complex pieces, and they do it convincingly, like an action star doing his own stunts.

3.5 stars out of 5

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020) ***1/2

Imagine if you discovered that most Europeans had no idea what the Superbowl was. That's almost the situation with the Eurovision Song Contest, the annual music competition where each European country submits their best artist and new song. I would venture to say that everyone in Europe is at least aware each year that Eurovision is going on, even if they don't watch. Here in America, most people have never heard of it.

The contest is bombastic, ridiculous, and sometimes actually good. Almost everyone sings in English, which is the shared language of the continent. Most of the songs are of the poppy, disco variety, but you get the occasional outlier, like Finland's 2006 winner “Hard Rock Hallelujah,” or 2019's S&M-punk entry from Iceland, “Hatrio Mun Sigra,” which featured another rare element, singing in their native tongue. The countries vote on each other's songs, bringing in all the political overtones you might imagine, with former Eastern Block countries voting for each other, and so forth. In its trashy, showy glitz, the show at its worst is like a bunch of rich Serbians starting a dumpster fire outside a strip club. At its best, the show gives Europeans a chance to put aside their differences to celebrate the occasional real talent, and it has featured some iconic social statements, as when Austria's Conchita Wurst won in 2014, performing in bearded drag.

Will Ferrell is one of the minority of Americans who knows and loves Eurovision, and “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” is his love letter to the show. Ferrell plays Lars, an Icelandic singer whose lifelong passion is to make it to Eurovision. He and his childhood friend, Sigrit (Rachel McAdams) form the band Fire Saga, writing and performing songs in their tiny fishing village to a mostly-unappreciative audience. This includes Lars's father (Pierce Brosnan), a gruff, ridiculously-handsome fisherman who disapproves of his son's ambitions. Fire Saga luck their way into representing Iceland at the big show, where they meet a variety of bombastic Eurovision types, including a handsome Russian (Dan Stevens) who tries to woo Sigrit.

This is must-see-TV for Eurovision fans. If that's you, you have probably already watched it on Netflix, where it was released straight-to-streaming because of the Covid pandemic. If that's not you, I'd say it's possible to enjoy this simply as a fun, romantic comedy, but a lot of the jokes will seem mystifying.

The story is typical rom-com silliness, but Farrell and McAdams have enough talent and chemistry to carry it off, even with their dubious Icelandic accents. Ultimately, the point of the film is to celebrate and gently poke fun at Eurovision, and it's full of Easter Eggs for Eurovision fans, as well as cameos from a bunch of former winners. At one point, all the contestants engage in a giant song medley that is as ridiculous, un-self-conscious, and fun as Eurovision itself.

3.5 stars out of 5

Manhattan (1979) ****

The great thing about Woody Allen is that he didn't peak early in his career. In my opinion, he has done some of his best work in his golden years, particularly 2011's "Midnight in Paris." Nonetheless, some of his early works are classics, and “Manhattan” is one of them.

Basically, this is a movie about a bunch of hot messes. 42-year-old Isaac (Woody Allen) is a divorced TV writer dating a 17-year-old girl (Mariel Hemingway). Meanwhile, his married best friend, Yale (Michael Murphy) is having an affair with a pedantic intellectual named Mary (Diane Keaton). When Isaac and Mary fall in love, it turns everyone's world upside down.

It would be easy to dismiss these characters as a bunch of useless, pseudo-intellectual urbanites, who do no useful labor and produce nothing except a miasma of neuroticism and narcissism. Not to mention perversion! I mean, what the hell is a grown-ass man doing dating a 17-year-old, and where are her parents in all of this? The genius of “Manhattan,” however, is its self-deprecation. There's nothing you can say about these nitwits that Allen doesn't poke fun at himself.

This is just a witty, smart movie that should be on every cineaste's list. Allen and Keaton, in particular, are excellent. I was a bit surprised, however, to learn that Mariel Hemingway scored an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She is beautiful, but I found her flat acting to be one of the weak points of the film. The other weak point is the completely sexless nature of this movie about sex. Whatever you think about a grown man sleeping with a 17-year-old girl, it should at least be hot! Likewise, the intellectual connection between Isaac and Mary should have a corresponding physical chemistry. All of these characters seem like they've been neutered. Beyond that, the film is witty and neurotic, like Allen, himself, and a great example of his early work.

4 stars out of 5