In between My Own Private Idaho and his huge hit Good Will Hunting, director Gus Van Sant did To Die For, a (sadly prescient) film about a woman willing to do anything to get on TV, because you aren’t anyone unless you are on TV. Shortly after her breakout role in Days of Thunder (and released the same year as Batman Forever), Nicole Kidman stars as Suzanne Stone, who only cares for becoming a star. The film is told as a mokumentary with interviews with her and her husband’s family, and from the beginning, we know that Suzanne was a suspect in her husband’s murder, but we don’t know the details until the film plays out. In flashbacks, we see Suzanne marry Larry Maretto (Matt Dillon) after a short, whirlwind romance, which neither sets of parents really condone. Larry supports his new wife’s desire to get on TV and applauds the loudest when she lands a gig as a weather lady at the local public broadcast network, but ultimately he expects her to be a wife and mother, and wants kids before too long. She doesn’t want anything (including children) that could stand in her way, so Suzanne quickly starts hatching a plan to put Larry out of the picture. Under the guise of putting together a documentary about teenagers and their current points of view, Suzanne goes into a high school and lures a couple teens into her sphere of influence. She woos one into her bed, and sets him up to be her patsy. You’ll just have to watch through to see if she gets away with it. A great cast including a very young Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck in his first film role, as well as plenty of other recognizable faces from the 90s (Illeana Douglas, Kurtwood Smith, and Dan Hedaya (the dad in Clueless), among many others). It’s a good black comedy satire, but with today’s social media influencers and whatnot, not sure it hits as hard. Maybe I’m just desensitized. ★★★
Love Jones is a romantic drama and a tale as old as time, but put in a new light (especially for the mid-90s, but still holds today). Darius is a local poet in Chicago who reads his work at a nightclub/jazz hall when he meets Nina, and up-and-coming photographer. Darius is a legendary lady’s man, with no prior relationships lasting more than a couple months, but he is instantly smitten with Nina’s looks and intelligence. He tries to put on a facade that he doesn’t care for her as much as he does, as he has a reputation to uphold after all, but he can’t help himself. Soon after, they begin a sexual relationship, but Darius tries to blow it off as simply physical, so much so that Nina begins to believe him, and she leaves for a trip to New York to reconnect with an old boyfriend. When that doesn’t work out and she comes back to Chicago, she sees Darius hanging out with a woman friend and misconstrues it to thinking he has moved on. She starts dating someone else too, setting up the ending that we’ve all seen before. What makes this movie different is the cast. All black, all college educated with blooming careers. Made at a time when most black people in film were either gang bangers or relegated to “the black friend,” (and unfortunately still too-often the case), this movie is a much more accurate portrayal of what the real world is like. An awesome soundtrack of jazz, soul, and R&B, taking place in middle-class and upscale Chicago and following the life of future movers-and-shakers, it is a very refreshing movie. ★★★½
Breaking the Waves was the breakout for director Lars von Trier, starring Emily Watson and Stellan Skarsgård (another Good Will Hunting reference! this one released the year before in 1996). Watson plays Bess, a somewhat simple-minded, innocent and naive woman newly married to oil rig worker Jan (Skarsgård). Bess is completely trusting in God’s will, having conversations with Him in her prayers, where she answers back in “God’s voice” to reassure herself in times of trouble. When Jan goes away to work offshore for awhile, Bess misses him terribly and begs God to bring him home. He does come, but not the way she would have hoped. He is in an accident, leaving him a paraplegic and on the cusp of death. Jan wants Bess to move on with her life, but knowing her religion will never allow a divorce, he asks her to seek physical relations with other men. Bess initially refuses, but when his condition worsens, she believes it is God punishing her for not doing as Jan requested. She begins have trysts with strangers, and when Jan begins to improve in the hospital, Bess sees it as divine permission, or even Godly edict, and she continues, though she hates herself for it. All culminates in a terrible event when she “must” do whatever it takes to see her husband safely through the ordeal. Watson is amazing in her first film role, earning her an Oscar nom. ★★★★½
Cheating on this “90s list” a bit, as Ghost World was released in 2001, but it is based on a 90s comic book and definitely has 90s vibes. I had recently watched director Terry Zwigoff’s documentary Crumb (highly recommend) and this was his first fiction film. It follows two best friends, Enid and Rebecca (a young Scarlet Johansson) graduating from high school. Rebecca is prepping for college like everyone else in their class, but Enid is without a compass. She already has to repeat an art class over the summer to get her diploma, and she doesn’t really know what she wants to do next. The two prank phone call a want ad from a man seeking a date and set up a date with him, but when they later watch him arrive at the diner and make fun of him, Enid feels bad and goes to meet the guy, Seymour (Steve Buscemi). Like the girls, Seymour is an odd duck and socially awkward. He’s into records (before records were cool again) and his bedroom is filled with eclectic art. Enid and Seymour become friends, though nothing more than friendship is ever brought up due to the gap in their age, even if it is apparent that Seymour wishes for more. Enid starts to try to set him up on dates, but when he hits it off with one woman, Enid becomes jealous. It also starts to bug her that Rebecca, with her blond hair and filled-out body, gets all the attention from boys their age too. Lots of funny moments, mostly provided by Enid’s and Rebecca’s cynical attitude towards social norms and the world in general. Not sure it is a super great movie, but plenty to like for children of the 90s like myself, for all the nostalgia. Probably a movie I wouldn’t have liked much if I’d seen it upon release, but hits better as an older adult with some reflection. ★★★½
The Game is sort of the opposite. This one I’ve seen before, and while I usually stay away from blogging about movies I’ve already seen, it has been decades (since before I was aware who the director, David Fincher, was) so I thought it was worth a revisit. It stars Michael Douglas as Nicholas, a wealthy investor on the cusp of his 48th birthday, the age when his father committed suicide. While haunted by those memories, Nicholas goes through the motions of life without excitement or caring. This changes when his ne’er-do-well brother Conrad (Sean Penn) gifts him “an experience” for a “game” with startup company CRS. Nicholas can’t get a straight answer from anyone what this game is supposed to be, only that it will change his life and give him new perspective. Things start going batty right away, but initially it seems pretty innocuous. His briefcase won’t open, someone spills something on his shirt, he is handed a note to follow a woman, etc. But it isn’t long before people are chasing him with guns and he is being locked in the back seat of a cab as it drives into the river. Nicholas keeps trying to tell himself it is all just a game, but he is visited by Conrad again who says CRS ended up being a scam, that he’s been hounded by them ever since signing up, and it’s all a shakedown for more money. Nicholas’s head starts spinning, not knowing what is real and what isn’t. When I saw this movie in the late 90s, I remember liking it quite a bit, being blown away by the premise and action in it. Now, I thought it was just “ok,” and felt a bit dated. Maybe it was more groundbreaking in its time, or maybe I was just younger and more doe eyed. ★★½
- TV series recently watched: Luke Cage (season 2), Breaking Bad (season 4)
- Book currently reading: Lost Stars by Claudia Gray
Jons Movie Takes 