whindbagg
This movie features Arthur, played by Stanley Tucci, and Maurice, played by Oliver Platt, as starving and out of work stage actors who have been involved in a minor altercation in a bar with famed and besotted Shakespearean actor Sir Jeremy Bertrom (a thinly veiled reference to Richard Burton), played by Alfred Molina. Bertrom immediately inflates the episode as an attempt on his life, initiating a chase by the authorities, the unfortunate pair ultimately hiding in a crate on a dock. They fall asleep, finding the next morning that they have been loaded aboard a luxury liner, making them inadvertent stowaways. As luck, and admittedly ham-handed writing would have it, Bertrom has booked passage on the same ship, where he hopes that "The salt air will heal my wounds, and the motion of the cool, green sea will soothe my tortured soul."Arthur and Maurice's presence on the ship is soon found out, and with the help of sympathetic cruise director Lily, played by Lili Taylor, disguise themselves as stewards and manage through luck and mayhem to stay just ahead of Bertrom, Meistrich, the severely Prussian head steward, hysterically played by Campbell Scott, and the gentle, mild mannered Marco who is charged by Meistrich to apprehend the stowaways. In the process, the duo learn that the first mate, played by Tony Shalhoub, is in fact a terrorist cum freedom fighter of an obscure and unnamed country who plans to blow up the ship, and that an American couple, Johnny and Maxine, thieves masquerading as Parisians, are planning to seduce and murder a wealthy widow and an Arab Sheik, respectively.Set sometime in the 1930's, the tone feels decidedly European, with European sensibilities. There is elegance here, within the confines of a limited budget. There are tuxes and flower arrangements galore, but this ain't Titanic. That said, the production design pokes fun at itself in that the bulk of the movie is shot on a static ship-board set that does not resort to the use of fancy lighting, gimbals, or even water, and in place of a green screen uses a cheap, "to hell with 'em if they can't take a joke" painted backdrop. The pace is quick and frenetic, energized by the extensive use of hand-held camera work. The acting, for its part, is poured not into characters per se but joyfully and unabashedly into cartoon-like characterizations. And this is not the hallmark of bad acting as some would suggest, for the writing allows the actors free rein to deliver in places great monologues, in the way jazz artists are given, each in turn, an opportunity to display their virtuosity in their solo performances. I would suggest that it takes great skill to flesh out such vivid and flamboyant personages.This movie would best be described as a gag movie, in that it has the appearance of a string of set-piece gags that are carefully set up and sprung on the viewer. And, if the art of humor lies with the delivery, than the delivery here is top-notch, with great lines joyfully delivered by over-the-top characters. It should be noted that in the hands of lesser talent, lines such as: Meistrich: "The danger of the chase has made you perspire. It has made me also…moist." Maxine: "What are we gonna do with all that cash, Johnny?" Johnny: "What do you think, baby?" Maxine: "Take it on the lam and scram to some far-off land and lead a life of bliss, Johnny?" Would fall flat and strike the ear as crushingly hokey. It takes real chops to make material like this work.And the delivery isn't made up just in the acting. The camera has an active part in selling the lines, also. To illustrate, Marco and Lili are romantically involved, but Meistrich, who is infatuated with Lili, repeatedly tries to insinuate himself in every private moment the couple manages together, the camera drawing away abruptly and without warning at such times from an intimate two shot to a three shot, revealing the intruder Meistrich. The music helps establish the mindset in the viewer also, alternating between delightfully continental Tango music to breezy and raucous Dixieland.And though this is most assuredly a gag movie, the bits are not just strewn helter-skelter against a vapid storyline. All the jokes become glittering sequins on a lovingly woven and coherent fabric of plot. It hangs together very nicely, thank you. However, it should be noted that not all the gags work, however. The sheer volume of them and the variability of taste in movie-goers would decree that at least some fall flat, and for this reviewer that is the case, but many more are delightful, and more than make up for the klunkers. So why didn't this do better at the box office? And why does it have a ranking of 6.0 on IMDb? It isn't for the craftsmanship; technically, the directing is first-rate, the writing also, the acting top-notch, and the soundtrack is superb. So the problem is that of taste. For any one individual, that person's taste will decree that they are either going to like this movie or they won't. I know folks who, to their credit, have tried to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail several times and still can't see the funny in it that tickles others. For myself, this one is a gentle, joyful froth that does not concern itself with heady examinations of the human condition or the subconscious. Rather, it is cinematic playfulness, perfect for distracting me at least temporarily from the burden of seriousness that life imposes.
Theshapeshifter
This film is excellent. That much I can say confidently and without a doubt, though sadly, it remains overlooked by some film patrons. The plot is simple; two starving actors in the early 1900's named Maurice and Arthur want to find roles and act, but their luck is poor and they are both hapless. The two try some schemes involving acting but these go to pot. One day, the two make it aboard a ship in order to hide from a blow-hard actor and hilarity ensues as various characters, each with their own troubles or situations to deal with, interact and otherwise run into this comedic pair. All of these, however, seem to tie in with Arthur and Maurice's plight. The humor is reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy comedies, and has its slapstick edge which gives the film a great boost. Although the humor shown has its perverse moments, it is still not to be missed.
