51 Shades Of Maggie- Review

 

As a member of the opposite sex to the target audience of EL James’ 50 Shades Of Grey, I was a little apprehensive when it came to reviewing a spoof stage show version.  I haven’t read it, have no interest in doing so, in fact everything I know of it really comes from a comedian friend of mine doing a ‘bit’ featuring Frank Spencer reading it aloud.

Emmerdale star and lads mag darling Adele Silva plays Maggie Muff (I know, not a great start!), a young woman from the East End of London, drinking, smoking and sleeping around, when she meets a man working at the Dole office, who she calls ‘Mr Big’. What follows is their 50 Shades inspired relationship. 

 Adele Silva is a more talented actress than I gave her credit for, this being a one woman show, she conveyed several characters through vocal and physical mannerisms really well, possibly the only reason I stayed till the end (other than writing this review).  The show itself is all over the place, written by a woman, Leesa Harker, who doesn’t seem to know anything about women. Full of mystifying behaviours, ‘Mr Big’ seems to work at the Dole office, yet somehow has a cut glass accent and the money to lavish on Maggie, but who also uses the office resources to quasi-stalk unemployed women.  More disturbing even is the way in which his desires for Maggie take a horrendous turn, yet Maggie seems to shrug off being assaulted, not some kinky sex but actual physical abuse, with no consequences.

The plays major strength is in Silva, her physical performance raises a few chuckles, but she is ill served by a crude, crass script which I was uncomfortable hearing.  I’m not afraid of a little bad language, especially when it is warranted, but this was a barrage of foul mouthed opinions masquerading as feminism.  Maybe it would have been funnier if I had read 50 Shades, but somehow I doubt it.  For me, it is a seriously misjudged play, rescued from being truly awful by Adele Silva’s committed and gutsy performance.  Someone should write her some better material... In the meantime, I will try to cleanse my mind of ever having seen this play by looking at pictures of Ms Silva from years gone by...

 

The Way Way Back

When the summer movie season comes around, it is usually the blockbusters people get excited abvout, this year it was Iron Man 3, Star Trek 2, The Wolverine and a fair few others.  Not in my house.  The second I saw the trailer for ‘The Way Way Back’ I knew it was my kind of film.  I knew I would like it, but I hoped I would love it.

 

Marketed like ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ and written/directed by Oscar winning duo Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, ‘The Way Way Back’ is the kind of film that rarely gets made anymore.  I haven’t see na really good coming of age movie since ‘The Wackness’.  This looked like it could be the next.

Toni Collette (playing her usual archetype) and Steve Carell (nicely against expectations as an arrogant bully) reunite to play mother and her boyfriend to Duncan (Liam James), on a trip to an unspecified coastal resort for the summer.  The kind of place that only exists in American movies, people have a beach house, no one locks their doors and there is no threat from crime of any kind. Into this we meet Duncan, a quiet, angry 14 year old who clearly has no interest in being there.  As AnnaSophia Robb’s girl next door Susanna says ‘It’s like spring break for adults’ as the parent figures disappear to drink and do whatever.  Duncan spends his days avoiding people by cycling around the town, until he discovers Water Wizz, a water park and wanders in.  He is befriended by park manager Owen (Sam Rockwell) and his crew of misfits.  To tell you more would rob you of a touching, sweet set of relationships to discover.

Liam James (young Shawn in Psych) is excellent as Duncan, his gangly frame and sullen facial expressions convey great pathos and make the smiles all the more welcome.  The real fun comes from Sam Rockwell, who is pure charisma, and his minions, including a restrained turn from Bridesmaids’ Maya Rudolph.

To say I enjoyed this film would be unfair, I’m still in a good mood the next morning.  I did love it, even Rob Corddry’s annoying face wasn’t enough to put me off.  I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch to say this is my film of the year so far, and something else is going to have to be exquisite to beat it.  10/10

See the TRAILER here...  http://youtu.be/OwNo1i3jkCo

When a plan...

So, on a recent trip to New York, I very excitedly plunked my money down for a ticket to see the remake of The A-Team. Now I'm a child of the 80's, (well technically the 70's but only by 6 months)and therefore The A-Team is my childhood encapsulated on screen. I did grow up being 'Face' in the playground, and I think I still have my Mr. T doll with his missing leg kicking around somewhere. None of this is relevant to an impartial review of the film, but it does show my level of anticipation for an 'A-Team' movie. When John Singleton was attached to direct the film I had high hopes, he made a couple of films I really liked, Boyz n the Hood, Higher Learning and Four Brothers. Four Brothers was the one which gave me the highest hopes for the 'A-Team', being as it was a tale of dysfunctional family, which is how I always saw the A-Team. When he dropped out and Carnahan took over I was cautious. I had enjoyed both Narc and Smokin' Aces with both being almost entirely fun but forgettable.
Having said all that, the casting gave me a little cause for concern. I had always had a perfect cast in my head. This cast varied slightly over time but generally always featured Ving Rhames to take the B.A Baracus role. Looking at Rampage Jackson, physically he was perfect but having never acted before it made me wonder, will he fill Mr. T's boots? The answer to that later...
Onto the film. I settled down, Coke and Sour Patch Kids in hand, for what I was hoping would be fun! Well, fun is the one word which it most certainly was.
It started with a lengthy pre-credit sequence showing how the team got together. Big explosions, tongue in cheek humour and a nice introduction to each character, Hannibal has a plan, B.A has a van and a bad atitude, Murdoch is crazy and Face is pretty and charming. It then jumps ahead a few years (which confused me slightly)to a point where they have been together for a few years and to quote Jessica Biel's Cpt Sosa:
"They are the best, and they specialize in the ridiculous."
Well if that's not a recommendation then I don't know what is? The plot is fairly irrelevant, the whole point of the A-Team was always just go along for the ride and enjoy it. The point of this update is 'ACTION'. The plot is always secondary to the action. What happened then? Doesn't matter, something exploded! Why did that character do that? Doesn't matter, Bradley Cooper took his shirt off and then something exploded. This basically is the template for the movie. It kind of follows the old TV show thread, they get set up, go on the run, save the day. The only thing missing was a lonely widow living on a farm in the sticks somewhere, but if it makes enough money that is the template for the sequel sorted.
Bradley Cooper as 'Face' comes out of the film well, building on his leading man status from The Hangover. He is all charm and rippling abs, perfectly filling the shoes of Dirk Benedict, while Sharlto Copley plays the Murdoch role capably, accent wandering at times but otherwise the right level of manic for the role. Liam Neeson basically played Liam Neeson, with the expected amount of cigar chomping and constant repetition of "I love it when a plan comes together." I'd have preferred to see someone like Clooney have a go at it, but he was likeable enough. The big surprise was Rampage Jackson, for a non-actor he nailed the glowering menace of B.A along with just enough to charisma to keep him likeable. He has the physical presence to make him intimidating and the moment *SPOILER* where he realises that violence is the answer is as good a moment as any you will see this summer.
In short, the film was a blast. We saw it with a typical American crowd, whooping and cheering at every big explosion or silly joke. I had a great time, and even the plot holes were excused based on some amazing set pieces. Who parachutes a tank out of a plane? The A-Team. Who tries to fly that tank? The A-Team.
Switch off your brain and enjoy the ride...