David Motherfuckin’ Mamet
by Cliff on Feb.04, 2010, under Err...Stuff
Look upon the shit that is the biggest grossing movie of all time. A predictable, hackneyed, ‘seen it before’ script slapped on some gigantic smurfs, all of it overseen by Capt. Cameron and his Almighty Ego.
Sure it’s a spectacle, and the spectacle is impressive…but the spectacle is also completely and utterly false. You may as well throw on your goddamn 3D glasses and gaze in awe at some massive banks of hard drives, because that’s pretty much what you’re drooling over on the screen.
Tonight, I saw Glengarry Glen Ross for the first time. I don’t think there was a single special effects shot in the entire flick. Almost every scene was conversation. Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Pryce. And all the movie needs is conversation when guys like that are spitting out the words of David Mamet. It doesn’t need 14 bazillion dollars worth of particle effects wrapped around ham fisted crap. And it doesn’t require explanation of every single line to get the facts across. We know Jack Lemmon is desperate without some side character telling everyone in the theatre “Man, that Shelley Levine sure has reached the end of his rope…”
So fuck the ‘King of the World’ and his icebergs and painfully obvious allusions to the world. I’ll take the character study. Especially when it features scenes like this…Alec Baldwin at his goddamn best, emasculating every other character in the room with ease.
February 4th, 2010 on 9:25 AM
One of my favourite movies. Mamet knows how to write dialogue.
More Mamet films:
I liked State and Main, even though it didn’t receive a lot of acclaim.
Heist was disappointing.
I’m never sure how I feel about Ronin. Sometimes I really like it, others…meh.
PS: Colts over Saints.
February 4th, 2010 on 10:04 AM
I was thinking the same. Sometimes I simply don’t comprehend how people can think you’re not right.
Check THIS out. Some dude trying to ring up business with a personalized timepiece company agrees with me. Top THAT kind of cred, bitches!
February 4th, 2010 on 1:50 PM
Best movie ever? Maybe. Ed Harris and his anger, the company’s attempt to slowly pull the guts out of every salesman they have (except Roma, never forget Roma).
And coffee really is for closers.
Ronin isn’t fit to clean up after GGGR pukes all over the bathroom floor after a night of boiled cabbage, week-old fish and jello shooters. Haven’t seen Heist, yet.
February 4th, 2010 on 1:51 PM
Hey, Cliff, you got watch spam. I never get watch spam. Your blog is obviously better than mine because you got watch spam.
February 4th, 2010 on 4:38 PM
I agree that Heist was kind of a let down. As for Ronin, I definitely think it was a great action movie, but I don’t think it can really be compared straight up with something like Glengarry Glen Ross.
One other remarkable achievement that occurs in this flick : Pacino never once ventures in to full bore “ANGRY AL IS ACTING!” mode. It’s refreshing.
Jack Lemmon is the goddamn man amongst the cast, though. Just a great performance.
And I gets ALL the best spam, Liam. Closers get the good spam.
February 5th, 2010 on 7:45 AM
Oh yeah, GGGR is BY FAR Mamet’s best film.
There’s a lot of people in our generation, I believe, who associate Jack Lemmon with his character in “Grumpy Old Men.”
I don’t think people realize the acting chops this guy has (had?); so many good roles throughout his career (Machine Lavine possibly being the best of them all).
February 5th, 2010 on 3:48 PM
Quite true about Jack Lemmon. He really was an incredible actor.
On the Mamet front, I watched Redbelt last night…what a mess. I thought the lead performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor (probably best know as the main operative chasing the ship down in Serenity) was pretty good. The plot, on the other hand, was a mess. The dialogue wasn’t even that good. Most of the characters seemed to be perhaps half developed, and I just didn’t care about any of it. Bad, bad movie.