Not all summer movies are a bust
By Jake Tracer
May 24, 2006 9:00 p.m.
Though the month of May hasn’t quite ended and the
majority of Hollywood’s blockbusters still exist in the realm
of anticipation, I’m getting worried. For any industry
analyst, this is a problem.
The Hollywood blockbuster as a genre almost exclusively relies
on anticipation as a publicity tool; once you buy a ticket, the
film’s job is done, and what appears on screen is merely an
afterthought.
In other words, buy a $10 ticket to “The Da Vinci
Code” and get a free movie!
However, the cult of anticipation that drives the Hollywood
blockbuster can only work for so long. At some point every summer,
people realize they’re getting duped, and while box-office
receipts remain high out of inertia, the summer movie season
effectively ends.
It’s no wonder Hollywood studios keep releasing
blockbusters earlier and earlier in the season, as no one wants to
come in too late and miss the party.
After “Mission: Impossible III” delivered a very
possible box office performance, critics clearly ripped “The
Da Vinci Code,” and the first words on “X3: The Last
Stand” are bad ones, that annual shift may happen earlier
than ever this year. For the first time, summer may end before it
technically begins.
Instead of continuing to see the blockbusters just because your
friend inevitably invites you, here are five non-blockbuster movies
coming out this summer that are far more worthy of your $10
ticket.
5. “Brothers of the Head” (July 28)
Anyone who has seen “Lost in La Mancha” knows that
Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe aren’t your average directors.
When Terry Gilliam couldn’t finish a movie version of
“Don Quixote,” they made a documentary about the failed
project that’s probably better than Gilliam’s product
would have been. “Brothers of the Head” is their first
fiction feature film and should easily pass “Lost in La
Mancha” in any competition for weirdest premise.
Here it is: A 1970s seedy music promoter popularizes brother-act
Tom and Barry Howe into the biggest thing to hit punk-rock since
Lou Reed. The only catch? They’re conjoined twins, connected
at the torso. This should be for everyone who has ever been to a
midnight screening of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”
4. “A Prairie Home Companion” (June 9)
In terms of my own anticipation for the films on this list, this
one should come second, but its stellar cast and director move it a
little too close to Hollywood fare for comfort.
At this point, everyone knows a Robert Altman film will be worth
seeing, so it’s not much of a surprise, but its presence in
early June will be a welcome relief from a movie like
“Cars,” which opens on the same day.
Just for the record, the cast of “A Prairie Home
Companion” includes Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin
Kline, John C. Reilly, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin and Lindsay Lohan.
Yes, that Lindsay Lohan.
3. “The Science of Sleep” (August 4)
The good news about this movie is that it stars Gael GarcÃa
Bernal and was directed by Michel Gondry; the bad news is that
Gondry’s close friend, Charlie Kaufman, did not write the
screenplay. Gondry himself did, so don’t be surprised if the
film has more to look at than listen to. Then again, with Bernal as
a lead actor, what more could you want?
2. “Scoop” (July 28)
English students may be disappointed to hear that the film is
not based on the Evelyn Waugh novel of the same name; however, as
the Woody Allen movie that will follow up “Match
Point,” I’m more excited for this movie than any other
this summer.
Like “Match Point,” “Scoop” takes place
in London and stars Scarlett Johansson (along with Hugh Jackman and
Allen himself). Unlike “Match Point,”
“Scoop” is a comedy, revolving around a young
journalist’s affair with an aristocrat.
Johansson plays the journalist, proving we don’t all look
like Dan Rather, and, thankfully, Jackman plays the aristocrat. The
world can now forget the nightmare of “The Curse of the Jade
Scorpion.”
1. “Wordplay” (June 16)
This film has all the makings of a surprise documentary hit of
the summer; the film follows New York Times crossword editor Will
Shortz and the cult that surrounds him.
The film includes interview footage with crossword fans as
varied as Bill Clinton, Mike Mussina and Jon Stewart, not to
mention the loyal fans that complete Shortz’s puzzles faster
than most of us can finish reading the clues. If there’s any
ironic justice in the world, these fanatics will take over the
summer spotlight.
