Chris Cooper

  • Irresistible (2020)

    Irresistible (2020)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, February 2021) I like political movies, but most of them are best appreciated years later, once the immediate political meaning gets less urgent and we’re left to appreciate the result without partisan passion. It doesn’t help that most political films tend to scrupulously avoid “taking a side” and that right now, my sympathies do not reside with an avoidance of current issues. Everyone welcomed Jon Stewart when he announced his intention to writer and direct political comedy Irresistible — Stewart knows his politics and makes no secret of his political allegiances, so anyone could expect the result to be more interesting than average. And it is, even though you have to be indulgent and tolerate some weird tonal shifts. The film begins as an insider Democratic consultant (Steve Carrel, quite good) travels to a small Wisconsin town to help elect a candidate on the strengths of a viral video. Soon enough, the Republicans respond in kind by sending one of their top operatives (Rose Byrne, perfect in a too-small nemesis role) and the media circus is on, with both parties sinking prodigious amounts of money in a local campaign, with the media circus that this implies. Unusually enough, there is A Twist to the entire thing that does give a surprising amount of rewatchability to the film and bolsters its comic credentials. The result is quite good, even though the comic shots fly in all directions and the comedy tone of the film fluctuates quite a bit. At times, the film indulges in some basic urban-dweller-in-a-small-town comedy of discomfort, while at others it goes for near-absurdity. (There’s not one, but two full-fledged ending credit fake-outs — fortunately, the most appropriate conclusion is eventually revealed.)  A decent-enough cast does well, with Chris Cooper rounding out the lead characters. Production values are good enough for a small-town atmosphere, while the direction is clear enough for a comedy. The pox-on-both-houses element of the conclusion is a wimp-out, but I strongly suspect that the film will age gracefully once (if!) we move away from the hyper-partisanship of the current political environment. Still, I enjoyed most of my time with Irresistible (bad, bad title), and look forward to Stewart’s next project.

  • Money Train (1995)

    Money Train (1995)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, July 2019) There’s a clear attempt in Money Train to duplicate some of the easy chemistry between Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson in White Men Can’t Jump: the banter attempts to be as fast and knowing, with two transit cops (also foster brothers) teaming up to rob a train carrying the cash receipts of a particularly busy week in the subway. There are a few subplots, one of them involving a serial killer played by Chris Cooper, and another with a stunning Jennifer Lopez as a romantic interest. Money Train didn’t get good reviews back in 1995, but time may have been kinder to it in that we get to see a few known actors looking great as their younger selves, and because such mid-budget action movies are getting increasingly scare now compared to the mid-nineties. Speaking of which, the film is becoming a period piece with every passing year—among other things, cash has almost disappeared from the New York Subway system. Still, there are annoyances: our designated heroes aren’t particularly admirable most of the time, and there’s some weirdness in seeing the film go all-in in them planning a robbery of citizen dollars. (That’s when creating an evil boss becomes important, but now we’re stretching contrivances.)  It does amount to a decent watch today, even though it doesn’t quite pack the punch of White Men Can’t Jump or many of the better action movies of the time. I’d suggest pairing it with the 1970s The Taking of Pelham 123, but Money Train probably wouldn’t sustain the comparison.