Eric Stoltz

Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)

Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(On Cable TV, July 2019) Now that I’ve seen Some Kind of Wonderful, I think I’ve completed the high points of my John Hughes filmography. Hugues only wrote this film (it was directed by Hughes stalwart Howard Deutch), but it’s clearly his movie, and a response to previous scripts of his. Eric Stoltz stars as an unconventional teenager lusting after the unapproachable girl in his class yet blind to the affection of his own tomboy best friend. It’s not a complicated premise (and you already know how it’s going to end) but it’s the details and the performances along the way that make it worthwhile. Lea Thompson and Mary Stuart Masterson make for a ridiculously good pair of duelling romantic interests for the protagonist, while Craig Sheffer plays the unlikable ex-boyfriend perfectly and Elias Koteas has a surprisingly engaging turn as a skinhead. There are a few rough spots along the way (I’m not happy about the 180 romantic turn that the film takes very late—I mean, I know where it was going to end, but I just wish the transition would have been smoother), but if you like the 1980s Hughes teen comedies, Some Kind of Wonderful is probably one of his savvier scripts even if it lacks the spark that made some of his other movies become classics.

Mask (1985)

Mask (1985)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(In French, On TV, July 2019) There’s something almost joyous in the way director Peter Bogdanovich presents Mask, the story of severely disfigured teenager Rocky Dennis, as adapted from a true story. Well, at least through most of the movie—as we follow Rocky while he integrates to a new school, his visible disfigurement takes a back step to his sweet inner nature and the various other issues he’s got to work through, from a drug-addicted mother to the vagaries of romance and friendship. Eric Stoltz masters the lead role under a significant amount of makeup, but Cher is quite amazing as a feisty single mom running with bikers, and Sam Sheppard has a persona-defining performance as a revered motorcyclist. A teenage Laura Dern shows up as a significant secondary character. Much of Mask is considerably lighter than you’d expect, with the protagonist overcoming one obstacle after another through intelligence, humour, and determination. There’s an absorbing rhythm to the film as it sidesteps expected sequences and grows larger than simply being about the protagonist’s appearance. (Decades later, Wonder would have much of the same approach and strengths.)  The ending of the film, alas, isn’t nearly as cheerful. While telegraphed early on (and predictable from the facts on which the movie is based), the conclusion brings the cheerfulness to a halt and adds a lot of gravitas. Nonetheless, Mask is a bit of a surprise—not as exploitative, broader than expected, it remains a fine film now that the mid-1980s patina has added a bit of period charm to the result.

Memphis Belle (1990)

Memphis Belle (1990)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(On TV, May 2018) I saw bits and pieces of Memphis Belle back in high school, but sitting through from beginning to end doesn’t really change my opinion of the film: This is as basic a movie as it’s possible to make about WW2 bomber crews. It’s willfully schematic, reusing plenty of familiar wartime movie tropes in order to comfort its audience. It’s the story of a single bombing mission, supercharged with dramatic intensity (if they come back from their fiftieth mission, they can go home!) and every single incident of interest that may have happened at any point in WW2. It does work in that while Memphis Belle is familiar, it’s not really boring: there’s enough going on to keep watching the film without effort, and the familiarity ensures that the film will still make perfect sense once you come back from a kitchen snack visit. Don’t try to go read up on the film’s historical accuracy—it’s safe to say that most of what’s on the screen happened, but certainly not all at once. There is some additional interest in the cast, given that many of the young men in the Memphis Belle crew have gone on to other things: Most notably Billy Zane, Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Sean Astin and Harry Connick Jr., with special mention of David Strathairn and John Lithgow in ground support roles. Much of the film was shot practically, making the rather jarring special effects stand out more—nowadays, much of the film would be a pure CGI spectacle, although whether this would be an improvement would depend on the director—see Red Tails for an example of going too far. The nice thing about Memphis Belle is that you get almost exactly what it says on the plot summary. Nothing transcendent, but nothing terrible either.