Pursuit of Oscarness
Will Smith's latest has apparently been resurrected as an Oscar hopeful. Given Will Smith's bank-ability (he's the #1 star out there), you can't count this film out. He's been out of the limelight for a while, but his charm will only be magnified given this charming role.
Keep your eyes out for it.
The Envelope: "'Happyness' is unabashedly schmaltzy. It's written by the guy who penned Nic Cage's all-wet 'Weather Man' and directed by an obscure Italian (Gabriele Muccino). Can it really be taken seriously as the kind of high-minded art Oscar voters usually demand?
Yes, perhaps. Oscar voters do make exceptions for inspiring films about real people who transcend hardship or illness. This one is based upon the life of Chris Gardner, who started out in San Francisco as a homeless dad who became a millionaire stock trader after heeding advice from his world-weary momma who once told him, 'You can only depend on yourself. The cavalry ain't coming.'
Previous best-pic nominees of the same triumph-over-tragedy ilk include 'Awakenings,' 'My Left Foot,' 'Shine' and 'Erin Brockovich' or winners like 'A Beautiful Mind.' Most of those are shamelessly schmaltzy, too."
posted by Eric at Wednesday, October 18, 2006
4 Comments:
I don't care if it is "schmaltzy" as long as it is done good. That is what makes those types of movies so moving. They are able to be tearjerkers for all viewers and to do that you have to walk a very fine line. You don't want to be over melodramadic but you want to have heart in there. When it is done right you can get a phenomenal film. Hopefully Happiness is that type of movie. I'm guessing it can't be too bad if Will Smith is doing it. I'm sure he gets only the best scripts.
We'll see.
Did you see Weatherman? That's the only other film this writer wrote.
Yeah, I saw it. Didn't like it. It wasn't awful I was just watching it and wondering where it was going and I didn't ever feel like it went anywhere. I put it under "okay" on my list.
We'll have to see. I'm not very interested right now...but with good reviews and Will Smith in the circuit and his polite face looking into the TV camera saying, "Hey, Eric, you should really see this movie," I'm there.
Post a Comment
<< Home