{"id":4801,"date":"2011-06-06T10:33:29","date_gmt":"2011-06-06T17:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/?p=4801"},"modified":"2011-06-06T12:57:24","modified_gmt":"2011-06-06T19:57:24","slug":"new-film-beginners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2011\/06\/06\/new-film-beginners\/","title":{"rendered":"new film: BEGINNERS,"},"content":{"rendered":"

[movie review]<\/p>\n

Beginners<\/i> (2011)
\nWritten and Directed by Mike Mills, starring: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, M\u00e9lanie Laurent and Goran Visnjic<\/h4>\n
Running Time: 105 min. Rating: 2.5<\/h5>\n

Reviewed by Scott Marks (NPR in San Diego’s chief film critic and Martin Scorsese consultant)<\/b><\/p>\n

Mike Mills\u2019 first feature, Thumbsucker<\/i>, (2005), is a double threat, an intelligent teen comedy along the lines of Igby Goes Down<\/i> and Easy A<\/i>, that is also the only anti-drug film since Drugstore Cowboy<\/i> that has something to spiel other than “Just Say No.” You know the old adage that pot leads to harder drugs? Mills argues that thumb sucking leads to psychotropic drugs which will eventually put you on the road to reefer. <\/p>\n

I had wondered from time to time what became of Mike Mills. After Thumbsucker<\/i>, the writer-director pretty much sat out the remainder of the decade. Beginners<\/i> is his first theatrical release in six years. <\/p>\n

Hal (Christopher Plummer) lived only five of his 75 years as an out homosexual. After his wife of 45 years dies, Hal decides to kick open the closet door. He feels like a kid again and that kid is a much younger boy toy named Andy (Goran Visnjic). Hal\u2019s real kid, Oliver (Ewan McGregor), discovers \u201cthis new dad\u201d after Hal passes away. There among dad\u2019s personal belongings Oliver finds a gay dating ad. Told in flashback, Beginners<\/i> never wallows in maudlin angst, but when it was over the film could have stood a little more \u201cI Never Sang for My Gay Father\u201d and a lot less, \u201cCan\u2019t Stop Singing about My Jewish\/French Heterosexual Girlfriend.\u201d As Anna, M\u00e9lanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds<\/i>) hands in a radiant performance, but her presence seems somewhat out of place in a film that can\u2019t decide whether it\u2019s about a son coming to terms with his dead dad\u2019s sexuality or a romantic comedy. <\/p>\n

We\u2019re supposed to believe that Oliver is applying everything he learned from dad to his relationship with Anna and subsequently things he learns from Anna help to ease his father\u2018s passing. Wanting to add drama where it isn\u2019t needed, Mills devises a pat reason to splinter the couple in order to bring about a happy reunion. They don\u2019t argue about living together, they bicker over whether or not they should move in together. The film occasionally buckles under the weight of its own adorableness. Oliver and Anna join hands and roller skate through hotel corridors and office buildings. Oliver\u2019s parent\u2019s relationship is condensed into a compact, well-assembled photo montage, a nice touch until Mills decides to hammer home the technique throughout the rest of the film. Even Arthur, Hal\u2019s Jack Russell terrier that becomes an heirloom with a tail, can\u2019t help but eat a bowl of cute. Arthur is a Pantheon pooch, right up there with Bogart\u2019s pal Pard in High Sierra<\/i> and Mr. Bascomb, Jerry Lewis\u2019 cartoonish Great Dane in Hollywood or Bust<\/i>. Did we really need so many subtitled reaction shots that give us access to the mutt\u2019s inner-thoughts? What will be remembered come awards season is Plummer\u2019s remarkable, highly appealing performance. With raging hormones to spare, the veteran actor zips across the screen like a besotted teenage boy eager to try out his new equipment. I need another romcom like I need a head in my hole. The last five years of Hal\u2019s life, and his relationship with his ethereal canine companion, would have made for a much more compelling two hours in the dark. <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

— <\/p>\n

When in Hollywood visit emulsioncompulsion.com.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[movie review] Beginners (2011) Written and Directed by Mike Mills, starring: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, M\u00e9lanie Laurent and Goran Visnjic Running Time: 105 min. Rating: 2.5 Reviewed by Scott Marks (NPR in San Diego’s chief film critic and Martin Scorsese consultant) Mike Mills\u2019 first feature, Thumbsucker, (2005), is a double threat, an intelligent teen comedy along the lines of Igby […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[574,581],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art","category-film"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2009\/04\/17\/suburban-sea-caving\/","url_meta":{"origin":4801,"position":0},"title":"suburban sea-caving","author":"admin","date":"April 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Point Loma Sea Cave Exploringvideo and frame images by Reviewer RobDid you ever get the feeling that the world was sometimes a place of almost invisible magic and adventure? 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