Two Good Ol' Boys...

"The Dukes of Hazzard" opens today. I know you've all been anxiously awaiting the big screen debut of Jessica Simpson's short shorts. Although I love seeing a '69 charger take off a pile of gravel and land with a crunch, it's not enough to hang a whole movie on. The plot is thin, the charm of Johnny Knoxville is made for a half-hour TV show and for some reason they decided to take away all the slapstickiness of Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane. It made me laugh sometimes, but not any more than a decent TV sitcom.

I doubt I need to tell you to stay away... but stay away.

Brief confession: When that Charger first takes to the air and the screen freeze-frames while the southern-voiced narrator (the mighty, incomparable Waylon Jennings on TV, Junior Brown on the big screen) starts to tell you about the Duke boys, my heart did clench a little. They even kept the theme song - shortened - for the credits. I wasted many an hour watching that trash.

Onto smaller and better things! Jim Jarmusch's new movie with Bill Murray, "Broken Flowers" was a welcome relief from the cacophony of summer films. It actually takes time to explore ideas, feelings and how many expressions can move across Bill Murray's face as he lets other actors do most the talking. No doubt there will be the now regular clamoring for an Oscar for the man. He didn't deserve it last year for "The Life Aquatic," but there aren't many actors out there who could have pulled off this role.

He plays a ladies man who is getting a little over the hill. One day he finds out that he might have a teenage son. He revisits old girlfriends to find out if he is indeed a daddy. Jessica Lange, Sharon Stone, an unrecognizable Tilda Swinton and Frances Conroy play his former lovers. They're good, but the actress who I think stole the film was the intense, indie star Chloe Sevigny. She radiates brains, hostility and power. It's a great five minutes of screen time.

I think the movie must have struck other people as a might slow. I saw the tell-tale green and blue glow of people checking the time on their cellphones, but I found the pace a relief. I hope that Don Johnston, Bill Murray's character, finds some peace.

jarmusch? where have i heard that name before? is that the same director of "ghost dog" with forest whitaker? please, say it ain't so...i maybe able to forgive but i can never forget. and i still want my $8 back.

I liked that Jarmusch actually. If you went wanting a samurai movie, you would be greatly disppointed though. It runs at the same slow pace as "Broken Flowers."

The Jarmusch movies that make me crazy are the ones with that impish Italian Roberto Benigni. I'm glad we don't have to suffer through his presence anymore...

I was a little disappointed with Broken Flowers, mostly because I had such high hopes about the cast. I was really excited to see Tilda Swinton, Jeffrey Wright, Chloe Sevigny, Frances Conroy, Chris Bauer (one of the guys who beats Don up--he was incredible in The Wire season 2) and Bill Murray all interacting. I know, I know, I should've known better--Night on Earth and Cigarettes and Coffee should have taught me that there will be no more than three people on the screen at once, and that everything will be very r-e-s-t-r-a-i-n-e-d. I did enjoy the scenes between Bill Murray and Jeffrey Wright though. Now if we could just get this cast into an Altman movie....

i knew going in it wasn't be a samurai movie...i just had a suspension of disbelief problem with Forest and his mad skillz. i'm in full agreement on benigni phenomena. i'm thankful it's over and my eyes are too.