Berlanti/Berger/Aptaker's LOVE, SIMON proves a groundbreaking mainstream surprise

As much of a breakthrough in its own way as was Brokeback Mountain in its, LOVE, SIMON -- the new teenage rom-com from screen-writers Elizabeth Berger and Issac Aptaker (based upon a novel by Becky Albertalli) and director Greg Berlanti (shown below) -- does something that TrustMovies did not expect to see happen in his own lifetime. That would be the full-out nationwide release by a major studio (20th Century Fox, deserving of kudos for bravery) of an absolutely mainstream, feel-good romantic comedy that, by its finale, sends the audience out the doors cheering and applauding.

So? What's new about that? Well, the titular Simon is gay, and yet everything that Julia Roberts ended up with in all her early rom-coms, along with just about any and every hero/heroine of every teen rom-com you can think of got in theirs, is gladly given to our Simon. Sure, there have been a number of small indie films that have addressed gay issues in rom-com, feel-good ways. But there has been nothing as remotely mainstream/big-budget/wide-release as this movie.

Further, there's no life-destroying angst that ends in sickness, suicide or murder here. No horrendous bullying from peers that lays waste to GLBT lives. Nope. Just the usual funny, feel-good, sure-they've-problems-but-they-can-still-work-it-all-out rom-com plot machinations. And when, at the joyous climax and the even-better denouement, everything is (as we used to say in the old days) SWAK, these moments are going to resonate with certain audiences like nothing they've yet been allowed to experience in a mainstream film.

What is even odder about Love, Simon is that -- groundbreaking as it is -- it is nothing approaching a great film. Instead, it's a perfectly serviceable example of a cute, smart, well-made rom-com. Nicely-acted (that's Nick Robinson, in the title role, above and below, left, with Katherine Langford, who plays his erstwhile best friend), written with a pretty good ear for both teen chatter and adult lingo, and directed with enough poise and energy to easily get us from first scene to last, the film's effects are likely to sneak up on you.

As the complications in our hero's life, as well as those of his several friends (and even one fellow who could be perceived as an enemy) pile up, we begin to understand and feel what it is like for these kids to try to negotiate high school -- even when it is shown as sweetly and in the generally positive way it is here.

Sure, there are a few missteps now and then: Early on, Simon's attempt to strike up a conversation with a hunky landscape worker falls flat (and more because it seems unbelievable than anything else), while the rendition of the school administrator (or maybe counselor) is simply too broadly imagined, despite the very game attempt from that fine actor, Tony Hale.

Overall, these are minor compared with how well the film captures its leading and supporting characters, each of whom is brought to fine and believable life by a raft of good young performers. In the roles of Simon's smart and loving family members (shown below, from left to right, next to Robinson) are Talitha Bateman as his younger sister, Jennifer Garner as his mom and Josh Duhamel as his dad, all of whom are just fine. Duhamel, in particular, gets a lovely scene with his son near movie's end.

While I consistently enjoyed Love, Simon, it was not until the finale that it hit me just how unusual and special the movie was. Here, in this public preview screening, along with what I can only assume was a fairly typical South Florida audience who were laughing, caring and finally applauding just like me, it suddenly seemed that -- movie-wise, at least -- some kind of parity had finally been achieved.

From 20th Century Fox and running 109 minutes, the film opens across the entire country next Friday, March 16. Click here to find the theaters closest to you.

Unearthing a smart and unusual little "lost" movie: Jeff Winner's SATELLITE from 2006

It's rare -- among the thousand or more small independent movies that have been made and even released in some form during any given year of our new millennium -- that any one of these will suddenly resurface years later to be offered a kind of "second chance." Now, one of these little oddities, SATELLITE, written and directed by Jeff Winner (shown below), has that been given that chance. TrustMovies is happy about this, as I am sure Mr Winner is, too, for the movie in question is a good one: small, tight, and headed for the sort of conclusion that you could not possibly imagine, no matter how many rom-com you may have already seen.

First released in the summer of 2006, the film is now available on DVD and for sale or rental via digital download streaming. It is definitely worth a look, as it details the coming together of a very odd duo: a young man (Karl Geary) and the young woman (Stephanie Szostak) who seems to be stalking him. And yet, from their very first conversation -- a dialog that is as wonderfully written as it is performed -- it is clear that these two are real and precisely-drawn characters worth listening to and maybe rooting for. Very soon we're doing just that. Despite some weird twists and turns along the way, Mr. Winner and his talented duo keep us hooked and hoping against hope that not only love -- but kindness, caring, and the kind of innate goodness and courage that can trump fear -- will conquer all.

Satellite goes into some very odd places, yet manages to hold us fast along the way. The movie takes one of the oldest saws of modern love stories -- giving up all else for love -- and turns it into something scary and fierce but credible, as well. Mr. Geary, sexy and sensitive, and Ms Szostak, cute as a button and a little frightening, too, make a terrific pair of protagonists. They are pretty much the entire movie, and its success rests as much on their ability to keep us caring and believing, as to Winner's skill at writing and directing (he's maybe a bit more skilled in the former than the latter, but able enough to bring his movie home).

As I noted above, you can't know where the movie is finally headed, but once it arrives, things fall beautifully into place without seeming unduly schematic. Satellite may be a kind of fairy tale, but it is one with dark borders and a void at its center than must be filled. That Winner, Szostak and Geary do this with such intelligence and emotion is commendable.

The movie -- from Indiepix Films and running 100 minutes -- is available now, for sale and/or rental. Just click here and proceed to your choice.  

The rom-com takes off into very weird territory in Charlie McDowell's bizarre THE ONE I LOVE

TrustMovies often notes, re the movies he covers, that the less said about plot mechanics the better. If any film ever deserved this kind of respectful coverage, it's THE ONE I LOVE (talk about ironic titles!), the first full-lengther from a fellow named Charlie McDowell. In it, a relatively young, been-together-awhile couple having relationship troubles visits a therapist (the always welcome Ted Danson) who suggests that they get away for a long weekend and try to "repair." They do. What follows is the rest of the movie.

As both writer and director, Mr. McDowell, shown at left, has set himself quite a task here -- one in which subtlety and the ability to make the most minor changes barely visible count for just about all. To that end, he has cast two really excellent actors -- Mark Duplass and Elizabeth Moss -- both of whom manage to surprise us here. Consequently, both of their reputations should see an even greater rise, once word-of-mouth gets going on this movie, a genuine original, particularly in the field of romantic comedies, the borders of which The One I Love has now greatly expanded.

In the course of this movie, the better attention you pay to the performances of Mr. Duplass (above) and Ms Moss (below), the more surprise and enjoyment you're bound to reap. The two are so attuned to the subtleties necessary for the plot to properly work that I suspect I'll have to view the movie again (and I will) to fully appreciate what the pair, along with their writer/director, are doing.

The movie asks -- over and over, as it turns out -- the questions of Who we are, and more specifically, Who are we to each other: a prime reason that romantic comedy even exists. The answers we get are unlike any others we may have discovered along the rom-com route, which helps make this movie as delightfully different as it is. Duplass keeps exceeding himself in movie after movie. He's such a perfect "everyman," and yet he's one who keeps unveiling even more: Wow--I never realized how sexy he could be! Hmmm... he really is a comedian. God, he can even be creepy at times.

Moss, on the other hand, is a past master (see Mad Men) at holding back, saying one thing while feeling another. She has the subtler of the two roles, and to claim that she comes through with flying colors is to make a little too much noise about what she so quietly manages.

So, there. I've told you practically nothing about this unusual film. You're just going to have to see it. And on the big screen, if possible. Sorry -- an iPhone or even a tablet simply will not put you in touch with these two spectacular performances in the way you need to see them.

The One I Love -- from RADiUS/TWC and running 91 minutes -- opens this Friday, August 22, in New York at the Angelika Film Center, and in the Los Angeles area, as well. I cannot find the specific theater for L.A. this Friday, but I am told that the film will play at two Laemmle theaters beginning August 29, and then at two more beginning September 5. (Note: There wil be a personal appearance by the film's director at New York City's Angelika on Friday and Saturday, August 22 and 23, at the 7:15pm screening.)

Con artists on parade: Eric Besnard's CA$H proves gorgeous, glossy, star-studded fun

Five years old already but holding up rather well, CA$H, a French mainstream bauble from 2008 ostensibly about a flock of con artists trying to outwit each other, went straight to DVD the following year here in the USA. This is undoubtedly because its star, the Oscar-winning Jean Dujardin, had not yet been seen in any film here in the States other than OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (which garnered neither much press nor box-office). That satirical series actually gifted TrustMovies with one of his main desires over the past few years: to see M. Dujardin play what one might call just an "ordinary" leading man, after seeing him do very good work in more-or-less "stunt" roles such as the OSS guy or that near-silent movie performer in The Artist.

TM actually interviewed Dujardin (above) in 2010, upon the release here of his second OSS movie (OSS 117: Lost in Rio). Even then I was champing at the bit to see how the actor might handle a more "normal" role. He's actually made a number of these kinds of films, but we've yet to see them over here (His tiny role in Little White Lies, though pivotal, was close to non-existent -- one of the big problems with this movie.) Now, with CA$H, available via Netflix streaming, we can do just this: see Dujardin play an almost stereotypical con artist/hero. Are we surprised that he comes through with flying colors?  I shouldn't think so.

Instead of being required to play an affectation up the wazoo, as in the OSS films, or giving a performance that constantly comments on itself, as in The Artist (doing these as well as does Dujardin is no mean feat, by the way), the actor is asked only by his writer/director, Eric Besnard (shown at left), to be glamorous, easy-going and sexy -- all of which seem to come as naturally to Dujardin as they do, say, to a certain Mr. Clooney on our side of the pond. In fact, his light-heartedness and light-footedness in this role are one of the reason the movie works as well as it so often does.

To even begin to talk about the plot -- which offers surprise after surprise along the way, some of which you might guess, leading up to the final one (which I suspect you will not) -- is useless and wrong-headed, as this can only result in coming too close to a spoiler or two. Let's just say that the movie begins with a smart "con," using that marvelous actor Clovis Cornillac (above), and then simply keeps the "conning" coming.

I mentioned the word glossy in my headline. This movie practically defines the term. The locations should have travelers salivating; the sets, costumes and decor are all aces, right down the line; and the pacing is slow enough (some might say a tad too slow) to give you time to drink it all in. This last might be considered a criticism, but I so enjoyed these visuals, coupled to a cast that is just about as mainstream glossy as France and Europe can currently provide, that the whole thing adds up to a very big "What's not to like?"

That cast? Ah, yes: In addition to Dujardin, we have the gorgeous (in very different ways) Alice Taglioni (above, wearing the cap) and Italy's Valeria Golino (below, with Dujardin and stuffed animals). Both actresses are just right and add immeasurably to the fun going on.

Add to the mix the super-professional Jean Reno (below) doing what he does best -- and expertly, as usual...

...while, for class, there's the terrific François Berléand, not seen often enough here in the U.S. in recent times (save for a short, smart role in The Stroller Strategy earlier this year). He's shown in the photo, right, with Caroline Proust, a young lady who had already made her mark in the soon-to-be-hugely-popular-internationally French TV Series, Spiral (Engrenages) -- here essaying one of the gang members, while showing Berléand how good she is at playing pool. Ms. Proust is fine in her somewhat truncated role, but what a difference it is seeing her as a leading lady in Spiral!

The rest of the cast -- which includes the likes of Samir Guesmi, Eriq Ebouaney, the late Jocelyn Quivrin and Ciarán Hinds -- adds talent and luster, but I think it's probably the overall cleverness of the twisty plot that will keep alert viewers most happy. CA$H is simply such good fun.

The movie -- running 100 minutes and sporting the IFC logo in its opening frame (though the film can nowhere be found on that distribution company's web site) -- is available now via Netflix streaming, Amazon Instant Video and on DVD.

New on Netflix Streaming, the don't miss -- for its costumes, cars & colors alone -- POPULAIRE

Seeing Régis Roinsard's magical POPULAIRE a second time (my original review is here) simply increased my appreciation for and enjoyment of what may be the most beautiful movie of the year, certainly so far as set design and art decoration are concerned. The Great Gatsby? Forget that piker. This is the movie to revel in visually. While perusing what was new to the foreign film catalog on Netflix streaming last night, up came this title -- which only recently appeared in theaters. Since my spouse hadn't yet seen it, we clicked immediately on "play" and settled in for this 111-minute delight. I swear: the movie looked better on our big-screen TV in high definition than it looked in theaters.

The amazing colors pop all over the place, and perusing the wonderful and various sets will make you appreciate how incredibly on-target were those who designed and accessorized here. For me, the absolute highlight of the film is a night club scene in which the band plays a song about secretaries, while their outfits in bright blue against the orange background, make for a riot of contrasting colors used as well as I've ever seen them. This may sound silly and way too specific, but for the manner in which M. Roinsard has designed his film, this particular scene hits the jackpot--& then some.

There are plenty of other memorable moments visually, but fortunately, they're not nearly all the movie has on offer. Watching its three leads -- Romain Duris (above, left), Déborah François (above, right) and Bérénice Bejo (below) -- at work and play proves even better the second time around. All three are simply wonderful in this tale of a young girl (François) who wants more than life in her quiet little town can provide and so goes to the larger town next door, is hired as a secretary, and, becasue of her rather extraordinary talent for fast typing, is soon entered into one contest after another by her boss (Duris), while getting piano-lesson coaching from his best friend/confidante (Bejo).

It's an odd tale, certainly -- who knew about typing contests? -- but one that allows the filmmaker to do just about everything he wants in the way of beauty, storytelling and entertainment. It's like taking a vacation back a half-century in time with a bunch of truly charming characters. I reviewed this one once already when it opened this year's Rendez-vous With French Cinema, but its sudden stream-ability and re-viewing makes me realize what a rare treat it truly is.

So, for those of you who can stream Netflix -- which now has some sort of exclusive contract with The Weinstein Company, who distributes the movie here in the States -- see it soon.

Revisiting the Richard Curtis milestone, LOVE ACTUALLY, as its 10th anniversary approaches

Ask movie fans of romantic comedy what's their favorite example of the genre, and back will undoubtedly come a lot of responses for LOVE ACTUALLY. This movie was first released in 2003, when 9/11 was still on most of our minds. It made what was then -- still is, actually -- one of the more profound and truthful statements about airports and air travel and what you see while waiting at the arrivals gate. When it was first released, the film divided critics, though not so much audiences, as it gave many of us exactly what we wanted in spades and times ten -- while playing each of its several love stories for all it was worth. Which turned out to be quite a lot, making this movie so damnably memorable.

When TrustMovies noticed that the film, written and directed by Richard Curtis (at left), was suddenly appearing as "new" on Netflix streaming, it was hard to resist taking a peek at it once again, as he hadn't seen it since it was first released in November 2003. (Interestingly enough, Mr. Curtis' newest film, About Time, makes its debut this coming week at the New York Film Festival.) TM promised himself that he would only watch maybe ten minutes, just as a "fun" reminder. But then, 135 minutes later, there he was scrolling down the end credits, tears dripping onto the remote control as he kept hitting the "pause" button to check the names of some those so recognizable faces in lesser roles.

What's maybe most surprising about the movie (other than how well it holds up and how, even now, it seems incapable of being properly imitated) is how many about-to-be-better-known actors (and a few others on their way down) show up in smaller roles! Other than those eight starry names and faces that appear on the movie's poster, top, you probably will have forgotten about the other actors until you find yourself saying, omigod, that's Shannon Elizabeth! Chiwetel Ejiofor! January Jones! Martin Freeman! Elisha Cuthbert! Rodrigo Santoro! Denise Richards! And on and on...

I was also surprised at how much I had forgotten about the specific of so many of these love stories. Only the one involving Hugh Grant (above, left) as Britain's new Prime Minister and Martine McCutcheon (above, right) as the aide he falls for still filled my memory. Perhaps this story registered so strongly because we were at that time in the midst of Bush's lying and illegal war against Iraq, to which Tony Blair, despite the wishes of the British people, gave his blessing. To see Grant stand up to Billy Bob Thornton's American President -- who comes of like a reptilian combo of Bush and Cheyney -- made the movie seem like wish fulfillment on a whole other level.

The love story that most surprised me on this second viewing was that of Colin Firth (above, with Lúcia Moniz) who, early on, is cuckolded by his girl and so hightails it to southern France where he meets and fall in love with another visitor to that country whose language he can't speak, nor she his. Mr. Curtis makes the most of this tale, with subtitles to clue us in to what Firth can't understand. Is there an another actor who packs so much emotion and heft into utter passivity? If so, clue me in. Firth is so good here that he would steal the movie, if so many other's weren't doing it already.

Like Bill Nighy (center, left), as an over-the-hill rock singer trying for a comeback by changing an old hit of his into a "new" Christmas" song. Oh, yes: the movie takes place in the weeks leading up to that holiday -- which makes it both a memorable rom-com and a memorable Christmas movie. There's Alan Rickman (shown at bottom, right) and Emma Thompson (bottom, left) as a married couple about to be jolted by the specter of adultery; Laura Linney and Mr. Santoro (the latter will have gays and girls fainting when he disrobes); and Keira Knightley, Mr. Ejiofor (both below) and The Walking Dead's Andrew Lincoln (two photos below) in a lovely, funny/sad, unrequited triangle.

The capper -- and perhaps Mr. Curtis' best idea -- is using Mr. Freeman and Joanna Page as body-double stand-ins on a classy-looking porno shoot who meet in perhaps the oddest, most against-the-grain charming manner in the history of movies. Both actors seize their roles with zest and delight, which the audience can only share.

Oh -- and remember the loss Liam Neeson (below, left) must deal with, along with the budding romance that his stepson (Thomas Brodie-Sangster, below, right) experiences? One of the reason this movie works so well is that the filmmaker offers so many kinds of love -- from lost love to first-love, love in danger to love between the classes and/or races. (The only thing missing is any trace of GLBT love. Were Curtis to make his movie in this decade, there's hardly a way he could leave that out.)

As I mentioned earlier -- despite Love Actually's high quotient of laughs, charm, love (and length, though there's hardly a wasted moment) -- not everyone likes this movie. To read one of the better negative votes for this film, via Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams, click here. Though I must say, comparing this movie, as Ms Williams does, to the work of Garry Marshall indicates that she has never sat through the likes of Valen-tine's Day nor New Year's Eve. Sure, Marshall was trying to come up with another movie as successful as Curtis', but he set the bar so low in terms of intelligence and class that comparisons are anything but apt.

You can catch the movie now via Netflix streaming, on DVD and elsewhere, too, I am sure. Universal, the studio that released the film, is offering a new Blu-ray/DVD combo -- to appear mid-October -- as a special holiday "ornament."

Rom-com heaven: Daniel Hsia's SHANGHAI CALLING gives immigration a good name

The year is young, but if any forth-coming romantic comedies outdo this week's opener, SHANGHAI CALLING, we should consider ourselves blessed. Not since the under-seen but wonderful Outsourced, have we had a rom-com that did so much so well, tackling everything from globalization and patent piracy to culture clash amd an ironic, inside-out look at immigration. It's also a feel-good film by virtue of the fact that you end up liking so many of its characters so very much. These are mostly gracious, decent, charming people with problems that can be solved rom-com style -- but well enough that, after watching the movie, you'll go to bed still smiling and wake up in the morning feeling not in the least ill-used.

The writer/director here -- Daniel Hsia (at left) -- is someone of whom I know little. His credits are more toward writing than directing (this is his first full-length film), but he has clearly been learning on the job. His movie is graceful, first moment to last, and filled with performan-ces that show either (maybe both) a knack for casting and the ability to get every actor on the same page in terms of tone and spirit. Hsia under-stands rom-com conventions, but he also knows how to up-end these when necessary so that, while his movie goes clickety-click toward a satisfy-ing resolution, he finds the occasional surprise to keep us alert and hungry for more.

The story concerns the American ex-pat community in Shanghai (known humorously as Americatown, the original title of the movie) to which comes a lanky, hunky high-level lawyer, oh-so-sure of himself and expecting to achieve partnership if he does his new job right. (Played by the very good-looking and talented  Daniel Henney, above, this role just might be a career-maker.)

The joke is that, though he looks Chinese, having been raised in America, he doesn't even speak the language. His pretty, young American relocation-specialist (a lovely, spunky Eliza Coupe, above) does, however, and she tries to help this cocky fellow out.

Also in the mix are our hero's patient, sweet secretary (played by Zhu Zhu above)...

the all-important client (Alan Ruck, above) whom our lawyer must serve...

a horny school-teaching member of the ex-pat community (Sean Gallagher, above, left) who discovers a knack for buying up electronic equipment...

a man of mystery named Awesome Wang (Geng Le, above) whom everyone recommends getting help from....

and, best of all, and old favorite of ours, Bill Paxton (above) as the current president of the ex-pat community.

These folk and more swirl around our hero, helping him do right and trying to hinder wrong (at which he seems particularly adept). Meantime, he discovers a knack for figuring out why the heroine's little daughter has taken to speaking only Chinese, among other new skills he begins to develop as he acclimates to this new environment. Along the way, we see the sights of Shanghai, which look pretty damned enticing, and the look the movie takes at the ex-pat community there seems relatively on the mark.

Hsia's screenplay is smart and witty, even occasionally moving, as the wheel of romance are greased and set in motion -- involving two different relationships. An especially sweet scene is the one between the boss, his secretary, her family and the young man who loves her. This is, in a word, "dear." Even the outtakes during the end credits are better than the usual (though probably not that necessary).

Shanghai Calling, apparently self-distributed and running 101 minutes, while continuing to screen in San Francisco (at The Presidio), opens this Friday in New York City (at the Quad Cinema) and in the Los Angeles area at Laemmle's Playhouse 7 and TCL's Chinese 6. To see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters, simply click here.