Day Two Hundred and Sixty-five - The Man With One Red Shoe, "It's SO ridiculous, that I can ALMOST actually believe it"

The Cold War was a golden age for both spy dramas and comedies... and a reality where the truth seemed, sometimes, stranger than fiction... so much so that it could totally be plausible for rogue factions of the CIA to be playing these sorts of games in order to resolve a power struggle.

I'm speaking, of course, of the antics of Dabney Coleman and Charles Durning in the film (which is a remake of a french piece), one an ambitious field leader gunning for the Director's position that the other holds. Both men have loyal agents on their side and both men play fast and loose with the lives of the little people, more worried about their own power than the greater good.

While shows like The West Wing prefer to inspire with the idea that government workers serve at the will of the President to make the world a better place... a real Camelot mentality... the 80's were full of cynical films like this where it was all about "I've got mine, Jack."

As a vehicle for Tom Hanks, it's safe to say that he has better titles under his belt, both before and since. He plays the eponymous Man with the One Red Shoe whom Ed Herrmann (as the assistant to Durning's CIA Director) randomly picks out of a crowd to send Coleman's crew on a wild goose chase after. Hanks' Richard Drew is a violinist having a reluctant affair with his best friend's (Jim Belushi) wife (Carrie Fisher) (the sort of thing you could get away with in, say, France), who finds himself drawn to Lori Singer's secret agent who is trying to covertly steal whatever it is they think he might be hiding being the spy that he really isn't.

What follows from the premise is an unhappy comedy of errors where Hanks unintentionally outwits the efforts of the crack CIA squad shadowing his every move. Not only that, but he manages to avoid Jim Belushi's jealous rage through more mishaps that make Belushi's character, Morris, feel as if he's hallucinating dead bodies everywhere.

It's hard to believe Lori Singer's portrayal as a gung-ho honey trap who falls for her mark. Her acting is never convincing and she basically feels like she was cast as a substitute for Daryl Hannah as her look screams that the director was going for the exact same box office magic as Splash, trying to steal thunder from Ron Howard.

That's not to say that there aren't a few interesting shots. While, overall, the cinematography is rote and occasionally goofy, there are moments at the beginning when Ed Herrmann is searching the airport for his patsy that are actually a little inspired. They quickly fall to the wayside in favor of cheap production work, though.

I think that my biggest disappointment, though, is the cameo of David Ogden Stiers as the conductor of Hanks' orchestra. I love the man to death and he has serious presence... it's just such a shame that he is only in this one scene. The movie could've stood to have a few recurring characters like him to offer balance to the increasing surreal antics of the two CIA teams.

As movies go, The Man With One Red Shoe is a cheap Saturday matinee at best, only really worth seeing if you're working through Hanks' film catalog. I'd say skip it... and check out the original: The Tall, Blonde Man With One Black Shoe!

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day One Hundred and Sixty-seven - The Muppet Movie, "Awww, sweet, sweet nostalgia... plus Mel Brooks!"

I don't think I'll ever get tired of The Muppets.

There may be days I'm not really in the mood for their wholesome, sometimes subversive family entertainment, but I would much prefer them to pretty much any kids oriented film, brand, or series in existence.

Ever.

Nominally telling the tale of how The Muppets got started in showbiz, The Muppet Movie plops the viewer right in the middle of its self-referential humor by opening with the Muppets themselves screening their own movie for the first time, with Robin the Frog innocently asking if the film really is the truth of their start to his uncle Kermit.

"Approximately," is his reply... and it's that kind of whimsy that I just love about the movie and The Muppets as a whole.

As the film progresses, we treated to the first meetings of most of the main Muppet Show crew, including Kermit, Fozzy, Gonzo, Miss Piggy, and (my favorites) Dr.Teeth and The Electric Mayhem.

Additionally, there are guest spots from so very many great comedians and movie stars from the aforementioned Mel Brooks to Bob Hope, Madeline Kahn, Edgar Bergen, and more!

While each human actor only makes brief appearances, as with most Muppet Show themed movies, just having them there, contributing to the sweet whimsy that are The Muppets, is tremendously endearing. Seeing Orson Welles stare down The Muppets and Steve Martin rudely serve Kermit and Piggy at the very least will illicit a smile.

That's not to say the film doesn't have its weaknesses.

The Doc Hopper subplot is a bit too dumbed down for my tastes, despite Charles Durning's perfectly acceptable turn as a stereotypical villain only out for himself. As a conflict, it intersects with the main narrative of following one's dreams too often and to too little effect, especially in the third act when Hopper hires a frog assassin.

Then there are the minor troubles within The Muppets, mainly concerning Piggy and Kermit. Their second act dinner date that ends with a small action sequence (with Mel Brooks!) ends on way to huge a downer that is basically ignored five minutes later when the boys find her again on the road, Miss Piggy having abandoned Kermit after getting a commercial gig right after she saves them both from Hopper's thugs. There's absolutely no explanation as to why she's hitchhiking and no mention of her commercial ever again.

It was just jarringly weird.

For one last weakness, I have to call attention to the songs. While I adore both the opening and closing versions of Rainbow Connection and Moving Right Along, the rest of the soundtrack is boring and uninspired.

Still, the movie's strengths outweigh those criticisms pretty handily. It is overall very entertaining and its penchant for puns and plays on both words and situations is just too delightful not to love. It's cute, irreverent, and altogether adorable, being worth the watch both for the nostalgia and the good, old fashioned family fun.

I just wish the message of following one's dreams wasn't drowned out by the silliness.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~