Daily Archive for February 14th, 2007

Bridge to Terabithia (***)

Published
by
Andy
on February 14, 2007
in Entertainment
. 5 Comments

When it comes to movies labeled as “family films,” most people think of animated movies and parents crowd the local Wal-Mart or Best Buy to snag “Open Season,” “Shrek” or some other animated film where the characters fart, burp and the embedded adult humor seems to offset any wholesomeness that could have existed. Those movies have their place and are entertaining in their own right, but definitely are not “family films.”

“Bridge to Terabithia” is true family film, wholesome and entertaining in every sense of the word. Based on the 1978 Newberry Medal winning book by Katherine Paterson, the movie tells the story of fifth grader Jesse Aarons (Josh Hutcherson), the only boy in a family of sisters. The family seems to be down-on-their-luck financially, as Jesse has to wear his sister’s hand me down sneakers to school, but to make things tougher for Jesse, it seems that his father (Robert Patrick) thinks Jesse has his head in the clouds and treats him accordingly.

Life isn’t easier for Jesse at school. Not only is he picked on by two male bullies in his class, but he is constantly harassed by eighth grader Janice Avery (Lauren Clinton). The only things that make Jesse happy at school are sketching in his notebook, music class with Ms Edmonds (Zooey Deschanel) - whom he secretly has a crush on, and the big race he’s been training for all summer.

The race is the first day of school and it looks like Jesse will win, until he is beat out by a new edition to the school, Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb). Jesse is devastated that he was beat by a girl and that she stole his moment in the sun, so when she tries to befriend him, he shrugs her off and goes back to his daily sulking.

However, discovering Leslie is his next door neighbor and that she, like him, is teased for being different by other kids at school, they begin to form a strong friendship, most of the time in the woods behind their houses, pretending they are King and Queen of a magical land called “Terabithia.” Their friendship and the lessons they learn from each other in “Terabithia” help them through the school year and help Jesse come to terms with the bullies, his talent for drawing and his relationship with his father.

There’s more to the story and anyone who has read the book knows you should definitely bring your hankie to the theater. There was much sniffing and wiping of eyes at the screening I attended last weekend and, I’ll admit, it took me guzzling 20 ounces of Diet Coke in 11 seconds to keep the tearful lumps down in my throat. But all-in-all, this is good, clean family entertainment and a great movie to take the kids to for a Saturday matinee.

Music and Lyrics (***)

Published
by
Andy
on February 14, 2007
in Entertainment
. 2 Comments

Judging by early returns on Rotten Tomatoes.com, “Music & Lyrics,” the new romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant (“American Dreamz”) and Drew Barrymore (“Fever Pitch”) probably won’t last long at full-price theaters and will probably see a DVD release later this spring or early summer. And to be honest, that’s kind of sad, because, while not an Oscar contender by any stretch of the imagination, “Music & Lyrics” is fun and entertaining and definitely caters to the moviegoing crowd who once did the jitterbug with George Michael and WHAM!

“Music and Lyrics” revolves around Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant), a former member of a 80s one-hit-wonder band called “Pop.” And while his former bandmate, Colin Thompson (Scott Porter), skyrocketed to solo stardom, Alex has been reduced to working has-been, nostalgia gigs at county fairs, high school reunions and amusement parks. Despite being labeled a “has been,” Alex Fletcher seems to have a positive outlook on life and understands his place in the world.

Soon after a meeting with a “celeb-reality” television producer – they want Alex to get in the boxing ring with other 80’s has-beens - Fletcher’s goodhearted manager, Chris Riley (Brad Garret), tells him Cora Corman (Haley Bennett), a young pop diva in the mold of Christina Aguilera or Britney Spears, wants Alex to write and record a duet with her. Chris sees dollar signs, but Alex, who only has a week, doesn’t think it can be done. He’s never written lyrics, only music. Even worse, he has to write a song for a person whose latest hit is called “Entering Bootytown.”

Alex’s lyrics brainstorming is going nowhere when Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore) shows up at his apartment to water his plants, actually subbing for Alex’s usual “plant lady.” He finds that Sophie has a knack for writing and rhyming and begs her to help him finish the song for Cora. After montages of them writing together, getting to know each other better, meeting Sophie’s sister – who is a huge “Pop” fan – they finish the song, fall in love and, yes, the ending that you see coming a mile away arrives, but, as is often the case with movies like “Music and Lyrics,” there is no bitterness because getting to the ending was fun.

“Music and Lyrics” works because of Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. Like a Hershey’s chocolate bar, you know what you’re getting with every bite because the flavor hasn’t changed in years. But the monotony doesn’t mean each bite isn’t sweet and satisfying. I’d recommend “Music and Lyrics” as a date night movie. It’s lighthearted, charming, and funny and 80’s children should get a kick out of the nostalgia.