Wednesday, June 6, 2012

(30) Stars of Summer - Day 6: Diane Keaton

Hello, Diane Hall. We luuurve you. We loave you. We luff you. Two F's.

You know the deal by now. Here are the rules. Check out this list of all the month's actors with links to what's available on Netflix Instant. If you're not a Netflix subscriber, maybe this will help.

Day 1: Jimmy Stewart
Day 2: Catherine Deneuve
Day 3: Christopher Lee
Day 4: Bette Davis
Day 5: Nicolas Cage

17 comments:

  1. Manhattan (1979)

    Woody Allen's love letter to screwed-up intellectuals features Allen and Keaton as a couple who try to forge a relationship even though they're each really in love with someone else. Keaton's performance as the brittle, acerbic writer Mary is miles away from Annie Hall, and as a result their relationship in this movie has a much different flavor. I hadn't seen the film in at least 20 years, and this was a great excuse to get it on Blu-Ray (and it looks fantastic). Highly recommended

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  2. Town & Country (2001)

    This mega-budget romantic comedy was such a flop when it was released that it basically ended the film careers of Warren Beatty, Goldie Hawn, and Garry Shandling.

    In hindsight, it's more bland than bad, and had critics not had their knives sharpened, it might have developed a "Something's Got To Give"-style following.

    Diane Keaton flies under the radar, giving no more or less than what is asked of her, which may be why she was the only member of the main cast to walk away unscathed.

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    1. I think part of the reason critics jumped on it was because a) it sat on the shelf for a long time, so it already had the stink of failure (and critics love an easy target) and b) it cost waaay too much money (almost $100 million) for what is, I think, a romantic comedy. I still haven't seen it.

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  3. Father of the Bride (1991)

    Yeah man. Father of the Bride. The film is pretty much a study in how suburb performers can elevate pretty pedestrian material. Overall, the whole affair is a pretty saccharine ploy to capitalize on the common experiences of sentimental middle aged Waspy types. That said, Steve Martin and Diane Keaton are so skilled and so committed that the movie really outperforms itself. Keaton is something of a spectator, as it's Martin's show to run, but she's just as charming as ever. Martin Short, however, is in a different movie.

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  4. Annie Hall (1977). Confession #1-I have never seen this movie before(gasp!). Confession #2-I've only seen a handful of Woody Allen films(double gasp!). Diane Keaton is great foil for Allen's writing and gives a great performance. While I don't think it is the best comedy of all time, it definitely deserves to be called a classic.

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    1. See it a couple of more times and it'll creep into your brain and become your romantic comedy benchmark. The final few minutes of "Annie Hall" adds-up to the saddest, happiest, most depressing and most uplifting endings I've ever experienced (did you spot Sigourney Weaver in her wordless big-screen debut during this endings?). It's bottled-lighting, once-in-a-lifetime movie magic meant to be watched again and again.

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  5. MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY (1993)

    It's a shame it took Woody Allen's break-up with Mia Farrow for you-know-what-with-whom to get him and Diane Keaton back together on-screen again. The result is one of my personal favorite Allen movies of all time though, a pleasantly light comedy about too-smart-and-nosey-for-their-own-good New Yorkers that feels like a movie version of "Seinfeld" if Jerry & Elaine were older/married and Anjelica Huston & Alan Alda were their sidekicks (I know I'm not making sense). With Marshall Brickman co-writing the script this is as close as a sequel to "Annie Hall" as we ever got, with the chemistry between Keaton's eager-beaver amateur sleuth and Allen's typical neurotic character being the movie's best asset. Logic and common sense be damned (I'm looking at you Jerry Adler), I love this movie. :-)

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  6. Morning Glory

    A comedy that's just as bland and forgettable as the title suggests. Keaton earns a few chuckles as the co-anchor of a morning show alongside the replicant that replaced Harrison Ford circa 1990, but the movie is stuffed with things you've seen before in other, better movies.

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  7. Season two, episode 15 of TWIN PEAKS. Not starring, but directed by Diane Keaton. (Is that breaking the rules? Oohh, aahh, I'm a rulebreakah!) It's a pivotal ep that ends two ongoing plotlines, the civil war story and the "James bangs the married rich lady" story. It also brings the Windham Earle plot more front and center, setting the stage for the last few episodes. People say the show lost its way at the end, but I really liked the Earle vs. Cooper plot.

    Anyway, Keaton's direction is great. She added a lot of quirky touches that weren't in the script, such as the mailmen listening to opera at the bar, and that beautiful opening credits scene where the camera moves across the giant chess board. I freakin' love this show.

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  8. MANHATTAN--

    What's interesting about Keaton in this film is that we (the audience) have the same sort of aversion to her as Isaac does when he first meets her, but as he gets to know her, so do we. This is my personal favorite Woody Allen film. Strange to think he considered it a failure upon its completion.

    "Not everybody gets corrupted. You have to have a little faith in people..."

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  9. Reds (1981) - Loooong movie with Warren Beatty as John Reed and Diane Keaton as Louise Bryant. First half is great, but the longer it goes on and the more concerned it becomes with politics, the more the movie pushed me out of it emotionally. As epic historical romances go, it's good. I just wished it finished as strong as it started. Diane Keaton is great in it, though.

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    1. I watched this one as well (sorry I missed the chance to review it on the day of.) The politics didn't bother me as much toward the end. I like how the film didn't outright blame either Keaton or Beatty's characters for recognizing what the revolution would eventually do to their relationship. I think the one downfall of it's overlong runtime is that Jack Nicholson's character (my favorite) doesn't get as strong a sendoff as I'd have preferred.

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  10. Manhattan (1979): It's fine.

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  11. Manhattan (1979) I sat there for 90 minutes and wondered why no one makes movies like this anymore. Bittersweet and full of life. The ending reminds me of the conclusion of Chaplin's City Lights.

    God, is Diane Keaton beautiful.

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    1. Allen actually said that the ending was inspired by City Lights.

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    2. "Manhattan" out-"City Lights" "City Lights," IMHO (and I love "City Lights").

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