STUPID RECENT MOVIE: THE FAVOURITE

Emma Stone as Abigail Hill

THE FAVOURITE (2018). Director: Yorgos Lanthimos.

Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) supposedly rules England but most of her decisions of state are made by her confidante and lover, Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz). Into this household comes Sarah's cousin, Abigail (Emma Stone of La La Land), who once was a lady herself, but thanks to her now-dead alcoholic father, has become a mere servant subject to Sarah's patronizing attitude. But Abigail has her own ambitions, and manages to draw the attention and favor of the queen, eventually replacing Sarah in Anne's bed. But Sarah is not about to take that, uh, lying down, and Abigail may have to take drastic steps to remain "The Favourite."

Olivia Coleman as the queen 

The Favourite takes actual historical characters, uses some of the bare facts of their inter-relationships, then pretty much invents everything else -- The Favourite is the very epitome of "dramatic license." Thrown out of the queen's favor, Sarah did intimate that there might have been a sexual relationship between Anne and Abigail, and presented a very negative portrait of  the queen in her memoirs. However, later biographers, who were much more objective, say that Anne was not the dunderhead she was portrayed as in both the memoirs and this movie. While there is no doubt that history has often been subjected to LGBT erasure, there is no real substantiation that a lesbian love triangle existed in the palace in the first place (Anne's husband, Prince George, is never even mentioned let alone depicted, not that would necessarily have meant that she was strictly heterosexual.) But why let the facts get in the way of a good story?

Rachel Weisz as Sarah Churchill

Not that The Favourite necessarily has a good story. Everything is presented in very contemporary terms, vulgarized and dumbed-down, as if the film were a campy black comedy. The acting is professional but not especially memorable (even if Colman managed to net a Best Actress Oscar). The movie seems directed at a young, immature audience who wants their slice of history with lots of sex and a liberal sprinkling of "f" and "c--t" words. Because of the lesbian interplay, I'm also afraid some viewers will see this as some sort of progressive LGBT movie when it is anything but. While I'm not saying the film is homophobic as such, it's hard not to notice that the gay or bisexual ladies in it are pretty much presented as grotesque and not at all sympathetic. The director did not want to really deal with the sexuality of the characters or their attitude towards same, but then the characters are fairly one-dimensional to begin with. (Let me make it clear that I completely disassociate myself from viewers who hated the film simply because it presented LGBT characters.)

Queen Anne's court

Incredibly, The Favourite garnered Oscars and nominations and dozens and dozens of awards (GLAAD even nominated it as "Best Picture," although it didn't win.) What on earth has happened to people's critical faculties these days? The only award the film really deserved was for the cinematography by Robbie Ryan. As with the equally over-rated Moonlight or Call Me By Your Name this is an example of the Academy and Hollywood in general being overly impressed with a film because it is seen as progressive when it really isn't. The historical inaccuracies alone are enough to make this a sham of a production, and I can only imagine that poor Queen Anne, gay or not, is spinning in her grave.

Verdict: This is hardly history -- or herstory. **. 

GOOD NEWER MOVIE: LA LA LAND

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone 

LA LA LAND (2019). Written and directed by Damien Chazelle.

Mia (Emma Stone of The Amazing Spider-Man) is an aspiring actress going on auditions and working as a barista in L.A. She encounters jazz musician Sebastian (Ryan Gosling of All Good Things), who proves quite obnoxious at first. Gradually the two warm up to one another and begin a relationship. But both have ambitions that may interfere with the permanency of their union. And their idea of success may not be the same. Periodically they and others break into song.

Emma Stone

First let me make it clear that La La Land is not on the list of really superb musicals a la Singin' in the Rain. When Stone and Gosling dance you won't in any sense of the word be reminded of Fred and Ginger or Gene Kelly, and they both have mediocre voices. But if you take it on its own terms La La Land has its rewards. The two leads, neither of whom is conventionally attractive, give very good performances and the songs they warble are at least pleasant.

Stone and Gosling 

Linus Sandgren's cinematography is first-class, and there's an interesting opening production number on the freeway. La La Land gets high marks for being visually arresting. But the chief thing I liked about the movie is its coda, a long sequence in which Emma encounters Sebastian years later -- and as people will do -- imagines what her life would have been like had she married him instead of her husband. I think it is this finale that resonates with most viewers and has perhaps led many people to over-rate the movie. Still, it's romantic, well-acted, and good to look at. Damien Chazelle also directed Whiplash. Ryan Gosling is not to be confused with Ryan Reynolds [Green Lantern] even though they look alike.

Verdict: Not a classic but entertaining enough. ***. 

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (2014). Director: Marc Webb.

Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) tries to balance his private life  -- with his out-of-his-league girlfriend Gwen (Emma Stone) -- with his activities as the high-flying, web-shooting Spider-Man, who has to take on such antagonists as Electro (Jamie Foxx), the Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan), and a metal-suited Rhino. Garfield and DeHaan give good performances, and there's a charming, well-acted scene between Garfield and Stone, but the action scenes are not very well done, and the movie is overlong and kind of dull. Worse, sometimes it's even campy like Batman and Robin. Leisurely-paced and with an abrupt conclusion, although a sequence at a grave with the seasons changing is well-done. Overall this is very disappointing, and not nearly as entertaining as the classic comic book stories. Apparently yet another movie reboot of the character is in the works. This is the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man, which was better.

In the meantime, the Spider-Man comic books have become almost unreadable, with cartoonish and unattractive artwork to boot. Like DC Comics did with Batman in the sixties (and is doing again), there are now all sorts of "Spider" characters in Marvel Comics, including a young woman named Silk who was also bitten by a radioactive spider, and the clone of dead Gwen Stacy, now known as "Spider-Gwen," believe it or not, and with her own comic. Compared to the great Spider-Man comics of the silver age and throughout the seventies, eighties and later, these books are rather awful.

Verdict: Watch Spider-Man 2 of the first movie series instead. **.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

Peter Parker practices his spider powers

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2012). Director: Marc Webb.

The 4th Spider-Man movie goes back to the beginning with a new actor and retells the origin of the arachnid hero. Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) acquires spider-based powers, tries to use them for good, and comes afoul of his girlfriend's father, police captain Stacey (Denis Leary). Worse is that a one-armed scientist named Curt Connors (a scenery-chewing Rhys Ifans), who knew Peter's late father, has transformed into a hulking lizard-man monster that is threatening the city. If there had been no other Spider-Man movies, Amazing Spider-Man would have been fine, but it's all been done before, and done better [Spider-Man 2]. The Lizard was a popular villain in the comic books, but he's been transformed into a rampaging FX creature like the Hulk, somehow making him less interesting. There are some good action scenes -- and excellent photography -- but nothing as eye-popping as the climax of Spider-Man 2. Garfield is on target as the hero, and he gets fine support from Sally Field and Martin Sheen as his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. [The comic book origin has been fiddled with a bit so that Parker isn't quite indirectly responsible for his uncle's death.] Leary is adequate as Stacey, and Emma Stone has some good moments as his daughter, Gwen. Spider-Man's antagonist, newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson, doesn't appear in the movie at all. Co-creator Stan Lee has a funny cameo, and C. Thomas Howell [Young Toscanini] has a couple of good sequences as the father of a little boy saved by our amazin' hero. Despite its flaws [or over-familiarity], Amazing Spider-Man is by no means a bad picture and fans should still get a kick out of it. Garfield was also in the Robert Redford film Lions for Lambs.

Verdict: Slick if somewhat empty razzle dazzle. ***.