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Margot at the Wedding
(2006)
Margot (Nicole Kidman) attends the wedding of her
sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh).
That's pretty much it. That's the movie.
Run end credits.
What can I tell you? Women are easily amused.
Margot writes short stories for The New Yorker,
but they don't call it that in the movie. It's like The New Gothamer, so it's
thoroughly disguised. The irritation that she presents to the family is that
she weaves her plots from incidents in their lives, more often than not
portraying them negatively. We all know someone like Margot. She is
self-centered, self-righteous, and insists that she knows how everyone else
should live their lives, even though her own life is in miserable disarray and
every bit of advice she offers is so grievously wrong as to be downright
dangerous to anyone foolish enough to pay attention to her. Fortunately for
those on the receiving side of her admonitions, she is so utterly lacking in
charm and possibly sanity that everyone tunes out her advice, but even so she
can still hurt people by betraying secrets and confidences. Her sister Pauline
is more likeable than Margot, but only in the same sense that Rosie O'Donnell
is more likeable than Stalin. Pauline is fortunate enough that her main curse
is neurotic insecurity. The two sisters bicker about everything possible,
often in front of their children, thus assuring that their proud family
heritage of dysfunction will be passed to another generation. Margot's son is
so shy and sensitive and feminine that we cringe when we find that he'll have
to go to public school, knowing he will never make it until noon with any
lunch money. For the first ten minutes of the film I was wondering why Margot
was calling her teenage daughter Claude. I thought maybe it was short for
Claudine or Claudette. Then I heard her refer to Claude as "he" and I finally
got the point. I began to get a bit too much of the point later on when I saw
that Margot's relationship with the boy was implicitly incestuous, albeit not
expressed sexually. They kiss on the lips, they sleep together ... even though
the boy is old enough to masturbate.
Since the film has no point that I can see, I
suppose it is an autobiographical character study and the script writer is
doing exactly what Margot was accused of: airing out his family's laundry on a
convenient literary clothesline. Why not? It's probably good therapy for him,
and I guess there is room in the film world for stories about neurotic
Northeastern literati and their assorted foibles. Lord knows Woody Allen has
created a lot of films from similar clay. But there are two big differences
between this film and Woody's: (1) Woody's films always include characters
with a sense of humor; (2) Woody's best plots incorporate some interesting
situations. Because of those two characteristics, Woody's films are
(sometimes) interesting to outsiders. In contrast, Margot at the Wedding is
just filled with humorless bores and wimps, so the only possible audience
consists of other boring, humorless Northeasterners with friends and family
among the arty set. Anyone not among that group will wonder why the film was
made in the first place.
Nudity
Jack Black shows his bum. There's a real treat.
Jennifer Jason Leigh shows her breasts.
(Film clip).
They look great and so does she. She's 46, but could pass for ten years
younger. Samples below.
Nicole Kidman shows nothing except part of her bum
in a bathing suit, but she has a scene in which she masturbates on camera,
albeit while wearing a nightie.
(Film clips.)
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OTHER CRAP:
Catch the deluxe
version of Other Crap in real time, with all the bells and whistles,
here.
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Niagara Motel
(2006)
Niagara Motel (2006) is a very dark Canadian comedy set in Niagara Falls.
It focuses on a rundown hotel, and a cheap diner, both owned by a Serbian
immigrant. The diner is run by his daughter, and the hotel is run by a drunk
who came to the falls for his honeymoon, only to have his bride fall of the
tour boat and drown in the falls. There is a waitress in the greasy spoon
(Caroline Dhavernas) who is pregnant. Her fiancé went bear hunting and was
eaten, but she got pregnant by his best friend anyway, to get even for him
cheating. She is being pursued by a stapler salesman, and a self-styled
promoter wants to make dirty movies with her. One couple in the motel are
there for a job interview. The two are not getting along well, and a big part
of it is that they are in danger of loosing their affluent life style because
the husband can't find work. She, (Wendy Crewson) befriends a hooker who
supports two kids out of one of the motel rooms. Another couple are there to
try and regain custody of their baby, who was put in a foster home because of
her drug addiction and his being in prison. She (Anna Friel) is right on the
edge, but he seems to have learned something.
This sort of ensemble cast dark comedy is an acquired taste. Most will find
it pointless, with loser characters, and most of the stories don't really
conclude. For some, me included, it was worth the watch. I found some moments
laugh-out-loud funny, and had a wry grin on my face for most of the film. If
this sounds like your sort of film, it has finally been released in the US and
is available in a pristine Widescreen transfer.
Critics were not kind, but it was nominated by the Canadian Directors Guild
for Outstanding Feature Film and Outstanding Direction, and a Genie nomination
for Supporting Actress for Caroline Dhavernas.
The nudity is from Anna Friel, who shows most of her buns in skimpy
underwear, flashes her breasts in a pool hall, and shows a nipple later in
bed.
Anna Friel
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The Tripper
(2006)
Today we have "The Tripper" with Nicole Wilder giving up the full frontal
nudity as she strolls along with her guy. Sadly the dude is also buck naked.
Caps and a clip.
Striking Distance
(1993)
Sarah Jessica Parker is a "Babe in Bondage" in Striking Distance. No nudity,
just a little cleavage.
Scoop's note: Never seen it, bit was directed by one of our all-time
Funhouse heroes, Rowdy Herrington, the director of the esteemed Shakespearean
classic Road House. (Or, as the Bard originally called it, Ye Publique House.)
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Notes and collages
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