Top Ten Simpsons Cameos - Playing Themselves

In some ways, I think it takes more courage to play yourself on The Simpsons than just to do a cameo as someone else. After all, most of the people listed below are pretty mercilessly skewered on the show, but it’s all in good fun. These are my favorite cameos by people playing themselves.

10. Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris has only one scene in the episode that he appears in. He plays Bart in a TV movie based on his exploits with the mob called “Blood on the Blackboard”. Years before Harold and Kumar came out; The Simpsons showed that Harris was more than willing to poke fun at himself, playing himself as a cheesy TV actor. Great work.

9. Leonard Nimoy
In the classic episode “Marge vs. the Monorail”, Nimoy shows up as the “celebrity” for the maiden voyage of the new train system. Nimoy doesn’t do much in the episode, he just kind of sits back and observes the action, that is until his brilliant final scene where he says “My work is done here”, before some kid tells him he didn’t do anything. “Didn’t it?” Nimoy quips before fading out in Star Trek homage. Great.

8. Mickey Rooney
In the episode “Radioactive Man”, Milhous gets cast as sidekick, Fallout Boy, but cannot handle the pressure of being a star. The studio brings in Mickey Rooney to try and coach Milhous. Rooney is hilarious, first as he goes over his resume as a child star and the biggest box office drawn from 1939-1940 (“Spanning two decades!”), and then when he dons the Fallout Boy costume himself, and finally as he is whisked away on a helicopter to help a little girl in a jello pudding commercial. Rooney, like all of the great Simpsons guest stars, pokes fun at himself wonderfully, and is hilarious to boot.

7. Dennis Franz
Dennis Franz willingly pokes fun at himself in the classic episode “Homer Badman” where Homer is accused of sexual harassment. Franz plays Homer in a TV movie (much like Neil Patrick Harris played Bart), as a psychopath who runs over cats on purpose, and lavishly leers at the pretty young babysitter. It took guts to admit that you are probably the perfect choice to play someone like Homer, but Franz pulled it off brilliantly.

6. Betty White
Betty White is hilarious in the episode Missionary Impossible, as the host of a PBS pledge show who keeps interrupting Homer’s favorite show to beg for money. My favorite line “If you watch even one minute of PBS and don’t donate, you’re nothing but a thief. A dirty rotten thief”, before chasing down Homer (along with the Teletubbies) to get him to make good on his donation. Betty White always seemed like such a sweet old lady, but here she brilliantly skewers her own image.

5. Jim Jarmusch
Full marks go to the producers for even thinking of Jim Jarmusch for the Sundance episode, a late run highlight for the show. When Lisa makes a documentary that becomes a big hit at Sundance, but hurts her family, Jarmusch walks her through life on the independent film circuit. He is full of great lines and moments, my favorite being as he talks during Nelson’s movie much to the annoyance of everyone around him, or when he literally fades out at the end of his performance. Perhaps Jarmusch should cast himself in one of his movies.

4. Mel Gibson
If Gibson did a role on The Simpsons now, it would have to be very different as at this point not everybody loves him anymore. But when he did the role, everyone did, and Gibson played brilliantly off of his nice guy image. His Mr. Smith Goes to Washington remake is classic, especially once Homer gets his hands on it – “All in favor, say die!” Gibson is funny and charming, and certainly willing to poke fun at himself, which is what was needed from him in this episode.

3. James Woods
James Woods shows up in Springfield to research a new role as “tightly wound convenience store clerk” and takes over for Apu. Years before he would overstay his welcome on Family Guy, Woods’ brilliantly played off his insane image, swearing at cheese while scraping it out, and arguing with Jimbo “Don’t mess me around, fella”, before being involved in a robbery. Woods set the standard for all the movie stars to cameo on the Simpsons in later years.

2. Mark Hamill
Mark Hamill initially did not want to be on the show, as he felt that making fun of Star Wars they way they did would be disrespectful. But, lucky for us, he changed his mind. His brilliant performance in Guys and Dolls, where he sings “Luke Be a Jedi Tonight”, and gets made when someone tries to upstage him (“It’s my face on the poster next to the steak, and you don’t you forget it”) or complaining that George Lucas makes him pay for the light sabers, Hamill brilliantly plays himself, and probably looks the most ridiculous of anyone on this list – except for the next guy.

1. Ron Howard
I don’t know why Ron Howard being so funny surprises me – after all he is the star of two of the most sitcoms in history, and his brilliant voiceover work on Arrested Development helped make that show great. But it’s his work as himself on The Simpsons where Howard truly outdoes himself in terms of hilarity. Playing a drunken version of himself, always in a bathrobe and saying that Homer’s new drink, The Lawnmower (which is wheat grass and vodka) sounds great, Howard is hilarious. In his first appearance, he outshines Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger (which is why they aren’t on the list), and I can never help but laugh when he tries to make the jump from the SUV to home’s RV, and fails miserably. Howard is hilarious, and the best cameo a celebrity ever made playing himself on the show.

Top Ten Simpsons Cameos (Not Playing Themselves)

The Simpsons is now in its 21st season, and while it is not the show it once was, I admit that I still sit down every Sunday night to watch it. I have seen every episode, in many cases more times then I can count. There are few things in my life more consistent then The Simpsons. When it starts, I was 7. I’m now 28. I can barely remember a time when The Simpsons was not a part of my life. So in celebration, I’m going to look back this week at The Simpsons. First the 10 best celebrity cameos not playing themselves. Then the best celebrity cameos playing themselves. And finally, my 10 favorite episodes of all time.

10. Donald Sutherland as Hollis Hurlbut
Sutherland is one of my favorite actors, as Hollis Hurlbut the head of the Springfield Historical Society; he makes a wonderful stuffy intellectual. At first he appears all kindness and good, but when his idol, Jebediah Springfield is questioned by Lisa, he tells her to get out “You are banned from this Historical Society. You and your children, and your children’s children. For three months”. Great stuff.

9. Johnny Cash as Space Coyote
I loved Johnny Cash, so to hear him turn up as a voice on The Simpsons was wonderful for me. To hear him as the voice of Homer’s spirit guide, in the guise of a coyote after he eats a really hot pepper, was even better. Cash was the perfect voice to play the part, as his deep voice lended seriousness to the character, which made it all the funnier when he tried to eat Homer’s pants.

8. Michele Pfeiffer as Mindy Simmons
In the great episode, “The Last Temptation of Homer”, Pfeiffer plays Mindy, the plant’s first female employee. She is drop dead gorgeous, but other than that she is pretty much the female version of Homer, loving everything that he does. Pfeiffer’s vocal work is funny, sexy and sympathetic. This is actually one of my favorite performances of all time for her, and she’s a great actress.

7. Albert Brooks as Cowboy Bob/Jacques/Brad Goodman/Hank Scorpio/Tab Spangler/Russ Cargill
I feel that I have to mention Albert Brooks here, because he was one the first major actors to do a voice on The Simpsons, as Cowboy Bob, the RV salesman and Jacques, the potential other man for Marge all the back in Season 1. He was great in both of those episodes, as he was as Brad Goodman, the self help guru, Tab Spangler, the guy who runs the fat camp and as Russ Cargill, the Presidential adviser in the movie. But it’s his work as Hank Scorpio, the madman bent on world domination that hires a clueless Homer that is really is greatest work. Genius work from a great actor.

6. Ricky Gervais as Charles Heatherbar
In one of the great late season episodes, Gervais plays Charles, the sad sack husband of a domineering wife, who trades spouses with Homer for an episode of Mother Flippers. Perhaps it’s no surprise that the episode is so good, as Gervais also wrote the episode. He falls in love with Marge because he is nice to him, writes her a gloriously dumb song. Gervais is hilarious in the role, making him a must have for this list.

5. John Waters as John
Waters is wonderful as the first gay person that Homer ever meets. Homer thinks John is the greatest guy he has ever met in his life, until he finds out he’s gay, and then he gets nervous that he is going to make Bart gay as well. Waters remains cheerful and funny throughout the episode, playing off of gay stereotypes, but also making John into a real person. Great work by a guy who is known more as a director than an actor.

4. Steve Martin as Ray Patterson
Martin is perfection as lowly civil servant Ray Patterson, the head of the sanitation department that Homer goes to war with. He seems like a perfectly reasonable guy that Homer simply goes off on for no reason, and then beats in an election because of his catchy song. Martin’s final notice is his last, as they vote to reinstate him and he gives a short speech “It gives me so much pleasure to leave you wallowing in the mess you’ve all created”, and the band plays him off. Great.

3. Dustin Hoffman as Mr. Bergstrom
Dustin Hoffman set the standard early for all Simpsons guest stars to follow. As Lisa’s substitute teacher, who inspires her and who she eventually develops a crush on, Hoffman is funny and touching. From his first appearance in a cowboy costume, to his final scene at the train station, Hoffman fills his role with humor and warmth. Despite the fact that Hoffman didn’t use his real name, there was never any doubt that it was providing that voice.

2. Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob
It’s almost unfair to put Grammer on this list, since he has appeared 11 times over the years starting in the first season, and his most recent one being in Season 20. The Sideshow Bob episodes are some of the very best the series have ever done. In his first appearance, he tries to frame Krusty for robbery, then he tries to kill Selma, then he tries to kill Bart, then he runs for mayor, takes over an air show, works for his brother Cecil, tries to brainwash Bart into killing Krusty, helps Homer find who is trying to kill him, declares vendetta against the Simpsons after they out him in Italy, fakes his death to get at Bart and finally helps Bart and Lisa track down Homer’s real kidnapper. Grammer is perfect at Bob, his natural intelligence works for the evil genius, but he is also willing to look incredibly stupid at times, and has one of the most evil laughs in cartoon history. Despite all the years Grammer spent playing Frasier Crane, it will always be Sideshow Bob I think of when I think of him.

1. Meryl Streep as Jessica Lovejoy
This will be a controversial choice for some people, especially since Grammer and Hoffman certainly get mentioned more often when great guest stars on The Simpsons are talked about. But Streep gets my vote for a very simple reason – every time I see the great episode that she is in, I cannot believe it is her doing the voice. She makes Jessica Lovejoy sound like a perfectly innocent little girl when she wants to be, and then an evil seductress later on. It is absolutely brilliant vocal work, and stands out to me as being the best guest role The Simpsons ever had. Genius.

November Month Preview

You know the end of the year is coming when you start seeing more and more limited release movies every month. Why the studios insist on cramming all of their prestige movies into 2 months is beyond me, but it does ensure that pretty much every week for the rest of the year we’ll have something interesting to watch. These are the films coming out in November.

November 6th
The Box
The director of the fabulous strange Donnie Darko and Southland Tales goes mainstream with this adaptation of the famed Richard Matheson story starring Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as a couple who is offered $1 million to simply push a button. The catch is, if they push the button someone they don’t know will die. The trailer looks good, and both Diaz and Marsden can be good given the right role. I for one am most excited to see Frank Langella as the deformed “bad guy”. I doubt it will be as ambitious as Richard Kelly’s first two films, but hopefully it will still be good. Anticipation Level: 8.

A Christmas Carol
I for one am quite enjoying this new phase in Robert Zemeckis’ career. The Polar Express was a fun Christmas movie, and Beowulf looked amazing in IMAX 3-D. A Christmas Carol is one of the holiday classics that never seems to get old, and although I doubt that anything can replace A Muppet Christmas Carol as my wife’s favorite version, I am looking forward to this one just the same. Anticipation Level: 8.

The Fourth Kind
I know they were trying to do something different with the preview for this movie, but it didn’t work. Having actress Milla Jovovich come out and explain to the audience who she was and who she’ll be playing in the movie seemed cheesy. It’s also odd that they are releasing this horror movie the week after Halloween. I cannot help but think that the low budget Paranormal Activity stole this movie’s thunder. Anticipation Level: 3.

The Men Who Stare at Goats
The book that this movie is based on is hilarious, and the trailer has me laughing each time I see it. The reviews out of Toronto were all good, even if there were few that were glowing. But with a cast that includes Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey, we can count on one of the best acted movies of the year. Director Grant Heslov has done some great work as producer and writer with Clooney in the past, so I’m looking forward to see him as a director. Anticipation Level: 9.

Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire
I have been hearing about this film since it opened at Sundance last January. The reviews coming out of there were great, as they were at Cannes and Toronto (where it won the People’s Choice Award). This is sure to be an Oscar player this year, so it must be seen. Anticipation Level: 9.

That Evening Sun
Hal Holbrook has become a black horse Oscar candidate for his performance as an eldery farmer in this much loved indie drama. Persoanlly, I’m not sure why they are releasing this one so late (and in so few markets), but it sounds interesting, and Holbrook has been doing great work as an actor for years, culminating in his first ever Oscar nomination for 2007’s Into the Wild. I am looking forward to seeing this one, but am not sure when it will actually be released here. Anticipation Level: 8.

November 13th
2012
The preview for this movie looks incredibly dumb, with great actors like John Cusack and Chiwetal Ejifor hamming it up horribly. But the special effects also look top notch as the entire world starts to crumble around them. While director Roland Emmerich’s track record is fairly spotty – for every guilty pleasure like Indepedance Day or The Day After Tomorrow, there is a downright horrible movie like Godzilla or 10,000 BC, I still look forward to seeing what kind of entertaining stupidity he comes up with this time. Anticipation Level: 7

Pirate Radio
I cannot actually anticipate this one, as while on my honeymoon in Italy this summer, we watched this movie when we could walk no more. I will post my review later this month, but this was a fun, entertaining concoction like you would expect from the man responsible for Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral, even if this movie is not quite up to the level of either of those two.

The Fanatastic Mr. Fox
I love Wes Anderson. Even the disappointing The Life Aquatic was better than most comedies we see in a given year. Having him extend his horizons into stop motion animation, a favorite of mine, has me even more excited. The trailers have been great, and I love what I’ve heard of the voice acting cast including George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson. Perhaps my most anticipated film of the month. Anticipation Level: 10.

Women in Trouble
I have not seen any of Sebastian Guitterez’s previous directorial efforts, nor have I been overly impressed with his screenplay work on such forgettable movies as The Eye and Gothika. Having said that, this indie has an interesting cast including Carla Gugino, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Marley Shelton, Sarah Clarke and Connie Britton, so I would mind seeing this one. Anticipation Level: 6.

November 20th
The Blind Side
Every once in a while, an actress best known for comedies takes on one of these inspirational sports movies in the hopes of landing an Oscar nomination. In The Blind Side that actress is Sandra Bullock, who plays a no-nonsense Southern woman, who takes in a disadvantaged African American teenager and teaches him about family and football. We seemingly get one of these movie every year, yet the preview for this one still looks like fun. Anticipation Level: 5.

Planet 51
Yet another computer animated movie about aliens. This one has the clever twist on it though that a human lands on a distant planet and is considered to be the alien, not the other way around. The preview looks loud and colorful, which means this one is probably more for kids than adults, but I’ll probably give it a look anyway. Anticipation Level: 5.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon
I have no problems admitting that I did indeed read all four Twilight novels. Out of them all, perhaps New Moon was the best, but that isn’t saying very much. I didn’t much care for the first movie either. Having said that, this remains a must see if for no other reason than because everyone else in the world will see it, and I don’t like being left out. Anticpation Level: 6.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orelans
Another movie I cannot really anticipate since I saw this one at the Toronto Film Festival in September. What I will say is that this is one of the best black comedies of recent years, and contains a performance by Nicolas Cage that would garner him an Oscar nomination if there was any justice in the world. Another weird, warped minor masterwork for director Werner Herzog.

Broken Embraces
I love Pedro Almodovar, so even if the reviews for his most recent work are probably the weakest he has gotten in years, I still cannot help but really want to see this one. I prefer Almodovar in Hitchcock mode to Almodovar in Sirk mode, so this thriller with his muse Penelope Cruz may be one of those films I enjoy more than anyone else. I hope so anyway. Anticipation Level: 9.

Red Cliff
It has been a number of years since John Woo directed a truly great action movie, but this Chinese film, based on a hugely acclaimed book about ancient history has gotten great reviews, and made a ton of money in his home country already. This two part epic runs nearly 5 hours, but I am pretty sure this is only part I. Still though, I want to see what Woo has done this time out. Anticipation Level: 9.

November 25th
Ninja Assassin
Director James McTeague is responsible for the wonderful V for Vendetta, so even if the preview for this one looks like a B level action movie, starring a bunch of people I have never heard of (the main character is played by someone named Rain, who is apparently a major pop star in Japan), I look forward to seeing what he does with this one. Anticipation Level: 7.

Old Dogs
I am a fan of both Robin Williams and John Travolta, but this movie reeks of just a paycheck movie for both of them, as they try to make another hit for the director of Wild Hogs. I’m sure this one won’t be very good, but hell, it might be nice to see a comedy in the midst of all the seriousness out this month. Anticipation Level: 3.

The Road
I saw this at TIFF this year, and have to say that it is one of the year’s best film. Stark, uncompromising version of the Cormac McCarthy novel, this post-apocalyptic tale from director John Hillcoat is a dark stunner with great performances by Viggo Mortenson and Kodi Smit McPhee as a father and son travelling across country in a barren wasteland, and by Robert Duvall, Charlize Theron and Michael K. Williams in support. Don’t miss this one.

Me and Orson Welles
I’ve been hearing about Richard Linklater’s latest movie since TIFF 2008 when it premiered to mostly postivie reviews. People were kind of Zac Efron and Claire Danes, but the raves poured in for Christain McKay’s performance as Orson Welles – who is very much in the supporting actor race this year. I want to see it for him if for no other reason. Anticipation Level: 9

The Princess and the Frog
I for one think that Disney’s return to classically animated features is welcome. The last few films they did disappointed at the box office not because they were not computer generated, but because they sucked. Kids still love this style of animation, and I for one welcome it with open arms. Anticipation Level: 8

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
Rebecca Miller is a talented writer/director, and her book that she based this movie on was interesting. With a cast that includes Robin Wright Penn, Alan Arkin, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Monica Belucci, Blake Lively, Maria Bello, Mike Binder, Shirley Knight, Robin Weigart and Julianne Moore, I have to admit that even if this is a “chick flick” I really wanted to see it. Anticipation Level: 8

DVD Releases: November 3, 2009

Food, Inc. ***
Food, Inc. is a fascinating documentary about what happens to our food before it gets to our table. It looks at how the farming industry has become so controlled by a few companies that they have complete control over everything that happens. We see chickens that can barely be described as such anymore. Cows that are hardly able to stand. We look at an industry that makes the food that is worst for us the cheapest, helping to contribute to the epidemic of obesity in North America. For people who have followed along with these developments over the years, there is most likely nothing new here. But for people who haven’t, this is an eye opening documentary. Yes, it has an agenda, and so you should take what it says with a grain of salt. But it is still an interesting look behind an industry that does whatever it can to do business behind closed doors. For my original review please see: http://davesmoviesite.blogspot.com/2009/06/movie-review-food-inc.html

G.I. Joe: Rise Of Cobra ** ½
G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra is one of the stupidest movies of the year. However, if you realize this going in, and are able to turn your brain off, it is also quite entertaining in its own stupid way. Sure, it’s not particulary well acted, or even that well directed by Stephen “The Mummy” Sommers, but there is a stupid sort of entertainment value to it. For my original review please see: http://davesmoviesite.blogspot.com/2009/08/movie-review-gi-joe-rise-of-cobra.html

Il Divo *** ½
Giulo Andreotti was elected Prime Minister of Italy seven times over a 20 year span. This despite the fact that there allegations of corruption, mob affliation and even murder. He made many nicknames over his career in politics, one of them was Il Divo, but others included The Black Pope, The Hunchback and Beezlebug. The movie tells his story, and with all the facts that the movie throws at you, it is impossible to keep it all straight. But that really isn’t the point. The movie wants to make it clear just how far reaching the corruption in Italian politics reached. This is a fascinating movie that will make you glad that no matter what we think of our leaders here in Canada, they are better than Italy’s. For my original review please see: http://davesmoviesite.blogspot.com/2009/07/movie-review-il-divo.html

The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3 ** ½
The Taking of Pelham 123 is the latest example of extreme action movie directing by Tony Scott. This time, his favorite star Denzel Washington plays a New York City subway man who is sitting in the control room when John Travolta and his cronies highjack a subway car and demand ransom. The two develop a sort of trust between them, and Travolta will deal with no one else. The film is well made and acted, yet I couldn’t help but be bored by the proceedings to a certain extent. There is a lot of talk here, and most of the dialogue is rather perfunctory. Still worth a look on DVD, but I was a little let down. For my original review please see: http://davesmoviesite.blogspot.com/2009/06/movie-review-taking-of-pelham-123.html

Watchmen (Ultimate Edition) ****
I have no idea what “Ultimate Edition” means, but this sort of double dipping infuriates me, as it makes people buy two copies of the movie instead of just one. Fortunately, I have not gotten around to buying it yet, so I’ll most likely pick this one up. The movie is an uncommonly intelligent superhero movie that does justice to Alan Moore’s masterpiece with great direction by Zack Snyder, and wonderful performances by most of its cast. For my original review please see: http://davesmoviesite.blogspot.com/2009/03/movie-review-watchmen.html

Movie Review: World's Greatest Dad

World’s Greatest Dad ***
Directed By: Bobcat Goldthwait.

Written By: Bobcat Goldthwait.
Starring: Robin Williams (Lance Clayton), Alexie Gilmore (Claire), Daryl Sabara (Kyle), Evan Martin (Andrew), Ellie Jameson (Jennifer), Naomi Glick (Ginger), Deborah Horne (Dr. Dana), Henry Simmons (Mike Lane), Tony V. (Dr. Pentola), Geoffrey Pierson (Principal Anderson).

Has someone that you hated ever died, and when you read about in the paper you are amazed that the only things said about them are how wonderful they were? No bad people ever seem to die, as no matter who it is, the stories of their death celebrate what a wonderful person they were. But there are people out there who while not evil (like Hitler), are still assholes that no one ever really liked. Why is it that we never read a story about someone that everyone hated?

World’s Greatest Dad looks at this kind of “cult of death” mentality in a different sort of way. Robin Williams plays Lance Clayton, a mild mannered high school teacher, divorced from his wife, and pretty much raising his son Kyle (Daryl Sabara) by himself. Kyle is an asshole. He is the kind of kid who would be a bully, if he wasn’t so scrawny and weak. He only has one friend, Andrew (Evan Martin), but even he doesn’t seem to like Kyle very much, He hangs out with him because no one else will, and it’s better than going home to his alcoholic mother. Kyle likes to pretend he is a big shot sexually, and treats all women as if they were nothing more that tits, ass and pussies – which is of course the surest way to ensure that you never actually get laid. He even treats his dad’s new girlfriend, Claire (Alexie Gilmore), a fellow teacher this way. He is the very definition of the term douche bag.

That is until he dies. Kyle likes to asphyxiate himself while masturbating, and one day he takes it a little too far and ends strangling himself to death. Embarrassed by how this will look, Lance makes it look like a suicide, writes a sad, somewhat profound suicide note, then calls the police. No one seems to care that much about Kyle’s death, until that suicide note gets published in the school newspaper. Then all of sudden, every student and teacher starts to see a little bit of themselves in Kyle. He inspires them, and Lance goes from a teacher that is pretty much ignored, into some sort of hero. Because he has been a struggling writer for years, Lance eats up the attention, and cannot help himself from writing Kyle’s “journal”, a sad lament against the society that drove him to suicide. The school eats it up; Lance becomes even more famous and ends up on the Dr. Dana show to talk about his struggle. Publishers want to get Kyle’s journal, and even some of Lance’s work, into publication as quickly as possible.

I admired the way that World’s Greatest Dad told it’s story in an unsentimental way. We cannot help but like Lance, as Williams plays him as a completely sympathetic man at the beginning of the movie. This is another one of his great, understated performances like Insomnia, One Hour Photo or The Night Listener, when the normally manic Williams underplays his character brilliantly. It has to be hard to raise a kid as ungrateful, resentful and just plain cruel as Kyle, but Lance really does try his best. When Kyle dies, he does what I think many parents would do in trying to save not only themselves, but their dead children, from humiliation. But then Lance goes too far. It’s starts off with small things, but gradually becomes bigger and bigger – as he manipulates the people around him with the memory of his dead son. Everyone seems to eat it up though, and he likes the attention that he never got before.

The most brilliant scene in the movie is the one on the Dr. Dana show itself. While describing his “ordeal”, Lance has trouble keeping himself from laughing. Yet, he laughs are mistaken for tears by everyone, except for the people watching the movie who understand it. This is a scene of simply great acting from Williams.

The ending of the movie is appropriate, yet also somewhat disappointing. I felt like writer/director Bobcat Goldthwaite (who I never would have expected to have this in him after seeing his weird standup, and his previous films as a director (Shakes the Clown, about a drunk party clown, and Sleeping Dogs Lies, where the lead actress literally gives a blow job to a dog) had a brilliant idea for a movie here and then didn’t quite follow through on it to the end. Lance’s last speech will likely be the ending that the audience is expecting, and it should be said it is handled rather brilliantly by Williams, yet I felt that Goldthwaite could have, and should have, pushed the ending harder, been a little more cynical like the rest of the movie, if he was going to make the dark comedy classic he obviously set out to make. World’s Greatest Dad is still one of the best black comedies of the year. But if Goldthwaite had of pushed himself just a little harder, it could have been one of the best of the decade.

Movie Review: Amreeka

Amreeka ** ½
Directed By: Cherian Dabis.
Written By: Cherian Dabis.
Starring: Nisreen Faour (Muna Farah), Melkar Muallem (Fadi Farah), Hiam Abbass (Raghda Halaby), Alia Shawkat (Salma), Jenna Kawar (Rana Halaby), Selena Haddad (Lamis Halaby), Yussuf Abu-Warda (Nabeel Halaby), Joseph Ziegler (Mr. Novatski), Andrew Sannie (James), Daniel Boiteau (Mike), Brodie Sanderson (Matt).

Amreeka is a story of a family that feels like they do not belong anywhere. The movie opens in Palestine, where Muna Farah (Nisreen Faour) works in a bank to send her son Fadi (Melkar Muallem) to private school. Every day, she has to cross a checkpoint twice, and a process that normally took 15 minutes has now stretched into hours. It is the days right before Bush II invaded Iraq and tensions are high. To add to her worries, Muna’s husband has recently left her for a younger woman. But then she gets some good news. Her application to immigrant to America has been accepted. Her sister Raghda (Hiam Abbass) has been in Illinois for 15 years with her doctor husband Nabeel (Yuffuf Abu-Warda) and their two daughters. Things start to look up for Muna and Fadi, who is really excited about moving to America. After all, what kind of future awaits him in Palestine?

But things don’t go as planned in Illinois. Nabeel’s practice is struggling, as he has more and more patients walking out on him because he is Arab. Fadi is made fun of constantly at school, and called things like Saddam and Osama. Despite her two degrees, and years of experience, no one will hire Muna to work in a bank. Instead, she takes a job at White Castle. Too embarrassed to admit the truth, she tells her family she got a good job, and then sneaks over to White Castle day after day.

But if all of this sounds like a rather grim story, the movie is anything but. Despite the hardships she faces, Muna never lets any of them get her down. She has an infectious smile, and tries her hardest to maintain a positive outlook on life. She makes friends with her co-worker Matt (Brodie Sanderson), who also doesn’t fit in, but for him it’s more of a badge of honor than anything else. She even makes friends, that we feel may turn into something more, with Mr. Novatski (Joseph Ziegler), the high school principal who is nice to her, and obviously drawn to her. When he tells her that he’s a Jew, we feel that this may be the end of their friendship, but Amreeka doesn’t play up false dramatics. She likes him both before and after he makes his “confession”.

But as much as I liked parts of Amreeka, I couldn’t help but walk out of the theater thinking that I have seen this movie before – and done better. There has been a lot of talk this year about a crisis in the independent film movement, and I think one of the reasons that there has been is because indie movies have become as formulaic as their mainstream counterparts. Watching Amreeka, I admired the performances (especially by Alia Shawkat, great on Arrested Development and earlier this fall in Whip It, as the teenage girl, who is the most outspoken member of Muna and Fadi’s extended family), but also felt like I could predict what was going to happen at every step of the way. There is nothing really wrong with Amreeka, except for the fact that it is the same movie as many others that I have seen in the last few years. If there is a crisis in the indie film movement, maybe it’s because the filmmakers in it have stopped taking risks.

Movie Review: Michael Jackson's This is It

Michael Jackson’s This is It ** ½
Directed By: Kenny Ortega.

No matter what you thought of Michael Jackson as a human being, it is impossible to deny that he was in fact a musical genius. Since in the last 10 years of his life he rarely released any music, and didn’t do any concerts, the only time he appeared on the news was in relation to new child molestation allegations or his weird, erratic behavior. It is equally impossible to deny, no matter what you thought of his music, that he was one strange human being, with sexual and identity issues that when combined with his immense fame, made it impossible for him to live a normal life. Michael Jackson lived a life of complete contradiction.

The new movie This is It then comes as a celebration of the man’s musical genius, and not of his bizarre personal life. Watching the movie is to remind yourself just how many amazing songs the man recorded in his life, and to remind yourself just what an amazing performer he was. During the course of the movie, we watch as he rehearses for his concerts in London that were supposed to happen this fall, and we get an inside view of the creative process that Jackson went through while preparing his shows. He is not some big star who just walks in and does his thing and leaves. He was a man who was involved in every step of planning and executing the show. We see him direct dancers, and talk to musicians about their performances of his song. He wants what he wants, and is very particular about it, but is never mean. He encourages his collaborators to do their best work, and will accept nothing less than perfection from them.

Watching the movie we get to see Jackson perform his greatest hits. “They Don’t Care About Us”, “You Are Not Alone”, “Smooth Criminal”, “Billie Jean”, “Thriller”, “Man in the Mirror”, “Black and White” among them. We are reminded just how great those songs really were. And we see Jackson perform. Right up until the end, that man could dance better than just about anyone else I can think of.

Ultimately however, we are left with a slightly disappointed feel after the movie is over. Because all we see are rehearsals and was never meant for mass consumption, there are stops and starts, camera work that is somewhat lackluster and of low quality visually. The film feels choppy, because of course, it was never meant to be a film in the first place. Full marks have to go to the editors and the director, Kenny Ortega, for shaping the footage into something at least resembling a movie. But ultimately, what we want to see is impossible. You get the feeling while watching the movie that had the London shows gone on, and they had made a concert documentary about them, that it could have been one of the greatest in movie history. What we are left with however is somewhat underwhelming. Yes, it is great to hear the music again, and to remind ourselves that Michael Jackson was more than just a punch line. But that doesn’t make This is It a satisfying movie going experience.