|
Rating:  - A Highlight!!!
Wanna dive into Seattle in the early 90s? Wanna hear some outstanding songs written by incredible bands? Wanna see some good acting? Buy it!!!
Rating:  - When grunge ruled the world!
Singles is a film written and directed by Cameron Crowe. This 1992 semi-classic is an interesting movie for its time period, just when grunge and the whole Seattle scene was popular. I just love Matt Dillion and Bridget Fonda's unhealthy relationship in this film, he ignores her for his lame friends and she is a pushover and decides to get breasts implants to entice her man. Fonda's character ultimately comes to her senses and I think she is such an under-rated actress, she is fabulous here. Good but safe film, decide for yourself. Enjoy!
Rating: - Desperation - it's the world's worst cologne
Singles is a film written and directed by Cameron Crowe that somehow falls flat. He has had some really successful films but Singles isn't one of them. It tried to capture the zeitgeist of Generation X, but was such a flop that Reality Bites, which did capture the zeitgeist of Generation X and the decade that nostalgia forgot, the 90's, was forced to change its marketing strategy, Generation X was never mentioned in their press kits thereafter. This bites for Reality Bites, because Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller, and Janeanne Garafalo did manage to capture lightning in a bottle.
But Singles didn't. Ethan Hawke played a much better slacker musician than Matt Dillon. Even the music he played was better. Cliff Poncier, the Seattle Grunge band guitarist portrayed by Dillon, was also pretentious, but in a stupid way. He claimed to be all about his music, but I never believed him for a second. He was only in it for the chicks and ego gratification.
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
Cliff Poncier: Look, Janet you know I see other people still. You do know that don't you?
Janet Livermore: You don't fool me.
Cliff Poncier: Janet, I could not be fooling you less.
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
Even Ethan Hawke's music was better. In fact, for someone who began his career as a high school student at 15 writing for Rolling Stone Magazine, Cameron Crowe shows remarkably poor taste in the music he chose for this film. And where was his trademark, singing in a car moment? That is practically his signature (John Mahony sings "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" in Say Anything, Tom Cruise sings "Free-fallin'" in Jerry Maguire, the band on the tour bus sings "Tiny Dancer" in Almost Famous). The one to note specifically is Cameron Diaz in Vanilla Sky, who does not sing in the car but plays a CD in which she is the singer.
Of the music in Singles, to quote Tom Petty in "Into the Great Wide Open" I'd say "The A & R man says I don't hear a single." I did not care for most of the grunge music by Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, The Lovemongers, or Mother Love Bone. Such suckage on such a massive scale has never been seen before.
For some reason, they included a few songs by Paul Westerberg, who used to sing for The Replacements, a band that began and ended in the 80's, and in retrospect were the best band of that decade. And they were from Minnesota, not Seattle. Whenever a Westerberg song comes on, it jumps right out of the surrounding grunge. I know it is him even before he opens his mouth. His sound is dingy, dirty, a little dog eared, but it has so much soul.
The Seattle bands bring the noise, but forget to include any musical ingredients. I'm guessing that Courtney Love refused to license any Nirvana, because that would have salvaged the Seattle Sound case Crowe was trying to plead. There is some Jimi Hendrix music, and a pilgrimage to his grave, but while he was from Seattle and is buried there he certainly preceded and transcended the so-called Seattle Sound. One other bit of great music dropped in for no reason but still a welcome oasis was John Coltrane's "Blue Trane."
Cliff was more of a slacker than the rest of the Singles crew, but even the ones who did have jobs seemed hopelessly incompetent. Steve Dunne works for the city as a traffic planner. His big idea is to provide a Supertrain with cool music and excellent coffee to entice commuters to take public transportation. Though we might applaud his idealism, it is a dumb idea, and we have to wonder, is he the best and brightest that Gen X has to offer? I would compare Dunne unfavorably in some ways to Michael Grates, the 'yuppie' character in Reality Bites portrayed by Ben Stiller. Though not as bright as Steve Dunne, he at least seems competent in his job. Steve Dunne is just looking for true love, but he makes everything too complicated. Dunne is trapped in his own irony.
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
Steve Dunne: I'm probably sterile. It runs in my family.
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
Here is actually one of his clever lines that actually work for a change:
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
Steve Dunne: I just happened to be nowhere near your neighborhood.
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
At this point I must interject another film that Singles compares to unfavorably. Swingers rules the domain of singles trying to hook up, having to wait the proper length of time before calling so as not to appear too desperate. There are, however, a few good zingers thrown in this direction:
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
Debbie Hunt: Desperation - it's the world's worst cologne.
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
As pretentious as Steve Dunne is, his friend David Bailey is ever so much more so:
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
David Bailey: Tonight I'll be the super me.
Steve Dunne: What if the super you meets the super her and the super her rejects the super you?
David Bailey: Then it's no problem.
Steve Dunne: Uh-huh. Why?
David Bailey: Because it was never you, it was just an act. I live my life like a French movie, Steve.
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
There were a couple of bits that were tacked on at the end, as bonus material. There is one where Steve Dunne hangs out late at night at a magazine stand, and imagines the covers of magazines addressing him. Thankfully, that was left out, but I wish they had included the one where David Bailey does imagine his life as a French film, speaking French with English subtitles that may or may not match the parlez vous.
Though Singles is no Swingers, they did throw out a couple of bon mots here and there--like in this classic putdown of an overly complicated pick up line from Steve Dunne:
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
Linda Powell: I think that, a) you have an act, and that, b) not having an act is your act.
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
There is interesting cinematography, clever writing, and intriguing ideas, but somehow the whole is equal to less than the sum of its parts. By the way, why does Cliff address the camera, like they do on The Office, once near the end of the movie? Why wait until then to tear down the fourth wall? If a technique like that is going to be used, shouldn't you establish it early on and adhere to it religiously? Still in all, even Cliff does manage a few good lines:
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
Cliff Poncier: That's a very nice hat you're wearing... and I don't mean that in an Eddie Haskell kind of way.
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
Cameron, Singles is a very nice film you're wearing... and I DO mean that in an Eddie Haskell kind of way!
ROLES OF MATT DILLON:
Drugstore Cowboy (1989) .... Bob
Golden Gate (1994) .... Kevin Walker
Crash (Widescreen Edition) (2004/I) .... Officer John Ryan
Factotum (2005) .... Hank Chinaski
DIRECTED AND/OR WRITTEN BY CAMERON CROWE:
Almost Famous (2000)
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Say Anything... (1989)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Widescreen Special Edition) (1982) (book) (screenplay)
COMPARE AND CONTRAST:
Reality Bites (10th Anniversary Edition) (1994) .... Winona Ryder played Lelaina Pierce, with Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller, and Janeanne Garafalo.
Swingers (1996) .... Vince Vaughan played Trent Walker and Jon Favreau played Mike Peters, and also wrote the script.
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
Debbie Hunt: Come to where the flavor is. Come to Debbie country.
!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!
Rating: - Eh...
Moments of truth, but more moments of cliche, bad music and less than interesting characters. All the depth of those cheesy writings you used to find on Starbucks tables. A little better than "Reality Bites", but that's not saying much. It'll kill a couple hours.
Rating: - Wonderful Quality!
I recieved the movie faster than expected and it was still in the shrink wrap!
|
