THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE
Many women accuse their husbands or boyfriends of being emotionally unavailable at one time or another. “The Time Traveler’s Wife” is feminine sci-fi that postulates what if he had a really good excuse?
Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana) is a great guy, a girl’s dream.: sensitive, smart, caring and attentive but has one major flaw: he just disappears from time to time. “Yeah, it’s a problem” his wife Claire (Rachel McAdams) says nonchalantly to a concerned friend at one point in the film. The time traveling “problem” for Henry started when he was in a car accident with his mother. Different things seem to trigger the jumps such as stress, alcohol or even television, though none of these really seem to make a difference. Henry has no control over when he’ll jump nor does he have control as to where or when his destination will be.
The screenplay by Bruce Joel Rubin echoes his previous films, “My Life” and “Ghost”. It’s a tender love story that deals with impossible what-ifs and impending loss. It’s a well made film that never gets boring. It’s rather clever and director Robert Schwentke (“Flightplan”) deftly handles Henry’s time jumping often with humor and frustration and never feels forced.
The problem is, there isn’t a compelling case for Henry and Claire to be the great loves of each others lives. Claire first meets Henry when she is a little girl and he appears to her naked (when you time travel you inconveniently don’t take your clothes with you which leads to a lot of petty theft and embarrassing situations for Henry.) He appears to her many times in this meadow, she learns to leave a set of clothes for him, and at her young age he becomes her ideal man. But what does she become for him? He says she makes him feel “safe” and never alone. Well, sure, okay, but what do these two have in common? What do they like to do on a Saturday night? Do they laugh at the same jokes? These questions are never dealt with any satisfaction.
Still, it’s a refreshingly original film and definitely worth checking out.
JOHN HUGHES (1950 to 2009)
John Hughes tragically died last week of heart attack in New York City while taking a morning walk, shocking the entertainment world and no doubt inspiring many John Hughes Film Festivals in living rooms across the globe.
He was the Barry Sanders of filmmaking, he left in his prime and everyone hoped he would make a come back (Breakfast Club 2, Ferris Bueller’s Next Day Off, or 32 Candles even.) Okay, maybe more accurately we all hoped he would return like Terrence Malick after a 20 year hiatus like he never left off. But John Hughes just wasn’t that kind of filmmaker, he said his piece and was happy to walk away.
As a kid growing up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago in the 1980’s, the films of John Hughes had a larger resonance for me and those I grew up with. Hughes was a dedicated Chicagoan who was insistent on filming many of popular films in and around the Chicago area. Great writers are great observers and Hughes was an exceptional observer of the human condition.
Most remember Hughes as the voice of the mid-80’s teenager. To say his best films are about teenage angst is myopic and blatantly however ignores two his best works: the always popular at Thanksgiving holiday, “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” and the tragically underrated “She’s Having A Baby”.)
No other filmmaker has had a run quite like Hughes. Aside from the films he directed in rapid fire fashion (which I’ll get to), he wrote “Mr. Mom”, the “National Lampoon’s Vacation” films, “Pretty In Pink”, “Some Kind Of Wonderful”, “Home Alone”, “101 Dalmations”, and “The Great Outdoors”. Those films alone are fairly impressive but from 1984 to 1989, Hughes wrote and directed SIX films that are truly memorable.
Sixteen Candles (1984)
“That’s why they call them crushes. If they were easy, they’d call them something else.” — Samantha’s Dad
The film that put Hughes on the map as the auteur of teen angst in the 1980’s. “Sixteen Candles” follows a day in the life of girl whose family forgets her sixteenth birthday while planning her older sister’s wedding. It’s everything we’d come to expect from Hughes’s films: funny, honest, and heartfelt.
The Breakfast Club (1985)
“We’re all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that’s all.” — Andrew
This film was ranked the #1 high school movie of all time by Entertainment Weekly. It works because, unlike many films, it’s simple. Hughes understood that you could say a lot about high school by breaking it down into the core cliques: the brains, the athletes, the basket cases, the princesses, and the criminals. Then take a representative of each one of those social classes and throw them in all day Saturday detention and you have the makings of a great ensemble film, and “The Breakfast Club” was one of the best. It would never have worked if you had two brains or two jocks or two criminals. The film teaches us that while we may all seem different on the outside, if you separate us from our cliques, we realize that in the human condition we are quite similar. Hughes understood that and that’s why this film is accessible to teens and adults alike.
Weird Science (1985)
“It’s a really long story Chet. Gary and I were messing around with the computer Friday night. We decided to make a woman and we did and she went crazy and she messed up the whole house.” — Wyatt
Hughes supposedly wrote this film in 2 days and at times it feels like it. But only a really talented director could make this preposterous plot work. It’s a complete male fantasy: create the perfect woman with a model’s body and guy sensibilities. And against all odds it completely works. To me, it’s a film that suggests we learn to embrace imperfections in others.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. — Ferris Bueller
This is my favorite of Hughes’s teen films because of it’s carpe diem ethic and unwavering optimism. Plus, as a kid growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, I’ve taken more than a few days off in that wonderful city.
In college I was asked to join a panel to discuss the film’s 10th anniversary and it’s impact. At the time, and I think this still holds true, I observed that Cameron is really the main character of this story. Cameron is the hero, the one who faces true adversity and inner demons coming out a changed, confident man at the end of the day. It’s a story about friendship to me.
Also, this film was supposedly written in 6 days. Combine that with the 2 days Hughes used to write “Weird Science” and he had a pretty productive week.
Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (1987)
“You wanna hurt me? Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better. I’m an easy target. Yeah, you’re right, I talk too much. I also listen too much. I could be a cold-hearted cynic like you… but I don’t like to hurt people’s feelings. Well, you think what you want about me; I’m not changing. I like… I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. ‘Cause I’m the real article. What you see is what you get. ” — Del Griffith
The first film directed by Hughes that featured adults and adult situations and to me, he doesn’t miss a beat. As I said before, this is now a cult classic that gets a lot of spins on DVD players around Thanksgiving. It’s relatable in that we’ve all been stranded somewhere at some point while traveling and we just want to get home. I’ve always seen this as a film about patience.
She’s Having A Baby (1988)
“And in the end, I realized that I took more than I gave, I was trusted more than I trusted, and I was loved more than I loved. And what I was looking for was not to be found but to be made.” — Jake Briggs
This is my favorite of Hughes’s films (edging out “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”) mostly because it’s one that not a lot of people have seen. I’m a fan of the hidden gem and this is one. It’s a remarkable achievement in writing and filmmaking. It’s one of Kevin Bacon’s best performances, one of Alec Baldwin’s earliest, and it’s hard to imagine Elizabeth McGovern didn’t skyrocket into the stratosphere off this film. This was, in my opinion, the apex of Hughes’s directing talent. Hop on YouTube and search for “This Woman’s Work” by Kate Bush, you’ll find the montage that sums up this film in the third act and if you don’t get moist in the eyes then you’re dead in the heart.
I left out two other films that Hughes directed, “Uncle Buck” (1989) and “Curly Sue” (1991). Both are fine films, but they also showed Hughes was running out of gas a bit. Perhaps he blurted out what he wanted to say too fast and could never recover, though we always hoped he would just one more time.
He was a unique writer and an underrated director (so few screenwriters understand film is a visual medium, but Hughes did.)Â And his contributions to music (introducing America to British Pop for example) should not be underestimated.
The great thing about film is that it’s forever. Even though John Hughes has left us, his films live on. Every year a new generation of teenager will discover “Sixteen Candles”, “The Breakfast Club”, and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. And every year a weary traveler will reminisce about how their journey home was in some way like “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.” And I hope expectant fathers discover “She’s Having A Baby”.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Hughes.
Brett Deacon will twitter (twitter.com/brettdeacon) the punchline to Bender’s joke about the blonde woman, the poodle, and the two foot salami. Maybe.
I’ve banged on about it for years, and I’ll continue to bang on about the absolute greatness of the British comedy panel show QI, which makes the discovery of interesting knowledge a hilarious affair. A few years back, they brought the immense database of general ignorance (little factoids the disprove much of what be believe to be true) to books, a pair of which have gotten a release in paperback – The revised & expanded 
There’s plenty of high-end goodies to be had over at Thinkgeek, but some of the best stuff id the reasonably-priced, highly-practical items. For example, I give you the 
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – as created by Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird – are celebrating their 25th anniversary. Yes – you heard me right. And to celebrate, all four feature films have been pulled together on high definition into the 
Hot on the heels of Role Models (which I enjoyed), Paul Rudd returns with 
I’m a sucker for a 50’s monster flick, and it’s nice when a modern filmmaker tries to recreate that era – which is exactly what 
Right from the start, I was impressed with both the concept and visuals of 
Get over the idea that Zac Efron eventually grew up to be Matthew Perry, and 
From the raw gyrations that greeted viewers watching his 1956 debut, 
Through a production quirk, the episodes featured in 
While it doesn’t fully illuminate the poor decision-making skills that went into making such a horrid adaptation, 
Score aficionados should be on the lookout for Ben Foster’s soundtrack to 
The wife of a good friend of mine is a big fan of the porcine children’s book star 
Lionsgate has opened up the floodgates and released a trio of catalogue titles in high definition – one of which is a certified guilty… well, I hesitate to say “pleasure”. That one is Renny Harlin’s awkward pirate epic 
There used to be a show named 
I’ve heard that there are people who watch the updated version of the high school tribulations of those wacky West Beverly students on 
Oh no! Just when you thought it was safe to hang out at the Quick Stop…
You’ve seen Trejo in numerous films from Heat to Smiley Face. He’s the large actor with the giant tattoo on his chest of a Mexican woman in a sombrero. His fake trailer for Machete in Grindhouse proved more popular than the real features. He’s currently making a feature length version of Machete. Gil Medina, the director of Vengeance, called up the Party Favors hotline to discuss their revolutionary way of taking a movie straight to the fans.
Not as strong as their debut season but still better than most of the television landscape, 
Get that 60’s psychedelic, groovy look on your very own wall with the 
From the “I’m delighted these have found their way to Blu-Ray” file come a pair of catalogue releases I’ve been anticipating seeing in high-def, one more so than the other. The one I’ve been champing at the bit for is John Carpenter’s cult classic 
While not as well known as the Warner screwball comedies of the era, Sony has brought together a pair of releases featuring eight of their own – the 
Just in time for the flick’s 10th anniversary comes a 2-disc special edition of 
There’s something oppressively “awardsy” about 
Well, I guess if you’re going to cast Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as your lead, you’re going to have to amp up the action a bit beyond that featured in the original Escape To Witch Mountain, and that’s exactly what happens in 
As the franchise hits its 25th anniversary, the 7th season DVD release of the animated series gets split into not just one, but four volumes – 
As far as catalogue releases hitting high-def this week, there’ Adam Sandler’s 
Try as I might – and golly knows, I have tried – I still can’t get into 
Hey! Kids! Animal Planet has got a fun DVD for you! Called 
Fans will probably feel a bit uncomfortable watching 
Shunted to home video even though it was supposed to be a newly sane & stable Lindsey Lohan’s return to the big screen, 
