“OUTSTANDING: A COMEDY REVOLUTION” My rating: B (Netflix)
100 minutes | No MPAA rating
Part history lesson, part celebration of out culture, Page Hurwitz’s “Outstanding” digs into the world of gay standup comics.
Remarkably, Hurwitz has so much material to work with that there’s merely a passing reference to Ellen DeGeneres, the once and future queen of gay comics.
There are the usual clips of the comics doing their thing on stage and on the TV screen. Among the notable talking heads who help put it all in perspective are Bruce Vilanch, Rosie O’Donnell, Guy Barnum, Lily Tomlin and Margaret Cho.
Big chunks of the doc are devoted to iconic gay performers like Robin Tyler (quite possibly the first out comedienne of the modern era) and style icon and angry observer Sandra Bernhard, who added some spice to the boring Reagan years.
And near the end the film looks into the rise of the new lesbian comics like Fortune Feimster and Hannah Gadsby.
If I have a criticism of the film it’s that it overwhelming deals with lesbian comics over gay men…although much attention is paid to Eddie Izzard, whose embrace of trans ethos puts him in a class by himself.
Some of the artists featured here are worthy of stand-alone documentary treatment. But the omnibus approach taken by Hurwitz provides an effective look at the variety and breadth of gay comedy…and whets the viewer’s appetite for more.
Eddie Murphy
“BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F” My rating: C (Netflix)
118 minutes | MPAA rating: R
Early on in “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” Eddie Murphy’s cop Axel Foley is admonished:
“Watch your ass out there. You’re not 22 any more.”
Wise advise. The folks who made this movie should have heeded it.
This effort from director Mark Molloy and a small army of writers (Danilo Bach, Daniel Petrie Jr., Will Beall) tries to recapture the magic of the original 1984 “Beverly Hills Cop,” a magic that has been slipping away a bit more with every sequel.
The filmmakers bring back old cast members (Judge Reinholt, John Ashton, Bronson Pinchot) and toss in a couple of newbies (Joseph Gordon Levitt, Kevin Bacon and Taylour Paige, Murphy’s real-life daughter here playing Axel’s estranged offspring).
But the real problem is that they expect the 63-year-old Murphy to portray the same insouciant, fast-talking, street hustling Axel Foley of 40 years ago. That Axel was a sassy kid. The new Axel is closer to grumpy old man.
The plot finds our man leaving Detroit for L.A. when his long-alienated daughter, now a criminal attorney, is threatened by a dirty cop running the city’s anti-drug unit. There’s no mystery here; we know from square one that Kevin Bacon’s character is badly bent and it’s just a matter of time and several chase scenes before Axel wraps everything up.
There is some modest pleasure in seeing Murphy share the screen with his child; Paige is adequate in the angry daughter role, but there’s nothing here to write home about.
Mostly this new Axel adventure reminds us of just how good Murphy was a couple of years back in the rollicking and oddly heartfelt “Dolemite Is My Name.” More of that, please.
Kieran Shipka, Stanley Tucci
“THE SILENCE” My rating: C+ (Netflix)
90 minutes | MPAA rating: PG-13
My initial review of “The Silence” began with these words: “The Silence” is such a blatant ripoff of “A Quiet Place” that John Krasinksi should be collecting its residuals.
We’re talking about a family being stalked by sightless creatures that respond to sound. The only reason this particular bunch have a fighting chance is that they all know sign language thanks to a teenage daughter who is hearing impaired. They can communicate without talking.
Here’s the thing. Apparently “The Silence” was based on a book published in the mid-teens, and was in production at the same time as “A Quiet Place.” Which raises the question of whether Krasinski’s film ripped off the premise of “The Silence.”
To this I have no answer. I will observe, however, that “A Quiet Place” is the superior film.
whatever. “The Silence” has been reasonably well made by director John R. Leonetti. And he has assembled a surprisingly classy cast.
The always-reliable Stanley Tucci is the father. Miranda Otto (the “Lord of the Rings” franchise) is the mother. There’s the deaf daughter (Kieran Shipka…she played Dan Draper’s kid on “Mad Men”), a little brother (Kyle Breitkopf), an asthmatic grandma who always coughs at the wrong time (Kate Trotter) and a family friend (John Corbett) who seems to have better survival skills than his fellow city dwellers.
The baddies are aerial lizards, about the size of flying squirrels. One can mess you up, but when they attack as a flock you’re a goner. (Hmmm….maybe some of this film’s profits should go to the Hitchcock estate…there are a lot of visual references to “The Birds”.) Anyway, the special effects are convincing.
It’s a survival story with the family escaping civilization and trying to find a safe spot out in the sticks while avoiding the usual dangers of the post-apocalyptic playbook (tongue-less religious zealots, anyone?).
A momentary escape from reality.
| Robert W. Butler
Butler's Cinema Scene 