JACK LEMMON IS IN LOVE WITH HIS BOSSES WIFE AND ABOUT TO ALOPE WITH HER TO PARIS IN "THE APRIL FOOLS" (1969)

 

Jack Lemmon must have been a pretty happy guy back in 1969. He got to film two movies back to back that take place in NYC, have dynamite leading ladies and work for two legendary directors, Stuart Rosenberg here and then Arthur Hiller for Neil Simon's Out Of Towner's which would follow. And while I'm a huge fan of The Out Of Towners and was actually in attendance in Radio City Music Hall during it's first week showing, admittedly it's a bit of a bummer trip. This rom-com is much lighter and a full-on time capsule for '69. The film's lengthy opening scene at a party in a swanky Manhattan apartment is one curio after another of pop art of the era as is the safari restaurant scene and a fabulous Tarot reading scene with Myrna Loy. There's even a scene filmed in the new Madison Square Garden right after it was built in '68, you can smell the cleanliness and pristine newness of the now legendary hall. 

A great supporting cast all around and look for Harvey Korman of Carol Brunett Show fame as a drunk on a train (the same train btw that was used in Out Of Towners) in a hilarious cameo. Shirley McClaine was supposed to be cast here opposite Lemmon but I'm glad they went with Deneuve, I don't think Lemmon & McClaine can top their union in The Apartment. Some very 1969 music here with Dionne Warwick, Taj Mahal and others, put it all together and you'll feel like you took an acid trip back to '69. A must for Lemmon fans, a really nice movie that just finally came to VOD release.  3.0 stars/5

The original trailer, almost 4 minutes and cut kind of bizarrely. Not sure if it does the movie full justice and where is Myrna Loy? Lol. 

TOMMY'S 11th ANNUAL PICK-FIVE GREAT SUMMER MOVIES HONORABLE MENTIONS - HOT SUMMER NIGHTS (2017) & ADVENTURELAND (2009)

 

A surprising stylish anti-coming-of-age thriller with Timothee Chalamet as a teen who becomes entangled with a ruthless dealer (Alex Roe.) Set in Cape Cod in 1991 there's a nicely palatable neo-noir feel about the film. Roe plays his bad ass role very much like a modern version of American Graffiti's John Milner. One of the many problems our protagonist has in making friends with the wrong people is he's also in love with the dealer's younger sister who he was told is off-bounds but you know how that goes! A skinny plot and some drug movie cliches take away from the overall quality but that's mostly made up by a cast who were all clearly into the project. Deserves points for originality.   2.75 stars/5

Adventureland is one of those movies I didn't really care for the first time or two I watched it but it's grown on me thru the years and makes it's debut here on the list. I've never been a big Jesse Eisenberg fan but fortunately he's surrounded here by a lot of great names I do like. Of particular note are Ryan Reynolds and Matt Bush. The film's basically a rom-com about a teen who takes a job at an amusement park and the friends and lovers he meets. Also not a big Kristin Stewart fan but she's really terrific in this.      3.0 stars/5

TOMMY'S 11th ANNUAL PICK-FIVE GREAT SUMMER MOVIES #1 - JOHN CANDY IS IN A ZANY BOAT RACE WITH RICHARD CRENNA TO DEFEND HIS "SUMMER RENTAL" (1985)

 
OUCH! - Call me a geek, a nerd, whatever, this film has been on the list practically every year. Putting it at number one this year as I continue to be determined to sing it's praises. The key to enjoying this film is to be reminded it's a Carl Reiner (hellooo) flick, not a John Candy flick. One of the reasons Candy is so good in this (besides being at the apex of his success) is he sticks to the script and doesn't get too far out there in Candy-land ha ha. Richard Crenna really gets to flex his comedic chops and he's funny as sh*t as his continual feud with the renter Candy escalates. Lest we forget the late great Rip Torn is also in this as a goofy pirate type. If you haven't seen it, give it a shot! Available on all the major VOD outlets.  3.0 stars/5

TOMMY'S 11th ANNUAL PICK-FIVE GREAT SUMMER MOVIES #2 - LIAM JAMES IS AN AWKWARD TEEN HANGING OUT AT SAM ROCKWELL'S WATER PARK IN "THE WAY WAY BACK" (2013)

 

A gentle easy-going coming-of-age story from the producers of Little Miss Sunshine. Liam James is a misguided teen who doesn't care for his mom's egomaniacal boyfriend (Steve Carrell in an underrated performance, one of my favorites.) Forced to spend the summer in Cape Cod our protagonist finds solace by working at a local water park run by none other than Sam Rockwell. As the summer plays out he advances at the park and finds real friendship in Rockwell and finds love with a next door neighbor's teen daughter (Annasophia Robb) while trying to deal with various dramas in his dysfunctional family. 

Toni Collette is fantastic as usual, she plays the mom and as you would expect with the above-the-line names here the entire cast is superb. Rockwell can do any genre but I've always felt his comedic side (demonstrated so well in his breakout performance in Box Of Moonlight) still remains a little untapped and unmined, he can be a real natural comic. The Water Wizz park location is the main backdrop for everything and it's nice they film so much of it there. Can't say enough about this one plus suitable for the whole darn family....bring your own dysfunction.   3.25 stars/5

The incredible Allison Janney plays the next door neighbor who's recently fallen off the wagon.

TOMMY'S 11th ANNUAL PICK-FIVE GREAT SUMMER MOVIES # 3 - KEVIN BACON IS A SADISTIC WILDERNESS COUNSELOR IN "WHITE WATER SUMMER" (1987)

 

Alan (Sean Astin) thinks he has his summer all planned out until nature freak Vic (Kevin Bacon) shows up at his door. His parents talk him into going to camp and it's all over for poor Alan. Along with Vic he'll be saddled with three other teen boys that make up the group. Chris and George are the older ones who tend to look down on the other two, the youngest one Mitch is the quiet type. Alan may be second youngest but is not really part of the group at all as he is very smart and does things his own inventive way. 

Right from the get-go Alan's unique nature proves to be a problem. He carves initials in a tree and Vic takes his knife away. He leaves tent poles behind on the other side of a huge rope bridge and catches fish with a contraption he invents instead of using a pole. With each thing Vic starts to punish him more and eventually leaves him hanging (literally) at Devil's Tooth. At this point the other boys finally start to take Alan's side in things and without spoiling things let's just say the power changes hands. 

The film has a weird pedigree as it was shot in '85 but released in '87 with new Sean Astin scenes filmed  to narrate the story. It failed to take off on a limited run at the theaters and that was it, game over. Despite this the movie sports a killer arena rock soundtrack with Journey, Bruce Hornsby and others. But the real star of this overlooked gem is the cinematography, absolutely gorgeous by John Alcott in what would be his last film. Available on all the major VOD outlets.  3.0 stars/5

TOMMY'S 11th ANNUAL PICK-FIVE GREAT SUMMER MOVIES #4 - HELEN HUNT WRITES, DIRECTS AND STARS IN "RIDE" (2014) - AND SHE SURFS!

 
 

Making it's debut on the list, a choice that may surprise but I really dig Helen Hunt's second film behind the camera. Looking as great as she still does with surfing scenes and even smoking weed? What's not to like! 

A simple comedy-drama, she plays a over-protective mom who follows her son out to California and learns how to surf while trying to figure out a mend for their relationship. At the same time she hangs out with her towncar driver (David Zayas who totally shines here) and falls for her surfing instructor (Luke Wilson, Owen's brother, also really good.)

Hunt's scenes first learning how to surf and fall off the board are quite funny. Even though we already know the moral lesson that both mom and son will learn in the end, it's a lotta fun getting there and love the LA and NY locations. Streams free on Tubi, Vudu, YT and others, give it a shot.  3.0 stars/5

TOMMY'S 11th ANNUAL PICK-FIVE GREAT SUMMER MOVIES #5 - EDWARD BURNS RECREATES 1982 ON LONG ISLAND IN "SUMMER DAYS, SUMMER NIGHTS" (2018)

 

If you've been around the blog a while then you probably already know I'm a big Edward Burns fan. Especially as a filmmaker. He's very smart in that he follows a filmmaking business model that was first perfected by Burt Lancaster - use your acting talents to star in the lucrative big Hollywood pictures and then use those funds to finance your little indie that you really care about. Rinse and repeat.

Creation number twelve for him is in familiar territory, the rom-com. It's 1982 and summer on the Island and Burns runs a little beach resort, his son and various friends work there. Everyone knows everyone in the beach community and the film is basically an interweaving characters thing, another Burns trademark. The film is very different compared to his others in that all the characters are young college folk, lots of bikinis and summer shorts. Burns ties all the character's stories together nicely with a three-act structure introduced with the title cards Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day.

The year being '82 there is nice expected eighties music throughout although a scene where partygoers are dancing to the Go-Go's "We Got The Beat" is a little overdrawn. Originally titled Summertime, this isn't one of my favorites of his, those being Nice Guy Johnny and the severely overlooked Looking For Kitty. But it's a good one, his films always have such a nice easy-going, good-natured feel to them. Keep 'em coming Mr Burns!   3.0 stars/5