Check out Part 1 here!
DAVE – Lisa Wellington (Reel Happiness)
Available to rent on Prime, HBO Max, Vudu
Chock full of charm and a sparkling spirit, Dave refreshes the heart, cheers the soul, and restores our faith in the better angels of our nature. And we’re even treated to a bit of Kevin Kline’s Tony-winning singing talent to boot.
Here we meet one Dave Kovic, the amiable owner of an employment agency who enjoys a side gig as a lookalike of President Bill Mitchell at business openings and other local doings. So convincing is the resemblance, in fact, that he finds himself tapped by the oh-so-real Secret Service to carry off a one-minute walk while POTUS sneaks out the back on other… business.
When President Mitchell becomes truly incapacitated, however, power-hungry Chief of Staff Bob Alexander isn’t willing to let go so easily, and our man Dave finds himself occupying the Oval. Now we’re off to the races – races against deadlines, against discovery, and against absolute power that has corrupted absolutely.
Politically indeterminate, Dave is lighthearted and perfectly performed across the board. Kline in particular is a delight, playing both the generous Kovic and the narcissistic Mitchell – he perfectly balances Kovic’s kindness and courage, dancing effortlessly between comedy and light drama.
It’s hard to believe that Frank Capra worked almost a century ago, yet Dave infuses his optimism into these trying days of 2020, bringing the same balm Capra brought to hearts during the Great Depression.
Dave celebrates the magic of human connection when guards go down and hearts become open … when vision replaces vice, and empathy becomes atmosphere. When compassion commands respect, when the common good trumps the corrupt, and nobility is the norm.
Good for the soul, indeed – and you’ll find it impossible not to leave with a smile!
Dave is directed by Ivan Reitman, and stars Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn, Charles Grodin, Ving Rhames, Ben Kingsley, and Laura Linney (in her second silver screen appearance!). Fun fact: Weaver plays her second character named Ellen.
It is widely available for rent and/or purchase from Amazon Prime, iTunes, Vudu, Microsoft Movies Anywhere, YouTube, Google Play Movies, DirecTV, and Xfinity. Check your preferred provider(s) for details.
DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB – Mark Schumann (Hearst Connecticut Media)
Available to rent on Prime, Vudu
The threat of nuclear war is not fun and games.
Every generation seems to introduce a few people on earth with the controls in hand that could end civilization. Some are domestic, others are foreign; some are political, others are from the military; some are frightening, others frightened. All we can do is hope that common sense and cool heads prevail. But the severity of what could happen – if the decision to go to war fell into the wrong hands – is a haunting possibility that every generation must confront.
Picture yourself, for 90 minutes or so, living the possibility of the world coming to an end because people make outrageous decisions and refuse to admit their mistakes and correct their errors. Imagine a world so fragile where one person can, on a whim, signal the end of how people live. And consider the very real threat that placing powerful weapons in the wrong hands can create. That is the world of Doctor Strangelove.
In 1964, when the film was made, the reality it creates was all too real to a citizenry in the United States filled with school children who would “duck and cover” under classroom desks and parents who built elaborate bomb shelters in case the inevitable might occur. Because the superpowers of the time – the US and the Soviet Union – each had the ability to destroy the other many times over, people lived in fear that such a doomsday plot could actually happen.
The film, when it opened, was viewed less as fiction than a disturbing interpretation of a feasible reality. Because it all could happen, movie audiences embraced the film as, perhaps, a way to feel better because none of it actually did happen.
Kubrick is too wise to make the film too ominous. Instead he uses humor to examine what inspires leaders to want to destroy the civilized world in the name of supremacy. By putting together such a bizarre collection of characters, and placing them in such hysterical yet plausible situations, he stretches the truth just enough to project what actually could happen if common decency and caring were forgotten long enough to simply push the button to launch a destructive nuclear weapon.
While we did, as a civilization, survive that turbulent time of Cold War, the possibility of global doom never disappears. Only the names of the threatening countries change. So what if the great powers of the world decide to destroy each other? And the people who run strong countries begin to care less about the people they are assigned to protect in the interest of proving who has the most destructive weapons?
What makes Doctor Strangelove so important to experience – nearly 50 years after it was first released – is to notice how little, in fact, the world has changed. Leaders, no matter what they may say to be elected, remain capable of letting petty jealousies and fears cloud their judgment. And the only power that people may have in such turbulent times is to make certain, through how we speak and how we vote, that access is denied to those who do not deserve to know the codes.
HYDE PARK ON HUDSON – Mark Schumann (Hearst Connecticut Media)
Available to rent on Prime
Of the men who have served as President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt has appeared, as a character, in some 28 films from the musical Annie to the dramas Pearl Harbor and Sunrise at Campobello. Most portrayals of the man who served in the office for more years than any other focus on his achievements in office, his challenges dealing with paralysis and the turbulent times he led the nation. The refreshing Hyde Park on Hudson focuses on a little-known chapter in this legendary lifetime.
With the delicacy of a drawing room comedy, this historical tale invites us to spend a weekend with the Roosevelts at their family estate at Hyde Park, New York. The featured guests are the King and Queen of England who visit the US to seek support for the Britain before the outset of World War II. Framing this celebration is Roosevelt’s romantic pursuit of his distant relative Daisy. This shy, hesitant woman surprises herself when she grows close to the President despite the dominating presence of his mother and wife. She appeals to the man’s soul rather than trying to manage his views or actions. Daisy gives Roosevelt such a freedom to be himself that she becomes essential to his daily routine. And, because she is in his extended family, she can be present at the house without raising questions. As the President prepares for the royal visit, he becomes more dependent on Daisy’s support.
This slight story could have, in less capable hands, emerged as superficial. But screenwriter Richard Johnson uses the light plot to explore how the President thinks, what he fears and how he handles the challenges of his disability. If this film doesn’t tell us anything new about what may have happened during the memorable visit, it offers new insight into how this brave leader could reach inside himself to courageously approach a dangerous world.
Bill Murray, who currently makes parenthood a delight in On the Rocks, embraces a formidable acting challenge to portray the President, highlighting Roosevelt’s sense of humor, secret passions and political savvy. And he offers an unflinching look at the day-to-day impact of the President’s disability. Samuel West, who dares to play King George VI just two years after Colin Firth’s Oscar-winning turn in The King’s Speech, almost steals the film with his fresh and touching performance as the British monarch, And Laura Linney, who is so consistent in her work on screen, makes us believe that Daisy would be willing to make such sacrifices to emotionally support a man she so believes in.
In the movie marketplace, however, Hyde Park on Hudson had a challenging time capturing the attention it deserved. The end of any year is always crowded at the movies and, in 2012, Abraham Lincoln was the President capturing most of the movie buzz. As easy as it could be to overlook Franklin D. Roosevelt, the film still deserves to be noticed. While it may not be a definitive view of the man, this movie certainly helps us appreciate the subtleties of decision and behavior that contribute to his legend.
