The Great Unknown

Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin invites us to go further than the Hundred Acre Wood. After 2 direct-to-video Aladdin sequels, Disney gave Winnie the Pooh his own full length adventure. Though I wouldn’t exactly call it a sequel to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Despite continuing to recapture the basic, yet heartwarming animation of the first film. Many original voice actors return and replacements like Jim Cummings or Peter Cullen were first heard in the 80’s cartoon The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. I know my brother and I watched Pooh’s Grand Adventure when we were little, but all I remember was the fear I felt seeing Pooh in an unfamiliar place. The movie omits the classic reading of a book in favor of narration from David Warner.

Unlike previous Pooh stories, The Search for Christopher Robin isn’t based on a specific A. A. Milne story. Pooh’s Grand Adventure gives a nice amount of attention to the tender friendship between a boy and his silly old bear. Christopher Robin tries to tell Pooh he’s going to school, but the latter would much rather enjoy doing nothing. Summer turns to autumn and Christopher Robin leaves Pooh with a honey pot and a note. The entire movie hinges on Pooh and friends misunderstanding the note. As usual, Owl causes problems by misreading “school” as “skull” and sending everyone on a scary adventure to “The Great Unknown.” Pooh is joined by Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit, and Eeyore. Kanga & Roo aren’t around since it would’ve been too dangerous.

There’s something a little off-putting about seeing such innocent characters in dark forests, treacherous caverns, and facing a possible “Skullasaurus.” Everyone except Eeyore learns a lesson that Christopher Robin taught Pooh. Piglet is brave enough to conquer his fear of heights, Tigger is strong enough to bounce very high, and Rabbit is smart enough to figure out the map. Songs include the heartfelt “Forever and Ever,” adventurous “Adventure is a Wonderful Thing,” misguided “If It Says So,” somber “Wherever You Are,” and cheerful “Everything is Right.” Though I’m more likely to forget it, Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin does have nice messages to remember.

Pooh and friends are lost

You’re a Lifesaver

Tully is one of the most brutally honest portrayals of motherhood in recent memory. Happy Mother’s Day everyone! Tully is essentially the final chapter in an unintentional trilogy directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Juno is about a teenager thrust into adulthood, Young Adult is about an adult trying to be a teenager, and Tully is about accepting motherhood. The latter films are more closely connected with an R rating and Charlize Theron as the star. Unlike Young Adult, I knew about Tully when it came out, but I thought it looked too harsh.

Though I prefer heartfelt movies about being a mother, I know it’s not always easy. Cody herself was inspired by her own difficult pregnancy. Even for an action heroine, Theron has never looked so beaten up. Marlo is pregnant for the first half and retains her mom bod after giving birth. Ron Livingston is her hardworking husband Drew who does as much as he can. Sarah is her oldest daughter and Jonah is her only son who has special needs. Something that causes her to blow up at his school.

Marlo is constantly stressed, exhausted, and frequently dreams about a mermaid. Mark Duplass is her rich brother Craig who, along with his wife, offers a new age solution. Mackenzie Davis is the young free-spirited night nanny Tully who forms a believable bond with Marlo. She helps care for baby Mia and helps Marlo become a better wife and mother. I knew there had to be something more to their relationship, so I wasn’t surprised when the twist was revealed. Tully may not be the most pleasant experience, but it does find its footing in the end.

Marlo with her baby

YA

Young Adult is an unpleasant look at someone who refuses to grow up. After their success with Juno, director Jason Reitman and Academy Award winning writer Diablo Cody reunited for the next stage of life. Mavis Gary is a thirtysomething ghost writer of young adult novels. Cody was partially inspired by herself as a grown woman who writes about adolescent characters. Unlike Juno or even Jennifer’s Body, Young Adult isn’t as funny as it could’ve been. Charlize Theron is convincing, but Mavis is far from a good person.

Mavis is a sad lonely alcoholic writing the last book in a cancelled series. J. K. Simmons has a brief voice cameo as her boss. She lives in Minneapolis with her dog, but Mavis returns to her small town of Mercury under false pretenses. Young Adult is like My Best Friend’s Wedding if the main character stooped even lower. Patrick Wilson is her happily married ex Buddy Slade that she tries to get back together with after the birth of his infant daughter. Elizabeth Reaser is Buddy’s cool band playing wife Beth who is genuinely inviting towards Mavis. Despite Buddy’s obliviousness, Mavis is convinced he wants her.

Mavis tries to avoid her parents and cousin, but most of her time is spent with someone she barely remembers. Patton Oswalt is the overweight and nerdy voice of reason Matt Freehauf who was left disabled by bullies in high school. Despite being opposites, Matt and Mavis connect over drinks and even have an unlikely hook up. Aside from Beth, Matt is a genuinely good person who calls Mavis out on her destructive behavior. When Mavis does finally blow up, it’s very uncomfortable to watch. Though it seems like Mavis might change for the better, Matt’s creepily obsessed sister Sandra played by Collette Wolfe tells her she’s better than everyone else in town. Young Adult has a needed message about moving on buried beneath an overly cynical tone.

Mavis Gary signs her own book

Target After Dark

Career Opportunities is every boy’s dream. Being trapped in a building with the hottest girl in school. I knew nothing about Career Opportunities, but I was drawn to it when I kept seeing the clip of Jennifer Connelly riding a coin-operated pony. Turns out marketing used the same clip in order to attract young males. I knew it had to be a John Hughes movie, but apparently he wanted his name removed from it. Career Opportunities is like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off meets Home Alone. Frank Whaley is the far less charismatic Jim Dodge known as the “town liar.” The problem is Jim won’t shut up and can’t hold onto a job.

I can relate to him living at home, but there’s not a whole lot of nuance. He’s a 20 something living with his father, mother, younger brother, and grown up sister. I’m not sure if it’s good product placement, but a majority of the film takes place inside Target®. John Candy makes an uncredited appearance as the store manager who gives Jim a crappy night custodian job. Like Home Alone, Jim seizes the opportunity to goof off, eat whatever he wants, and skate around the store in his underwear. It just so happens, beautiful rich girl Josie McClellan is also trapped there over night. Josie is salacious, but she desperately wants to get away from her controlling father.

Although they’re complete opposites, Josie still ends up wanting to run away with Jim by the end. Josie’s father tries to find his daughter with the town sheriff, but there’s no reason to keep cutting back to Jim’s father eating all night. Since Home Alone literally came out the previous year, Hughes throws in an unnecessary criminal element. Dermot and Kieran Mulroney are a little too serious for this movie. Jim and Josie use their respective skills to outsmart the crooks and get everything they wanted. Career Opportunities doesn’t quite hit the target.

Josie rides a horse

Enchanted Peasant Girl

Mannequin Two: On the Move is a dull and lifeless sequel that doesn’t need to exist. As ridiculous as the first Mannequin is, it was successful enough to warrant a sequel. Even though Emmy became real and lived happily ever after with Jonathan. Instead they create a whole new scenario involving a living mannequin that makes even less sense. Kristy Swanson is the lovely peasant girl Jessie who is cursed by an evil sorcerer for 1,000 years. She happens to look like a mannequin and that mannequin happens to end up at the exact same department store from the first movie.

The only returning characters are the lovesick security guard named Andy and Meshach Taylor given way too much screen time as Hollywood. Yet Hollywood’s pink convertible and flamboyant mannerisms are almost subtle compared to the villains. Bernie himself Terry Kiser is the descendant of the evil sorcerer Count Spretzle. He transports the “Enchanted Peasant Girl” using his overly cartoonish German meathead minions. William Ragsdale is the new lead Jason Williamson who is the reincarnated Prince William.

Cynthia Harris is his queen mother who runs a dating service. Stuart Pankin is his boss who continually makes a fool of himself. Jason unknowingly reunites with his long lost love Jessie. The charm of the first movie is lost when Jessie is just a fish out of water who doesn’t freeze when people see her. She only freezes while wearing an enchanted necklace and it takes characters way too long to figure that out. The ending is seriously overblown, but it ends almost the exact same way with a wedding set to “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.” Mannequin Two: On the Move should’ve been stopped at all costs.

Jessie comes alive in front of Jason

Preceded by: Mannequin

Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now

Mannequin is all about the love between a man and his mannequin. Somehow it’s not as weird as it sounds. Mannequin was unsurprisingly written off by critics, but its premise is too ridiculous not to have fun with it. It’s practically an honorary Brat Pack film with Andrew McCarthy and James Spader reuniting after Pretty in Pink. McCarthy is struggling artist Jonathan Switcher who can’t hold down a job. He creates a beautiful mannequin who only comes to life for Jonathan when no one else is looking. Kim Cattrall is plenty of fun as Emmy. She’s actually an Ancient Egyptian woman brought to life as a great work of art.

It doesn’t make sense, but the romance between Jonathan and Emmy is taken very seriously. He gets a job at the Prince & Company department store after he rescues Estelle Getty as the kind owner Claire. He keeps the job when Emmy helps him make eye-catching window displays. You know it’s the 80’s when Meshach Taylor plays an incredibly flamboyant gay co-worker named Hollywood. Though it all sounds very low stakes, Mannequin is filled with cartoonish bad guys trying to sabotage Jonathan. Spader is the jealous store manager Mr. Richard. G. W. Bailey is the store’s security guard Felix who tries to catch the mannequin in action.

Carole Davis is Jonathan’s former girlfriend Roxie who works for the competing store Illustra. Steve Vinovich is her scheming boss B.J. and Christopher Maher is her creep co-worker Armand. Despite Jonathan looking crazy a number of times, Emmy eventually becomes a real girl through the power of love. Not only did Mannequin gain a cult following, it was also Oscar nominated for the 80’s power ballad “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship. I’ll bet you didn’t know that song was referring to a mannequin. Mannequin is a perfect display of the 80’s at their most bonkers.

Jonathan rides with Emmy

Followed by: Mannequin Two: On the Move

Is this You… or are YOU You?

Futureworld is a lot less amusing than it should’ve been. Westworld had a lot of potential for a sequel, but Michael Crichton and MGM weren’t interested. Although Futureworld sounds simple enough, the story is overly complicated. After the mishap at Westworld, Delos has shut down the park, but reopened with 2 new attractions. Medieval World and Roman World are unaffected since they didn’t get most of the media’s attention. Spa World is a strange new addition since it doesn’t really fit the theme. The still in development samurai themed Eastworld makes a lot more sense.

Futureworld is of course the titular new park that has a space theme. There are plenty of interesting attractions like skiing on Mars, holographic chess, robot boxing, and a dream recorder that features a strange erotic dream sequence with Yul Brynner returning as the Gunslinger. We see other characters in different worlds like the first movie, but the sequel drops most of it by the second act. Peter Fonda plays newspaper reporter Chuck and Blythe Danner plays TV reporter Tracy. Not only do they compete for a story, they have a distracting love/hate relationship.

Chuck suspects foul play and uncovers a conspiracy with Tracy’s help. Arthur Hill plays Mr. Duffy who tries to make the park look good. John Ryan plays Dr. Schneider who encourages the use of robots as technicians. Stuart Margolin plays the last trustworthy human Harry. Although Harry is friends with a low-grade robot affectionately named Clark. The final act completely forgets about the parks in favor of a conspiracy thriller involving clones of world leaders. The idea is creepy, but it’s not what made Westworld so good. Though it made leaps in the use of CGI, Futureworld is more dated than anything.

Clark the robot

Preceded by: Westworld

…Where Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong

Westworld is as amusing as it is terrifying. Science fiction author Michael Crichton wrote it as an original screenplay and even directed it himself. It was Crichton’s very first story about an amusement park breaking down. Before there was Jurassic Park, there was Westworld. The 1973 movie is way ahead of its time. Though the title suggests only one amusement park, Delos consists of three distinct time periods including: Roman World, Medieval World, and Western World. Despite inherent danger in every world, they assure guests nothing can possibly go wrong. State of the art lifelike robots are programmed to never harm humans. Safeguards are put in place to avoid accidental gunfire.

Most of the action takes place in Westworld with James Brolin as John and Richard Benjamin as Peter. John is determined to have fun, but Peter is skeptical until he starts to loosen up. Westworld is the ultimate Western fantasy where guests pay $1,000 to shoot gunslingers, stop bank robberies, get into bar fights, and sleep with robot prostitutes. Gene Roddenberry’s wife Majel Barrett plays the bordello owner. Though Westworld is the focus, Norman Bartold is the primary guest of Medieval World who woos the lovely queen and fights a black knight. Roman World is barely seen, but you get the idea. Alan Oppenheimer is the chief supervisor of Delos who overlooks a virus that slowly affects the robots.

Despite malfunctions, the parks remain open until everything goes wrong. Yul Brynner is the face of Westworld who plays a confrontational Gunslinger that Peter shoots on two separate occasions. Until he shoots John and ruthlessly hunts down Peter. His robotic vision is the very first use of digital image processing in film. Although a lot of the early park activities are amusing, the final act is downright terrifying. Robots kill every guest, Delos technicians are powerless to stop, and Peter is left fighting for his life. There’s so much potential for this concept that I’m not surprised it led to a sequel, a short-lived CBS series, and an acclaimed HBO series. Westworld says a lot about how much we’re willing to immerse ourselves in a world that isn’t real.

The Gunslinger starts smoking

Followed by: Futureworld

Red Lectroids from Planet 10

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension exists in its own little world. The movie originated from author Earl Mac Rauch. Screenwriter W. D. Richter read his first book and was determined to direct one of his stories. Rauch kept starting and stopping screenplays about the character Buckaroo Banzai. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai is a science fiction action adventure comedy romance. Buckaroo Banzai himself is a neurosurgeon, a physicist, a martial artist, a test pilot, and a rock star. There are so many great nerd movies from 1984, but I just don’t get the appeal of Buckaroo Banzai. Though it was initially written off by critics, it was destined to have a cult following. A mostly unknown Peter Weller plays the multi-talented Banzai who feels very unassuming. He fights, studies, and sings with a group of allies called “The Hong Kong Cavaliers.”

Jeff Goldblum plays New Jersey who wears a cowboy suit. Lewis Smith plays the bleach blonde Perfect Tommy. Clancy Brown plays gun-toting Rawhide. Pepe Serna plays Reno Nevada, Billy Vera plays Pinky, and Michael Santoro plays Billy Travers. Very few of them stand out. Bill Henderson joins them as pilot Casper Lindley and so does his young son Scooter. Ellen Barkin plays Penny Priddy who he meets at their only gig. It gets confusing when she ends up being the long lost twin of his late wife. Robert Ito is Buckaroo’s Chinese mentor Professor Tohichi Hikita who helps him develop an “overthruster” for his Jet Car. More confusing is the car crossing the titular 8th Dimension that starts an invasion of Red Lectroids from Planet 10. Banzai is the only one who can see the aliens for what they really are.

John Lithgow hams it up as the Italian mad scientist Dr. Lizardo. All the Lectroids are named John for some reason. Lizardo is possessed by Lord John Whorfin who plots to destroy the Earth. Christopher Lloyd is the oddly named Red Lectroid John Bigbooté. Vincent Schiavelli is another Red Lectroid named John O’Connor. Red Lectroids are at odds with Black Lectroids led by Rosalind Cash as John Emdall. A young Carl Lumbly is the Jamaican Black Lectroid John Parker who assists Banzai. The President is also involved. I want to like Buckaroo Banzai, but its tone is so deadpan that I can’t even see it as campy fun. With the exception of a TV series, it does make sense that books, comics, and video games came out of the movie. A sequel was never made despite an awkward promise of one at the end. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension will only appeal to so many people.

Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers

Not followed by: Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League

500 Years in the Future

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is a glorified TV pilot for a forgotten series. It’s another late 70’s sci-fi adventure inspired by Star Wars which was inspired by Flash Gordon which was inspired by Buck Rogers. I always find it unfortunate when the founder of a popular concept doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. Buck Rogers is the original space adventurer created by Philip Francis Nowlan as far back as 1929. He first appeared in comic strips before making the leap to comic books, novels, radio, film serials, and television. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was a TV revival created after the massive success of Star Wars. Despite having a clear TV budget, the pilot was released in theaters. I knew the name Buck Rogers and the parody Duck Dodgers, but never the story.

Buck Rogers was an astronaut from 1987 found frozen aboard his space shuttle Ranger 3 and awakened 500 years in the future. He’s a man out of time adjusting to an Earth that’s been affected by a nuclear holocaust and rebuilt as the futuristic Inner City. Ship designs look almost exactly like X-wings, but space battles are far less impressive. The tone is pretty cheesy with an electronic soundtrack. Gil Gerard is your basic cocky 20th Century man. Captain Rogers’ space suit is a not so colorful white jumpsuit paired with a ray gun. Model Erin Gray plays the female Colonel Wilma Deering of Earth’s military fleet. Despite opposing Rogers, she falls for him very quickly. The villainous Princess Ardala also falls for Rogers immediately. Pamela Hensley wears a variety of revealing outfits.

Ardala commands the Draconia flagship that secretly plots to conquer Earth with pirate ships. Henry Silva is by her side as Kane, but it’s her father Emperor Draco played by a flamboyant Joseph Wiseman who calls the shots despite limited screen time. Along with Colonel Deering, Buck meets Tim O’Connor as Earth defense leader Dr. Elias Huer. His allies are a diminutive robot named Twiki and an advanced computer named Dr. Theopolis. Like R2-D2, Felix Silla is the man in the machine, but Mel Blanc provides his speech between beeps. Buck Rogers seduces the princess, fights the hulking Tigerman, blows up enemy ships, and gets the girl. Defeating the bad guy will just have to wait for the next episode that they’re clearly teasing. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century has some cool ideas, but they should’ve been reserved for TV.

Captain Buck Rogers and Colonel Wilma Deering meet Princess Ardala and Kane