Stylishly Late: Late Summer Movie Season Entries that Helped Make the Dog Days Just a Little Cooler

By Michael Lyons

As store shelves become crowded with notebooks, schools re-open and the words “Pumpkin Spice” resurface, there’s no denying the fact that another summer is coming to a close.

As the sun sets on the season filled with the endless promise of vacation, crowded beaches and nice weather, we also bid farewell to the Sumer Movie Season, Hollywood’s popcorn fueled months of sequels, super heroes, dinosaurs, animation, explosions and a large amount of guaranteed box-office.

Don’t mark the Summer Movie Season out for the count just yet, with still a few weeks to go, the movie industry could pull out one more “win” before we head into Labor Day.  In fact, some Summer Movie Seasons past have included movies that were critically acclaimed and/or box-office successes during the waning days of August.

As we hurtle headlong to Summer’s end like the last wave crashing on a beach, it’s the perfect time to look at these late season entries from Summers past.

“Married to the Mob” (1988)

From the always unique vision of Director Jonathan Demme, this original comedy snuck into theaters in late summer thirty years ago.  In it, Michelle Pfeiffer plays Angela DeMarco, a mafia wife, who tries to escape “the life,” after her husband is murdered.  In the process, she finds herself falling in love with an FBI Agent and pursued by the mafia kingpin who put the hit on her husband.

As he did with all of his films, the late, great Demme jam-packs “Married to the Mob” with colorful characters, who generate the film’s laughs.  Pfieffer does a spot-on “New Yawk” accent and the always solid Matthew Modine is charming as the squeaky-clean FBI agent she falls for.

Stealing the show is Dean Stockwell, as mob boss Tony “the Tiger,” a ruthlessly funny performance that earned the actor a Best Supporting Actor Oscar Nomination.  A close second to walking away with the film is Mercedes Ruehl, in her first major role, as Tony’s hot tempered wife, Connie.

They all come together in a movie about murder and infidelity, that’s somehow uniquely it’s own thing.  “Married to the Mob” is a light, breezy, screwball comedy...that packs heat.

“Needful Things” (1993)

This adaptation of Stephen King’s wickedly devilish novel is a horror movie with a smirk on its face.

Set in King’s often used fictional small town of Castle Rock, Maine, “Needful Things” tells the story of a mysterious shop owner (the always amazing Max Von Sydow), who opens up an antique store, that just happens to have what each resident of the town desires.  He agrees to sell to them, if they grant him certain “favors,” which wind up turning the residents against each other.

Directed by Fraser Heston (Charlton’s son) with a cast that includes Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia, J.T. Walsh and Amanda Plummer, “Needful Things” captures all of the horrific tension from King’s novel, along with a theme about how our desire for material things can drive us to madness...which, ironically, seems even more relevant twenty-five years after this movie’s late summer debut.

“Blade” (1998)

Two decades ago, before comic book movies became a staple of early summer, this adaptation of a Marvel comic bowed in late August.  In it, Wesley Snipes is a half-vampire/half-human, who has sworn to rid the world of vampire evil and avenge his mother’s death.

Developing quite the following that generated two sequels, “Blade” served as the title character’s origin story.  Directed in stylish extremes by Steven Norrington, this film has found itself lost in the avalanche of super hero films that have followed two decdaes later.

But while there are many others, “Blade” still finds itself surfacing during fan discussions of favorite comic book movies,

“Tropic Thunder” (2008)

One of the most original comedies in recent years, with an ingenious, satirical story seemed like a height of summer blockbuster, but bowed in late August.

In the film, three vain actors: an action star (Ben Stiller) looking to change his image, an almost washed up comedian (Jack Black) yearning to be taken seriously and an over-the-top method actor (Robert Downey, Jr.) find themselves lost in a hostile, third-world jungle while filming a movie about the Vietnam War.

The entire Cast of “Tropic Thunder” is, literally firing on all cylinders in a smartly crafted film (directed by Stiller) that delivers crowd-pleasing laughs throughout, while gleefully not caring that it’s biting the film industry hand that’s feeding it.

In one of film’s most daring performances, Robert Downey Jr’s is hysterically jaw dropping, as he plays Kirk Lazarus, an Australian actor who undergoes a procedure to darken his skin so he can play a black character.  He completely disappears into the character and rightfully earned himself a Best Supporting Actor Oscar Nomination.

Rounding out the Cast is Nick Nolte, Matthew McConaughey, Jay Baruchel, Steve Coogan, Bill Hader, Danny McBride and Tom Cruise (yup, Tom Cruise!) in a gonzo comedic performance as a brutal, mean-spirited studio executive.

From the film’s opening “trailers” to its end credit rap dancing, “Tropic Thunder” is the rare comedy that earns more appreciation and laughs even a decade after its debut.

These films, like a surprise, perfect weather day, helped make summer last just a little longer.

Sources:
IMDb
Wikipedia

Caught up the “Wake” of “Jaws”: Pre-“Meg” Movies that were inspired by Spielberg’s Seminal Summer Blockbuster

By Michael Lyons

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  If that’s the case, then Hollywood is a VERY flattering place.

This was especially true in the mid-to-late ‘70’s, when every Studio was trying to replicate the success of the world’s first Summer Blockbuster, “Jaws.”  What followed was a series of not-as-thrilling movies in which an animal/force of nature launches an attack.

One of the decendants of this trend, “The Meg,” hits theaters this weekend.  The film, based on the best selling book by Steve Alten, is about a giant, prehistoric shark seemingly swimming out of the past and into our world.

There’s no better way to commemorate this latest Hollywood “attack,” by looking back at the “Jaws clones” that rampaged through theaters, after Steven Spielberg’s landmark film debuted in 1975.

“Grizzly” (1976)

This movie may seem like a low-budget B movie that was made quickly and released one year after “Jaws,” to cash in on that movie’s success...actually...it doesn’t seem that way...that’s exactly what it is.

Substituting a grizzly bear for a shark and a national park for Amity Island, this film unabashedly carbon copies the “Jaws” model.  However, this tale of a killer grizzly attacking campers lacks the suspense and ingenuity that made Spielberg’s film an unforgettable masterpiece.

What “Grizzly” does have is a parade of recognizable character actors of the time, such as Christopher George and Richard Jaeckel and also boasts one of the most Drive-In Movie worthy posters of the decade!

“The Deep” (1977)

Another movie that rode the “coatfins” of “Jaws,” this one at least did so with an original plot.  In “The Deep,” a young couple (Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset) uncover artifacts while diving through a shipwreck, off the coast of Bermuda and wind up getting caught up with local, drug dealing criminals.

With an underwater setting, based on a book by “Jaws” author Peter Benchley and co-starring Quint himself, Robert Shaw,“The Deep” is definitely doing all it can to reach audiences who were eager for a “Jaws fix.”

However, today the movie is more remembered for Jacqueline Bisset’s now famous wet T-shirt scene and less for its action sequences involving a giant eel. 

“Piranha” (1978)

This movie should be next to the definition of the phrase “Cult Movie.”  Produced by B-Movie maestro Roger Corman and directed by Joe Dante (who would go on to helm blockbusters like “Gremlins”), “Piranha” unabashedly copied “Jaws,” but has also emerged as something all it’s own, with a following that has grown through the years.

“Piranha” is about the nasty-looking, flesh eating titular fish, who are accidentally dumped into the water at a resort...and it’s meal time!

With a surprisingly clever script penned by John Sayles (who would go on to have a very distinguished, Oscar nominated film career) and a cast of veteran actors, including Keenan Wynn and Kevin McCarthy, “Piranha” is an unabashed, all-out horror gorefest.  In fact, “Piranha” has such a devoted following that it was re-made (loosely) in 2010...in 3D, no less.

“The Swarm” (1978)

“Jaws” meets a disaster movie.  That’s probably how this movie was pitched.  This makes sense seeing that “The Swarm” is from director Irwin Allen, the disaster movie maestro behind such films as “The Poseidon Adventure” and “The Towering inferno.”

In this outing, the country is under attack by a massive swarm of killer bees, which includes the usual large scale mayhem, including scenes in which the bees cause helicopters to crash and a train to derail.

While the nature on attack angle owes a lot to “Jaws,” the rest of the film looks and feels like a full on disaster movie, from it’s all-star cast (Michael Caine, Katherine Ross, Olivia de Havilland, Richard Chamberlain, Fred MacMurray and Henry Fonda) to its conclusion in which an entire city is torched in order to kill the bees.

Made at the tail end of the disaster movie craze, “The Swarm” almost seems like a parody of itself at times, but movie fans of a time gone by will no doubt find it still has some...sting.

So, as “The Meg” splashes across screens this weekend, it may feel overwhelmed by the shadow of the Great White Shark that first captivated audiences 43 summers ago.  However, the film can take comfort in the fact that there have been plenty of other movies who have also wanted to take a bite out of the “Jaws” box office.

Sources:

IMDb

Wikipedia

“A Long Time Ago...”: The 45th Anniversary of “American Graffiti”

By Michael Lyons

All of the nostalgia, the “retro,” the “throwbacks,” the “looking back,” the “fondly remembering” that goes on today can actually be traced back 45 summers ago, when “American Graffiti” debuted.

George Lucas’ love letter to a simpler time: the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s, during the era of drag racing, cruising, ducktailed “hoods,” malt shops and the early years of rock and roll, connected with the generation who (in the ‘70’s) had come of age during that time.

“American Graffiti” had an almost immediate response from audiences when it was released and helped launch the career of one of Hollywood’s most influential directors.

With the film that asked the poetic question “Where Were You in ‘62?” Celebrating its 45th anniversary, it’s the perfect time to take trip back in time to revisit the film.

With a very simple plot that involves weaving a number of stories together, “American Graffiti” takes place on the last night of summer vacation and follows several friends through a number of misadventures.

There’s Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), a straight laced high school graduate, about to head off to college, who becomes obsessed with finding a beautiful blonde girl (Suzanne Somers) he spotted in a car and winds up getting mixed up with a group of “greasers;” High school sweethearts Steve and Laurie (Ron Howard and Cindy Williams) who argue and make-up throughout the evening; John (Paul LeMat) an avid drag racer who winds up squaring off in a race with a loud mouth named Bob (Harrison Ford) and Terry “Toad” (Charles Martin Smith) the “nerd’ who is thrilled to have date with Debbie (Candy Clark).

The Cast of “American Graffiti” now plays like a “Who’s Who” directory of Hollywood, but at the time, the Cast (with the exception of Howard) were relative unknowns and this turned out to be their big break.  This was also a big break for director Lucas.  After the success of this film (produced by his friend Francis Ford Coppola), Lucas gained some clout, which allowed him to begin work on his true passion project about a “Galaxy Far, Far Away.”

Part of the success of “American Graffiti” was its ability to create such a believable “time and place,” bringing a past era alive as never before.  This happens immediately in the opening credits, in which “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets bounces across the soundtrack.  In fact, the film has a wall-to-wall pop and rock music soundtrack that set the standard for films to come. 

Then, there’s the iconic image of “Mel’s Drive-in” malt shop, the sweeping fins of the cars of the time and even the language itself (“You want a knuckle sandwich?”), “American Graffiti” became the first film to use pieces of our past pop culture as a setting for a film.

Released on August 11, 1973, “American Graffiti” was not only a hit, but it sparked a wave of obsessive nostalgia around the late ‘50’s and early ’60’s..  Movies like “The Lords of Flatbush”  and “Grease” followed; ‘50’s tribute bands like “Sha-Na-Na” become immensely popular and, of course, on TV, “Happy Days” and “Laverne and Shirley “(which continued the soaring trajectory of Ron Howard’s and Cindy Williams’ careers) became two of the most popular shows of the decade.

The generation that had come of age during the time of “American Graffiti” were hungry to re-live that time, with a film and story that not only re-captures it, but also, in a melancholy way, shows audiences a time of innocence, before everything was turned upside down by the tumultuous late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s.

And now 45 years later, we can all be nostalgic for one of the world’s most nostalgic films, “American Graffiti.”

Sources:

IMDb

Wikipedia