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
Sources:
IMDb
Wikipedia
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