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

 by Michael Lyons     

 

I guess we can avoid the inevitable no longer.  Soon, all the kids will head back to school, the bathing suits will be packed away, and pumpkin spice will be added to everything from a cappuccino to marinara sauce.

Summer, that glorious season of fair weather days and endless nights, is ending.  Sure, the summer of 2022 wasn't perfect, as it was filled with travel woes that made vacation almost seem like a four-letter word and weather so intense that it seemed as if the Heat Miser was real.  

But, admit it, you'll miss summer.  The carefree-no-school-flip-flop-wearing time of year brings a unique sense of relaxation.  And it's own form of movies, too.

After two years dormant, Hollywood's all-important summer movie season made a tremendous comeback this year, thanks to hits like Top Gun: Maverick.  The record-breaking Tom Cruise "legacy sequel" was an excellent "flashback" to summer movie seasons that brought us some of the movie industry's most famous films.

And during those past summer movie seasons, some late entries hit theaters just before summer took its final bow and provided one last blast for movie fans.

As "Screen Saver" did in 2018, here's another look at some late entries in past summer movie seasons:

 

Cop Land (1997)

A Western-style story set in contemporary New Jersey, this was an "Eastern" and a compelling, well-crafted one.  Sylvester Stallone plays Freddy Heflin, a quiet, mild-mannered Sherrif of a small Jersey suburb, where a number of New York City cops live.

When an internal affairs officer (Robert DeNiro) begins investigating corruption among the residents, Freddy has to decide between his loyalty to the cops who live in the town and doing what's right.

Written and directed by James Mangold, Cop Land  (released twenty-five years ago) is one of the most underrated movies of the 90s, expertly made, with echoes of the best of Martin Scorsese and Sidney Lumet.

With a supporting cast that includes Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Cathy Moriarity, Janeane Garofalo, and Michael Rapaport, Cop Land is bristling with talent and features Stallone in one of the best performances of his career (and one for which he was robbed of an Oscar nomination).

 Single White Female (1992)

Thirty years ago, the movie thriller was still "a thing." Audiences flocked to films that showed how evil could lurk in our everyday lives, including a new roommate.  This is the premise of Single White Female, in which New Yorker Allison Jones (Bridget Fonda) places an ad looking for a roommate, and she gets Hedra Carson (Jennifer Jason Leigh) answering it.

It turns out that Hedra, who has a disturbing history, wants more than just a room; she wants Allison's life.

Single White Female had shades of the classic Rosemary's Baby, as it creates an eerie atmosphere out of an old Manhattan apartment.  While it may not bring with it too many surprises, it's still an effective thriller, thanks to compelling performances by Fonda and Jason Leigh.

 Stakeout (1987) 

This is a complete and utter '80s audience pleaser.  Released thirty-five years ago this month, Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez have great chemistry as police detective partners forced to go on the graveyard shift of a stakeout.  Dreyfuss' character then finds himself falling for the woman (Madeline Stowe) that they're watching.

Directed by John Badham (WarGames), Stakeout is the perfect comedy-action-thriller that seems to be a genre that's disappeared. Estevez showed nice comedic skills, and Dreyfuss was at his manic best.

Stakeout was a surprise, late-summer box-office hit, and deservedly so.

 

The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)

Want to see the trailers for "Catholic High School Girls in Trouble?"  or "A Fistful of Yen?"  How about a movie that's advertised in the immersive "Feel-a-Round?"

They're all in this irreverent sketch comedy that plays like Saturday Night Live: The Movie. Still funny and fun to watch, this unique comedy is most notable for the careers it launched.

Director John Landis would go on to helm Animal House and Trading Places, among others, and writers Jim Abrahams and David & Jerry Zucker would later bring us Airplane! And the Naked Gun movies. Forty-five years ago, at the end of "Star Wars Summer," they all cut their comedic teeth on The Kentucky Fried Movie. 

 

And so, as we cling to every last sun-drenched day of August and hurtle headfirst into Labor Day, let's remember these films that gave the Summer Movie season its last-minute due.

Soon, those leaves will be changing.  And, remember, they're only pretty to look at when you don't have to rake them! 

Looking for a good Labor Day Weekend "beach read?"  Check out my book Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance now available on Amazon.

Tired of social media, but don't want to get off of your phone?  Head over to my website Words From Lyons for more of my writing and podcasts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Next "Wave" in Animation: Classic Cartoons Go to the Beach

 

By Michael Lyons

 

It's August, time to ignore those "Back-to-School" commercials and remember that it's still summer.  Oh sure, everyone wants to start picking out just the right sweater and add pumpkin spice to everything, but it's still sweltering outside, people!

Let's hold on to these glorious warm weather months for as long as possible and head to the beach!  And, to get us in the right mood, like an animation sommelier, what follows is just the right pairing of classic cartoons to accompany your trip to the sea shore.

Here are some brief trips to the beach, featuring iconic characters from the golden age of animation, when litter wasn't allowed on the sand, but good ol' fashioned cartoon sight gags were permitted.

 Beach Picnic (Disney, 1939)

When it comes to classic Disney Donald Duck cartoons, they don't come more iconic than this.

With Pluto in tow, Donald, in his full-piece, old-fashioned bathing suit, and straw hat, embarks on a day at the beach.  They are both met with the standard frustrations, as Donald's inflatable beach toy (a horse he's nicknamed Seabiscuit) misbehaves, and an army of ants make short work of the multi-course spread of picnic food that Donald has displayed on his beach blanket.

Among the richly designed Disney comedic moments, there is an excellent sequence in which Pluto gets stuck to fly paper.  Then, of course, Donald's frustrations and tantrums are relatable to all of us who have embarked on a day at the beach this summer.

 Wackiki Rabbit (Warner Bros, 1943)

As far from Beach Picnic as you can get is this Merrie Melodies outing with Bugs Bunny.

Two castaways (voiced by story artists Michael Maltese and Tedd Pierce) are stranded at sea, floating on a raft, and starving.  They drift onto the shore of a small island with one inhabitant: Bugs Bunny.

The two men then spend the remainder of the cartoon attempting to eat Bugs, and the Bunny uses his smart-aleck wit to get the best of them continually.

Directed by animation icon Chuck Jones (billed here as Charles M. Jones), Wackiki Rabbit features his trademark, perfectly timed comedy (Bugs speaks as an island native in what seems like a long speech but translates to: "What's up, Doc?").  There's also that classic, cannibalistic cartoon gag where characters are so ravenous they begin to imagine each other as food.

Wackiki Rabbit also features beautifully stylized backgrounds by layout and background artists John McGrew, Gene Fleury and Bernyce Polifka which have a Polynesian and breezy summer flair.

 Beach Peach (Famous Studios, 1950)

"Oh, Popeye!  The beach just sands me!" says Olive Oyl at the start of this Popeye cartoon, where the two love birds embark on a day at the beach.  All is serene until the lifeguard (who sounds like Bluto but is blonde and a little more fit than Popeye's usual nemesis) spends the remainder of the cartoon attempting to steal Olive away from Popeye.

Is there the standard finale with Popeye downing his spinach and getting the best of the lifeguard?  There sure is, and here the sailor man even turns himself into a torpedo to do in his enemy.

Some solid gags follow, like Popeye tripping into setting up his place on the sand or a lifeguard having so little to do that he's drinking beer and watching TV.  Beach Peach may be a traditional Popeye outing, but it manages a few nice, satirical jabs at the perfect day at the beach.

 

Muscle Beach Tom (MGM, 1956)

 

In glorious, widescreen Cinemascope comes this Tom & Jerry short, where Tom attempts to impress his girlfriend by taking her to the beach.  However, when he disrupts Jerry's day, the expected fight between the two ensues.

Additionally, one of the weightlifting cats on the muscle beach gets into it with Tom.  There's the usual cartoon violence that follows, but also a good amount of clever sight gags.  The opening shot of a non-stop array of cats attempting to lift weights in several ways is very well done.

The animation here is also fully realized as the gags play out in Muscle Beach Tom against some beautifully rendered beach backgrounds by the studio's masterful artist Robert Gentle.

 

Although these classic shorts may take place in the unrealistic world of cartoons, each has the same to say about how we all revel in the relaxation that comes with a day at the beach.  Let's soak it up while we still can before those Halloween costumes arrive in stores.

 

Happy August to all!

 

 My book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance is now available on Amazon!

Enjoy more of my articles and podcasts at my website, Words From Lyons

 

 

 

Inside Job: Remembering "Innerspace" 35 Years Later

 By Michael Lyons

Innerspace should have been a blockbuster.  Produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Joe (Gremlins) Dante, the film was high-concept, combining science fiction and comedy, starring one of film's most likable actors and a loveable comedian who was starting to dabble in movies.

Additionally, it was released at the height of the summer movie season, it felt like a summer-escapist movie, and it was the '80s, the golden age of summer movies.  But, opening on July 1, 1987, just in time for the big Independence Day weekend, Innerspace came in at number three, behind the comic adaptation of the classic TV series Dragnet, the Stanley Kubrick Vietnam War drama Full Metal Jacket and just ahead of a re-issue of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

There have been a lot of "Monday morning quarterbacks" reviewing what happened to Innerspace. Some felt that the marketing for the film just didn't do it justice.  Trailers and commercials sold the film as a wacky, slapstick comedy, and posters positioned it more as a wondrous fantasy (a picture of a thumb and forefinger, with a miniature vehicle and tiny person, and the tag line: "An Adventure of Incredible Proportions").

Others felt that the script was somewhat "all over the place," with moments of wild comedy, comic-book-like villains, and an unnecessarily heavy plot.

The story of Innerspace seems pretty straightforward: a test pilot named Tuck Pendleton (Dennis Quaid) agrees to participate in an experiment where he and a spaceship-like vessel are to be miniaturized and injected into a rabbit to see what future applications this could have for doctors and medicine.

Of course, all goes wrong, and, instead, Tuck is accidentally injected into the body of an anxious, hypochondriacal grocery store employee, Jack Putter (Martin Short).  As they are quite literally stuck with each other, the two must find a way to get Tuck out of Jack before the film's villains, looking to steal the new technology, get to them. 

Innerspace has enough creativity to fill several movies.  Although not on screen together for most of the film, Quaid and Short have great chemistry, which helps create a strong bond between the two disparate characters.

Short is also at his most fearless, comedic best here and was the perfect choice for the worrisome Jack.  As Tuck devises a way to communicate with Jack from within his body, Jack's realization in a doctor's office that he may be possessed is still a hysterical highlight of the film.

Also, a highlight is the Oscar-winning special effects of Innerspace.  Bringing everything from the bloodstream to stomach acid to the heart to larger-than-life must not have been easy in the era of practical effects.  How this film did it is still a wonder to behold.

The supporting cast includes Meg Ryan as Tuck's love interest, Lydia, who adds sweetness and a romantic "love triangle" of sorts to the proceedings, and character actors Kevin McCarthy, Fiona Lewis, Robert Picardo, and Vernon Wells make for perfect, over-the-top villains.

It all comes together in a movie that's as enjoyable as movies get, and it's a shame that Innerspace was somewhat dismissed when it was released. Anniversaries of films always help to right old wrongs like this, and, as this summer marks thirty-five years since the release of Innerspace, it's the perfect time to, once again, go on the "fantastic voyage" this movie provides.

 When it was released on Blu-Ray in 2015, director Joe Dante, like so many, looked back fondly on his film when talking with the website Cinema Retro, saying that Innerspace was "probably the movie that I had made up to then that was the closest to my intention.  As a result, I was very happy with it.  When I look at it today, I still think it's a tremendous amount of fun."

Sources: cinemaretro.com 

My book Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance is now available on Amazon!

Visit my website Words From Lyons for more of my articles and podcasts.

 

Steamy Cinema: Hollywood's Heatwave

 By Michael Lyons

 

"The best thing about a heat wave is constantly having the illusion you're getting exercise." - Unknown

 

Remember a few months ago when you complained about how chilly it was.  Not anymore, right?  Some areas that usually get snow for Memorial Day are sweltering.

While movies about cooler climates might seem like a great antidote, it could be a fun time to revel in the whole "misery loves company" mind frame and take a look back at just some of the many movies that have used heat waves at their backdrops (and a number of them take place in New York).

Here are some movies that have turned up the heat:

 

Rear Window (1954)

Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece.  Jimmy Stewart is a photojournalist recovering from a broken leg and confined to his apartment in Greenwich Village in New York City during a summer heatwave.

With nothing to do but stare out his window and watch the neighbors through their windows, he begins to believe that his neighbor may have murdered their wife.

Co-starring Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr, and the fantastic courtyard movie set, Hitchcock makes another character in the film.  

Rear Window is not just one of the director's best and one of the best thrillers ever; it's a great "snapshot in time" of life in major cities before air conditioning was so common in summer (anyone for a nice snooze on their fire escapes?).

 

The Long, Hot Summer (1958)

The title says it all.  Based on stories from William Faulkner, this tale of Mississippi in the summer provides the backdrop for the tumultuous relationships of the Varner family.  A fantastic cast, including Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Orson Welles, and Angela Lansbury, perfectly directed by Martin Ritt, easily makes this pure Hollywood gold.

In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Another iconic Hollywood classic uses a sweltering summer southern heat wave as a backdrop and metaphor.  Sidney Poitier is Virgil Tibbs, a police detective from Philadelphia who winds up investigating a murder in a small Mississippi town, clashing with the local police chief, played by Rod Stieger.  The two leads are incredible as they move from clashing adversaries to understanding allies. Throughout it all, director Norman Jewison's film is still relevant today.  

The Odd Couple (1968)

Alright, so maybe it's only the first act of the movie that takes place during a heat wave, but after that, you get the brilliant Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon as Felix and Oscar in this classic adaptation of Neil Simon's play about a slob and a neat freak, forced to live together after their divorces.

The opening heat wave scenes are hysterical, as Oscar has his poker buddies over for the weekly game when his air conditioner is broken.  Neil Simon's comedy gold follows: "Why don't we chip in three dollars a piece and buy another window?,” says one of the poker buddies. “How can you breathe in here?!"  And the rest of the film features summer in Manhattan as a backdrop.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Al Pacino is brilliant as a jittery bank robber who attempts to knock over the First Brooklyn Savings Bank on a sweltering summer day.  With outstanding supporting performances from John Cazale, James Broderick, Chris Sarandon, and Charles Durning, director Sidney Lumet has made a film that is tense, dramatic, funny, and almost documentary-like (particularly the feel of city summer heat).  What's most incredible is that it's based on a true story, and the "Attica!" scene is still one of the golden moments of 70s filmmaking.

Body Heat (1981)

Writer and director Lawrence Kasdan's brilliant thriller turns up the heat in many ways.  A throwback to Hollywood's golden age of noir thrillers, the film tells the story of a slick attorney (William Hurt) who gets involved with a wealthy businessman's wife (Kathleen Turner).

With its South Florida setting, there's plenty of steaminess here.  The two lead stars are great, and the conclusion is still a marvel of the "twist ending." 

 

Do the Right Thing (1989)

It's incredible how both of-it's-time and prescient this thirty-three-year-old film is.  Spike Lee's masterpiece is about one day, on one block in Brooklyn, during a heat wave, during which racial tensions explode as the temperature rises.

This rare film delivers on so many emotional levels and becomes more of a revelation each time one watches it.

 

Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

Bruce Willis' third outing as rogue police officer John McClane, trying to stop a mad bomber (Jeremy Irons) from destroying Manhattan and bringing along a reluctant citizen (a hilarious and sharp Samuel L. Jackson) in the process.

And New York City, in all its heat wave stickiness, is again the backdrop, complete with the Lovin' Spoonfuls hit song "Summer in the City" playing over the opening credits.

 

 

And these are just a few of the many heat wave movies out there.  So, when the summer temperatures become unbearable, let the movies bear it for you by heading inside, turning on the air conditioner to its "Arctic" setting, and enjoying one or all of these Hollywood heat wave films.

Stay cool, everyone!

My book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance is now available on Amazon!

Enjoy more of my articles and podcasts at my website, Words From Lyons

 

 

 

 

Programmed for Patriotism: Classic Sitcoms Celebrate the Fourth of July

Left to right: Sofia Vergara and Ed O'Neil in

the "I Love a Parade" episode of Modern Family.

By Michael Lyons

How did our favorite TV shows spend their summer vacation?  Usually, we wouldn't have an answer to that, as summer is typically relegated to a line-up of reruns from the past season.

However, there have been several sitcoms through the years that not only provided a glimpse into summer for the show's popular characters but also let us see how they celebrated that most iconic summer holiday, The Fourth of July.

As we head into Independence Day weekend, here is a look back at just some of the popular shows that took time out for some patriotic programs set against The Fourth of July.

 

Happy Days, "Home Movies," 1981

In this episode from one of the last seasons of Happy Days (and a rare, two-part season episode at that!), Joanie (Erin Moran) makes a narrated home movie to send to her brother Richie, who is away in the army (Ron Howard had exited the show at this point).

Her movie is a look back at the summer of 1962 and all that's happened.  The "big news" is that she and Chachi (Scott Baio) have broken up.  This is where July 4th comes into play, as Joanie has to work at a beach concession stand on the Fourth, leaving Chachi alone to watch the fireworks, where he meets another girl...and the early '80s sitcom "drama" goes on from there.

While it may not be the most well-remembered of the Happy Days episodes, as is the case with many in the latter seasons, "Home Movies" revels in its July fourth and summer setting, filled with bar-b-ques, beaches, and plenty of innocence that reflects, not just the summer of '62 when the show takes place, but the overall, consistent tone of Happy Days itself.

 

Saved by the Bell, "Fourth of July," 1991

Speaking of innocence, there's this episode of Saturday morning's most popular sitcom, centering on the teens from Bayside High. Zach (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and his friends get summer jobs at the Malibu Sands Beach Club.

For July Fourth, there will be a Miss Liberty Beauty Pageant, and Zach will be one of the judges which brings up his plight.  His friends Kelly (Tiffani Amber-Thiessen), Jessie (Elizabeth Berkley), and Lisa (Lark Vorhies) will be competing against Stacey (Leah Remini), daughter of the Malibu Club's owner and manager, Mr. Carosi (the voice of Lion King's Pumbaa himself, Ernie Sabella). 

 

Like all episodes of this show, it ain't deep, but the 90s nostalgia is on full display, as are some heavy July 4th vibes, reflected mainly in the pageant.  I'd vote for Jessie and her fantastic cosplay of the Statue of Liberty and Lisa for her passionate speech about how July 4th means sales at all of the stores. 

 

The Wonder Years, "Independence Day," 1993

More of a "dramedy" than a sitcom, The Wonder Years always blended humor with emotion and drama, and this episode, set on July Fourth, is no different.

This served as the series finale and the very last show.  Kevin (Fred Savage) leaves home and works at a resort, where his long-time girlfriend Winnie (Danica McKellar) is working.  The two argue and break up when he sees Winnie kissing another guy.

After events lead to both of them being fired from the resort, they end up reconciling and heading back to their hometown, just in time for the Fourth of July parade.

It's here that the voice of adult Kevin, the narrator (Daniel Stern), reflects on how he realized just how important his family and friends are, during that last July Fourth in his hometown, before heading off to college.

In the final shot, as the sun fades, street lights blink on, fireworks fill the sky, and the narrator looks back on his childhood; The Wonder Years does what it always did so well, fill our hearts and minds with wonder.

 

Modern Family, "I Love a Parade," 2018

We've seen how hysterical and out of control so many holidays can be for the Pritchetts and the Dunphys, and the Fourth of July is no different.

Jay (Ed O'Neill) and Gloria (Sofia Vergara) are huge fans of Independence Day, which gets even better as Jay is selected as grand marshall for the town's Fourth of July parade.

Among the other stories running concurrently with this is a sub-plot about Phil (Ty Burell) training his son Luke (Nolan Gould) for the annual hot dog eating contest.

Does the parade, the contest, or anything else in the episode go as planned?  It's Modern Family, so of course, it doesn't, but, as always, a very sweet message emerges.

And through it all, there's plenty of July Fourth spirit. As Jay states in the episode, "It's the perfect holiday.  You get to cook outside, blow stuff up, and wear shorts.  Easter should be taking notes."

 

And whether you elect to do one, or all of these things this Fourth of July weekend, here's hoping that one or all of these episodes help you enjoy the holiday.

 

Wishing everyone a Safe and Happy Independence Day!

My book Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance is now available on Amazon!

Enjoy more of my articles and podcasts at Words From Lyons

 

 

 

 

 

On The Right Track: The 45th Anniversary of "Rollercoaster!"

 

By Michael Lyons 

"Somewhere in the crowd is a killer who can turn their smiles into screams." - Original movie poster for Rollercoaster

 

This tag line for Rollercoaster sums up the film, sets the stage for this thriller perfectly, and reflects the decade in which it was made.  Emerging from a period of disaster movies and into an era where summer movies would reign supreme, Rollercoaster was lost in the "Star Wars summer" of 1977 but has emerged in the forty-five years since its release as a highly entertaining film.  

In Rollercoaster, Timothy Bottoms stars as a mysterious unnamed man who is terrorizing amusement parks by planting explosive devices on the tracks of rollercoasters.  After detonating one in the film's shocking opener, the authorities begin an investigation.

This brings in safety inspector Harry Calder (George Segal), who the mysterious bomber begins communicating with.  Harry gets pulled into the investigation and caught between the FBI and the anonymous psychopath.

Rollercoaster unfurls, not in an action-packed manner, but instead like a tightly-wound thriller, effectively directed by James Goldstone.  The destruction of the roller coaster in the opening sequence is staged in a disquieting, gripping way that immediately pulls the audience into the film.

Later scenes in the film, including one where the bomber communicates with Calder via an earpiece and forces him to make his way through a litany of rides in an amusement park, and another moment near the end of the film, where a S.W.A.T. team attempts to disarm a bomb, unfurl with Hitchcock-like tension.

Adding to these sequences is that Rollercoaster filmed much of the film on location at amusement parks like Virginia's Kings Dominion (where Hanna-Barbera's costumed characters make several cameos) and California's Magic Mountain (the film's gripping July 4th climax).

Through it all, Segal gives an excellent, "everyman" performance, adding a dose of great, cynical humor and sparring with the film's authority figures (and Hollywood acting legends), such as his boss, Simon (Henry Fonda in an extended cameo) and FBI Agent Hoyt (Richard Widmark, as grizzled perfection).

Rollercoaster opened on June 10, 1977, and was released in "Sensurround."  This short-lived sound system from Universal Studios was introduced with 1974's Earthquake. With "Sensurround," large sound speakers were installed in theaters that would enhance the sound in certain scenes of the film through a variety of technical methods, creating louder sounds that the audience would "feel," as well as hear, and would surround the movie goer, as well.

During specific sequences in Rollercoaster involving, the rollercoasters featured in the film, the audience would get the sensation of riding the rollercoaster with the characters, thanks to the booming audio trickery of "Sensurround."

Creating an "experience" for moviegoers, coupled with the setting of amusement parks, Rollercoaster seems as if it would have been just what summer movie audiences wanted. But, in June of '77, Star Wars seemingly steamrolled over all other competition at the box office.

This, coupled with mixed to negative reviews from critics, led to a modest box-office success (and eventually Universal eventually got out of the "Sensurround" business).

It was showings on cable and home video in subsequent years that led to a following for Rollercoaster, particularly from film fans who are aficionados of this era of film.

If it has slipped off or has never been on your radar (particularly as a movie that themes perfectly for summer), celebrate the forty-fifth anniversary of Rollercoaster by pressing "play," then lower the lap bar, keep your arms inside the car at all times and enjoy the ride!

Enjoy more of my articles and podcasts at Words From Lyons !

My new book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance is now available on Amazon!