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Alan Arkin

Dumbo – Celebrating Our Flaws

March 26, 2019 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Dumbo is the latest Disney animated classic to be remade as a live action film. The original, a 64-minute feature film from 1941, can be visually identified by most people, but I wonder how many have actually seen it in its brief entirety. Now the story comes back to life in an expanded adaptation under the direction of Tim Burton—a master in telling stories about outsiders. And outsiders abound in this new version.

Like the original, the plot revolves around a baby elephant with amazingly large ears that enable it to fly with the help of a feather. And as in the original, the baby’s mother is locked away as a “mad elephant” after protecting her child, leaving the baby alone in the world. Unlike the original, there are no talking animals in this retelling. No crows (which in the original were something of a black-face minstrel show) or Timothy Q. Mouse, Dumbo’s mentor.

Instead, the remake builds a human story around Dumbo. The story is set in 1919, right after the end of World War I. A run-down circus, presided over by Max Medici (Danny DeVito) is setting off on a new season. Two children, Milly and Joe Farrier (Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins) have lost their mother to the flu. When their father Holt (Collin Farrell) returns from the war, he has lost an arm. He can no longer do the riding and roping that was his act. He is relegated to caring for the animals, which brings him into contact with Dumbo. (Actually, the animal’s name is Jumbo Jr., but because of his freakish ears, people yell Dumbo instead of Jumbo.) When another trainer is cruel to Mrs. Jumbo, Dumbo’s mother, she attacks him and ends up (as in the original) locked away. Meanwhile, Milly and Joe take care of the baby and discover that his ears give him the ability to fly.

Already we can see that the film is about families struggling with brokenness. Mrs. Jumbo and Dumbo are separated. (The film includes its version of the sorrowful nighttime visit of Dumbo to his mother with the song “Baby Mine” from the original.) The Farrier family is without a mother, and Holt is without an arm. And the circus as a whole serves as a family, but one going through very hard economic times. Each version of family is in need of healing, acceptance, and a future.

When word of a flying elephant gets out, it attracts the attention of V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton) a slick promoter with arm decoration Collette Marchant (Eva Green) who swoops in to buy up the circus. He offers Max the vision of the big time, and the chance to take care of all his people—his family. He plans to bring Dumbo and the others to his new extravaganza park, Dreamland, where he will use the act to leverage new loans from banker J. Griffin Remington (Alan Arkin).

I found the vision of Dreamland interestingly similar to Disneyland, which seems like a small nip at the hand that feeds, given that Dreamland turns into a nightmare for everyone we care about in the film.

Getting back to the common Tim Burton theme of outsiders, each of the main characters fits such a category. Dumbo with his grotesque ears, Holt as a rider/roper with only one arm, Milly, a girl who wants to be a scientist, Joe, who loves the circus but is talentless, the whole range of strange circus performers, and Collette, a talented aerialist, who Vandevere treats as a toy. By making the physical or emotional flaws of each character so obvious, it ironically allows us to get beyond the surface to emotionally bond with each as they struggle for acceptance and search for happiness. That is one of the gifts that Burton brings to many of his films. He reminds us that humanity is not about perfection, but about the way all those flaws are what make us human.

I’ve been critical of Disney’s remaking animated classics as live action films. As with any endeavor, some will be better than others. My first reaction to the news that Dumbo was being remade was negative. After all, those animated classics were beloved because they told human stories in ways that touched us. However, Burton, screenwriter Ehren Kruger, and everyone else involved created a new depth to the story and all its emotional touch points. It becomes more than a story of separation and reunion. It is a story about the healing and enabling power of family. It is not about overcoming our flaws, but about making those flaws work for us and allowing us to soar.

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Alan Arkin, Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, Disney, Ehren Kruger, Eva Green, family entertainment, live-action, Michael Keaton, remake, Tim Burton

Going in Style – Senior Robin Hoods

August 1, 2017 by Jacob Sahms Leave a Comment

Theodore Melfi wrote St. Vincent (which starred Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy) and Hidden Figures (for which he received nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay). But this year, he tackled his oldest stars to date, as Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Alan Arkin headlined the cinematic adaptation of his screenplay Going in Style.

Think Grumpy Old Men meets Night at the Museum (the guards, not the talking animals).

Joe Harding (Caine) gets evicted when a loophole in his mortgage sends him hurtling toward homelessness, with his daughter and hilariously intelligent granddaughter (Joey King) in tow. His two best friends aren’t doing any better. Willie Davis (Freeman) needs a kidney immediately, but his insurance, health, and age are stacked against his finding a donor; Albert Garner (Arkin) has to take gigs teaching kids with no musical talent to make ends meet, and can’t seem to fully connect with the absolutely available grandmother of his worst student (Ann-Margaret).

But as the hits keep piling up in begrudgingly humorous style, and startlingly realistic blows, the three old timers begin to realize that there’s a chance they hadn’t consider before: they could steal the money they need. (It’s loosely planted in their minds when Caine’s Harding is inside a bank when it’s robbed and he has more of a clue on how to find the robbers than the police (like Matt Dillon) do.)

While the script might not always make sense – seriously, these three are going to rob a bank?- it has the panache to play like a more saccharine version (and somewhat.. aged) version of Hell or High Water. We can see the earmarks of a set of life lessons coming, how the men will find their purpose and reconnect with their families, but along the way, we’re laughing at the natural exchanges of these old actors hamming it up. Even Christopher Lloyd looks enthusiastic!

Warner Bros.’ special features on the Blu-ray/DVD/Digital HD combo pack include commentary with director Zach Braff and deleted scenes. 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Alan Arkin, Ann-Margret, Christopher Lloyd, Going in Style, Matt Dillon, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Zach Braff

Love the Coopers: Family (Dys)Function

February 9, 2016 by Jacob Sahms Leave a Comment

coopers2

Love the Coopers isn’t a great film but it has its moments. An ensemble tale revolving around Christmas and the breaking down of the parental relationship within the Cooper family, the film puts the pieces together in a way that provides a few laughs and some serious soul searching. The audience’s appreciation will be directly related to how much they value the various actors – and the morals they represent.

Central to the story are Sam and Charlotte (John Goodman and Diane Keaton) who have grown apart over time, and lack the responsibilities to their children that once held them together. Intent to stay together one last Christmas, they bicker and spar as their children work their way home for Christmas dinner.

Hank (Ed Helms) is going through a divorce of his own, watching his children try to negotiate their various issues in the midst of the divorce; Eleanor (Olivia Wilde) picks up a recent military recruit, Joe (Jake Lacy), and tries to pass him off as her boyfriend (while she’s secretly dating a married man). Charlotte’s sister, Emma (Marisa Tomei), doesn’t think she was ever loved and ends up in the back of a cop car with the closeted Officer Williams (Anthony Mackie); Aunt Fishy (Juliet Squibb) is mourning what she’s lost and trying to enjoy Christmas as best she can; Grandpa Bucky (Alan Arkin) still has love and wisdom to share.

coopers

None of this is groundbreaking, but I enjoyed it more than I expected. Sure, I’m a sucker for Christmas movies, and the closing twist was enough to bring it all together for me. Helms is engaging as the lovable loser; Wilde and Lacy had a chemistry I wouldn’t have expected. In the end, the reminder about family, hope, and not giving up was one I appreciated.

If you do enjoy it, you’ll appreciate the featurette about Rags the Dog, and the way the cast had “Fun on Set.” Whatever you decide, you’ll either Love (or hate) the Coopers. I’m not sure there’s any in between.

Filed Under: DVD, Film, Reviews Tagged With: Alan Arkin, Diane Keaton, Ed Helms, John Goodman, Olivia Wilde

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