"Dumb and Dumber" review

By DONALD PORTER

Standard-Examiner staff  

 

The new Jim Carrey comedy “Dumb and Dumber” is another example of truth in advertising. It gets my vote for this year’s most pathetic, stultifyingly stupid and relentlessly moronic movie.

 

This isn’t a comedy that leaves you laughing – rather, it makes you wince.

 

The level of humor in “Dumb and Dumber” suits chug-a-lug night at the frat house, with umpteen scenes revolving around themes including – but not exclusive to – urination, defecation and nasal drainage.

 

To wit: Lloyd (Carrey), the dumb half of the “Dumb and Dumber” team of the movie’s title, slips a potent laxative into dumber-half Harry’s (Jeff Daniels) tea. Subsequently, Harry leaves for a date, and suffers a gastric attack upon arrival at the woman’s home.

 

Bad enough, yes, but “Dumb and Dumber” takes us where no mainstream movie comedy has ventured before: into the bathroom and onto the toilet with the intestinally challenged character, complete with facial grimacing and surround-sound effects.

 

Some movies aren’t afraid to dabble in bad taste. “Dumb and Dumber,” however, embraces bad taste like Roseanne holds fast to vulgarity: with a passion.

 

There seems no blow too low to strike at the audience, whether it be a gratuitous glimpse of Lauren Holly’s bare behind, a grade school prank performed with a cigarette lighter and flatulence, or an unwitting man swilling urine from a beer bottle.

 

Why Daniels became involved with this project is a good question; apparently the desire to feed one’s family knows no bounds. Carrey, on the other hand, has found great financial success with this debased form of comedy: “Ace Ventura” was a smash.

 

If you want an example of how low and completely unredeemable the popular cinema of our nation has become, you need look no further than “Dumb and Dumber.” Look for it to be a hit and, if so, heaven help us all.

 

Some scenes in “Dumb and Dumber” were filmed at Utah locations – including Ogden, Park City and Salt Lake City – earlier this year.

“The Sandlot” interviews, April 9, 1993

By DONALD PORTER
Standard-Examiner staff


Renna

SALT LAKE CITY -- Patrick Renna and Chauncey Leopardi, two youthful co-stars of "The Sandlot," are sitting in a suite at the Hilton Hotel, attempting to verbalize their feelings about acting in the movie. It's a nostalgic kiddie-baseball fantasy, very much in the vein of the vintage "Our Gang" series.

Renna, a husky 14-year-old, plays Ham, the team's slugger and chief trash-talker. Leopardi, 11, plays Squints, a bespectacled half-pint with a taste for older, buxom women.


"Hints on how to enjoy the Sundance United States Film Festival," Jan. 12, 1990

One of the illustrations for this piece by Cal Grondahl

By DONALD PORTER
Standard-Examiner

The people who run film festivals struggle with this question constantly: Is the festival for the general public or those in the business?

The suspicion on John Q. Public's part is that film festivals are for cineastes -- nose-in-the-air film buffs and glitter people. But that's not the case, at least in Utah. The 30,000 or so people who flock to the Sundance United States Film Festival in Park City every year are mostly regular folks looking for different film fare than that offered at their neighborhood malls.

So, in the interest of destroying the myth that film festivals are the exclusive domain of filmmakers, actors, producers, journalists and the rich, here's a thumbnail instruction manual on how to enjoy yourself at the Sundance United States Film Festival, which runs Jan. 19-28 in Park City.

Van Summerill, Oct. 2, 1987

Van Summerill, 1987

By DONALD PORTER
Standard-Examiner staff

Moviegoers can be divided into two groups: those who enjoy movies, and those who love movies. Then there's Van Summerill, whose regard for movies transcends even love. For him, it's a passion, an obsession.

Walk into the living room of Summerill's modest home, and the pictures on the walls give an early hint of this devotion. Hanging behind a love seat are movie posters and placards trumpeting various movie theaters like Radio City Music Hall. And if that isn't enough to tip you off, he's wearing a tan T-shirt with a blue Paramount Pictures logo stenciled on the front.

Still, even that isn't adequate preparation for what's downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs and to the right there's a concession stand, a restroom and more movie posters on the walls. And straight ahead, through a draped doorway, is a movie theater.

Casey Siemaszko, Oct. 9, 1987

By DONALD PORTER
Standard-Examiner staff

OGDEN -- Filmmakers must wonder if half the kids in America want to be in the movies. Before the casting calls for “Three O'Clock High" were over, about 3,200 actors had auditioned for the lead role.

Chicago-born actor Casey Siemaszko was one of the 3,200 who showed up for casting calls in Los Angeles, New York or Chicago – or who sent in a videotape (they came from 17 states) – hoping to win the part of high school journalism student Jerry Mitchell. Two and a half months later, in September 1986 – after a series of readings and screen tests – Siemaszko got the part. Four days later, he was in Ogden preparing for his first starring role in a motion picture.

"The first time I read for (the part) I had just finished 'Gardens of Stone,’” Siemaszko (pronounced Sham-OSH-koe) said during a lunch break at Ogden High School last November. "I was a soldier in that film and I had a buzz-cut and flat-top and I wore a white T-shirt. … I didn't feel like I looked right for the part.

Royal Dano, Aug. 21, 1987

Royal Dano

By DONALD PORTER
Standard-Examiner

OGDEN -- There sat Royal Dano, character actor extraordinaire, on the edge of his bed – in his boxer shorts, an ice bag on his knee.

"Sorry I can't get up," he said in that deep, rich voice that's become so familiar to moviegoers over the past four decades. "Got a bum knee."

Dano -- whose credits include "The Red Badge of Courage," "The Trouble with Harry," "Moby Dick," "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and "The Right Stuff" – had recently undergone arthroscopic knee surgery, stemming from an injury sustained during the filming of "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid" in 1971.

"I finally decided to take advantage of this directors' strike and have it done now," he explained, exposing the scar and explaining the procedure. "An actor's greatest fear is that the best role of his career will come along while he's unable to work. So elective surgery can be a dangerous thing."

Dano, one of the most recognizable character actors in the history of film, was in Ogden recently to attend the National Western Film Festival. Although he's known most for the vast number of westerns he's appeared in, Dano is a versatile actor who's at home in almost any role.

Ray Bradbury, March 18, 1988

Perhaps the greatest single day of fun in my entire journalism career was spending time with Ray Bradbury in Ogden in March 1988. My friend Mike Vause, a Weber State English professor, had invited the great author to speak to the National Undergraduate Literature Conference, and had, in turn, allowed me to interview Bradbury after his convocations lecture, ride along to have his photo taken at the Ott Planetarium, attend his lecture at a conference supper one evening and a reception for Bradbury.

Interviewing and chatting with him was a special thrill for me -- I was still in my twenties -- because reading Bradbury's novels and short stories and plays gave me my love of reading more than any other author. I just loved his work, and still do.

The night of the reception upstairs at WSU's student union building followed the day I had spent time with Bradbury. When I walked into the large room, he was surrounded by several members of the faculty, a local eye surgeon and a few others I didn't recognize. I walked by, about 15 feet away, and the author saw me, smiled, waved and said a loud "Hello!" For a geeked-out fan, it was magical and I'll never forget it. I spoke to him a little later on, too. What a great guy.

I met him again several years later -- I don't remember the year -- when Mike and Janis Vause brought Bradbury back to Ogden, if memory serves, for an Ogden School Foundation fundraiser. The Vauses were kind enough to invite me to a luncheon in Bradbury's honor.

Anyway, here's the result -- a feature story and an "Outtakes" movie column -- about Bradbury's first visit to Ogden in 1988.


By DONALD PORTER
Standard-Examiner staff
OGDEN -- Ray Bradbury is always in a hurry. No time to waste. When he walks, he walks fast -- his feet and legs slightly ahead of his shoulders and head.

Since he began writing at the age of 12 -- 55 years ago -- he has never slowed down. Or as he puts it: "I've lived at the top of my lungs since I was very young."

The author of "Fahrenheit 451," "The Martian Chronicles," "The Illustrated Man" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes" was in Ogden last week to attend the National

Undergraduate Literature Conference at Weber State College. And true to form, he hopscotched all over the campus, offering tales from his vast experience and advice born of his considerable wisdom.

The Paramount logo and Mt. Ben Lomond: facts and myths

April 24, 1987
"Outtakes" movie column
Donald Porter
Standard-Examiner

Recently, a local TV show attempted to discover whether the voice of God in "The Ten Commandments" was dubbed by a Utah man. It seems the story has been circulating in the state for years, yet no one has been able to provide any evidence to establish the myth as fact or fiction. The man in question is dead, and all that remains is hearsay.

Well, I love a good story -- especially when it concerns the movies. One I've heard repeatedly since I took over the movie beat at this newspaper concerns Ogden's connection to the Paramount Pictures trademark. People keep telling me that the logo -- a mountain peak circled by stars -- was patterned after Ben Lomond Peak.

These aren't exactly crackpots, mind you. People at the National Western Film Festival love to tell the story, and a lot of folks have traced Paramount's business history (rather inaccurately in most instances) in support of the Ben Lomond connection. Why, even Gedde Watanabe -- the Ogden native who's gone on to act in films -- said he heard the story from a crew member while starring in "Gung Ho" (a Paramount film).

Hollywood lost a giant in John Huston – Sept. 4. 1987

John Huston

It is remarkable to me that in the waning years of John Huston's life, as he was stricken with emphysema and other ailments, that he continued to make films --great films -- as if the process of continuing to direct motion pictures would keep him alive forever.

It's too bad the work wasn't enough to sustain him, because the motion picture industry lost a giant when, Huston died in his sleep last week. He was a hard-living man who had experienced a great deal of pain and heartache -- he was married five times -- along with his amazing success. He made films that were honest and entertaining, mostly, but he directed his share of bombs, too. He was an imposing figure, standing tall and equipped with a booming voice, and actors respected him because he respected them.

"Raising Arizona," April 1987

(Little did I know when I saw "Raising Arizona" what affection I would develop for the films of Joel and Ethan Coen over the coming decades. They are amazing talents. I don't much care for the writing in this review, but it is what it is -- and kind of fun for me to notice the talents of actors who went on to even greater prominence.)

April 10, 1987
By DONALD PORTER
Standard-Examiner staff
 
"Raising Arizona" is a very odd movie. But it's an extremely funny one, too, a quality that's directly related to its endearing weirdness.

A point also worth noting is that many of the laughs are snatched from the clutches of a decidedly somber topic: child kidnapping. It's all done with oodles of irreverence and a great deal of skill, though; so much so, that you rarely consider the darker side of the action. This is flat-out entertainment, and tromps on things American society holds dear, like the importance of the family unit and a system based on law and order.

Written, directed and produced by Joel and Ethan Coen ("Blood Simple"), "Raising Arizona" turns the world upside down and shakes it to see what comes loose.

H.I. (pronounced "Hi") McDonnough is a recidivist holdup man who used to knock-off convenience stores with unloaded guns. His wife, Ed (short for Edwina), is a former cop. H.I. first met her as he passed through the booking process at a county jail.

Kim Basinger, 1987 ("Nadine")

I junketed to San Francisco during the summer of 1987 to interview Kim Basinger, Jeff Bridges and Robert Benton for the action-comedy "Nadine." Here's the resulting story from the Basinger interview.

Aug. 7, 1987
By DONALD PORTER
Standard-Examiner staff
SAN FRANCISCO -- An occupational hazard of a career in journalism is that most reporters are called upon to complete extremely boring and mundane tasks on a regular basis.

Interviewing Kim Basinger, however, isn't one of them.

It's not that the actress happens to be astonishingly beautiful, although she is. Instead, it has more to do with her surprising candor and humorous approach to virtually every topic of conversation. When she's asked a question, she answers. And that, folks, is a rarity in the motion picture business.

Basinger was in San Francisco recently to promote her new film, "Nadine," which was directed by Robert Benton ("Kramer vs. Kramer," "Places in the Heart") and co-stars Jeff Bridges ("Jagged Edge"). "Nadine" is a departure for Basinger, since she's the undisputed star of the film. In past movies -- "The Natural," "Never Say Never Again," "The Man Who Loved Women," "9 1/2 Weeks" and "Blind Date" -- she played doormat roles that took a back seat to male leads.

Writer-director Robert Benton, 1987

In 1987, I flew to San Francisco to interview the principals on "Nadine," which, given its pedigree, was expected to be a big hit.  Writer-director Robert Benton had an amazing filmography writing screenplays for "Bonnie and Clyde," "What's Up, Doc?" and writing and directing "Bad Company," "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Places in the Heart," the last two of which earned lots of Oscar nominations and wins.

"Nadine" was a comedy starring Kim Basinger and Jeff Bridges, both of whom were there for interviews along with Benton. The director made more great ones afterward, including "Nobody's Fool" and "Twilight" (no, not the teen-vampire film).

"Nadine" didn't score much of a hit at the boxoffice, but the interviews turned out well, I thought.

Aug. 7, 1987
By DONALD PORTER
Standard-Examiner staff

SAN FRANCISCO - It's plain to see that Robert Benton is a nice guy. A really nice guy. He might have made a good priest, listening to people's problems and making them feel good about themselves.

A colleague suggested that Benton is probably too nice a guy to be working in the motion picture business, long known for its back-stabbing modus operandi. He may have been right, but thank heavens we have Benton to make movies for us -- religion has claimed enough of the good-hearted people in the world.

As filmmakers go, Benton is unique in his ability to tell basic truths about human relationships, and to do so without the gadgetry and pomposity other directors employ. He has written and directed -- among other films -- "Kramer vs. Kramer," "Places in the Heart" and his newest, "Nadine." Always, his characters are human, recognizable.

Joe Mantegna, March 1989

In March 1989, word came that an independent film would be filming at various Ogden locations over a few weeks. I’m not sure how it works now, but two decades ago, a guy like me – film critic for a small daily newspaper – would have to work the phones in an attempt to convince a publicist somewhere that they should let me on the set to interview one or more people associated with the production.

I was especially keen to get an interview for this film, “Wait Until Spring, Bandini” – based on the John Fante novel – since its male lead was Joe Mantegna, one of my favorite actors. I got the interview – actually, a two-parter – and the first time I sat down with him was near midnight in his trailer next to a little-used train trestle in West Ogden. He was gracious and funny and we spent a couple of hours talking and hanging around the set to watch that evening’s scene be filmed.
A couple of weeks later, I spent the morning on Ogden’s Historic 25th Street watching another scene, this one with Mantegna and Burt Young (“Rocky”). Mantegna had me sitting in the director’s chair next to his while the crew attempted to make a 70-degree day look like a mid-winter scene, including shoveling snow all over the street and sidewalks. It was a fun day, with lots of conversation about his long collaboration with playwright/filmmaker David Mamet, among other things.

Welcome to The Occasional Critic

For 11 years -- 1985-96 -- I was the film and TV writer/critic for the Standard-Examiner newspaper in Ogden, Utah. I wrote a LOT of movie reviews, columns and interviews/profiles of filmmakers during that time.

My children were too young at the time to 1) be interested in what Dad did for a living, so I've decided to risk 2) they still won't be interested. My plan is to collect some of what I did over the years, at random, so they can see what the old man did to put food on the table -- something precious few people are still able to do in daily journalism as it exists today.

Also, since I left journalism in 2008, I wrote a monthly movie review for The Ogden Independent for about a year -- an alternative newspaper founded and edited by my old pal Steve Conlin. I've dropped a few of those reviews in here, too.

Who knows, maybe I'll discover fairly quickly I'm not interested in reading these things either. For the time being, I'm committed to clogging up space on the 'Net.