Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Auteur Watch - Penny Marshall

Fetch me the next auteur! Quickly, before the web browser cuts me off again. It's acting a little wonky today, as the Canadians say.
No, we already did Mimi Leder this year... oh, right! They just look similar, that's all. Yes, it's TV's Laverne up next and, like former hubby Meathead, her directorial efforts seemed to flower in the 80s, wilt in the 90s and... oh, TV work in the 2000s. What a comedown, but work is work, right?
And so, to pad this out a little further, and reiterate what I said earlier much more efficiently, the 80s probably were best for Penny, directorially speaking. Taking the lessons learned from Jumpin' Jack Flash... whatever those might be... she nabbed herself a better cameraman and went Big next. Already leery of success, she went the Oscar route... but with Robin Williams? Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time, and he reduced his usual fee for the Oscar opportunity. Awakenings is also notable because ... nah, too obscure. Okay, a long time ago, someone did the Kevin Bacon game on a web page, but with David Letterman as the target instead of Bacon, and a guy who was on Letterman's show early in the CBS years named Leonard Tepper is in the cast. And Tepper kept popping up over and over again! Also because of Home Alone 2, but that's neither here nor there.
Where was I? Oh yeah. Anyway, the trail runs a bit cold after A League of Their Own, both in terms of box office and Oscar fever. Not to say that The Preacher's Wife isn't a good movie. I just haven't watched it yet. Maybe it's the whole Whitney Houston curse or something.
And then... According to Jim? Oh, Penny. Is work that hard to come by? United States of Tara, maybe, just because Spielberg's tangentially involved, but please! Is Jim Belushi that worth it?

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