Leaves of Grass: Grade B

B

Leaves of Grass (2009)

Edward Norton, Keri Russell, Tim Blake Nelson, Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon. Writer-Director Tim Blake Nelson.

Edward Norton displays his remarkable talent by playing twin brothers, one a professor of philosophy at a Northern university, the other a pot-growing redneck in Oklahoma. The professor escaped his steamy southern hometown and his eccentric (if not crazy) brother and mother (Sarandon) years ago, and has made a name for himself, when he is tricked by a false report of his brother’s death into returning to “Daisyville” or whatever the town’s name was. But his brother is alive and wants the prof to show himself to the locals to provide an alibi while he, the pot-grower is in Tulsa dealing with a problematic drug lord (Dreyfuss). Needless to say, the plan does not go well and disaster ensues.

The story is not believable, and the characters unconvincing. For example, the redneck brother convinces the professor to suck on a bong, his first day there, and he agrees. Believable? Not to me. Likewise the prof agrees to the wacky impersonation scheme because, well, because I don’t know why. Then he falls in love, and who wouldn't, with an enigmatic teacher (Russell) because she quotes Walt Whitman. Then a random orthodontist suddenly turns sleuth, discovers the impersonation, and buys a gun to threaten the brothers, for reasons never made clear. Right: an orthodontist would do that. It’s just bad writing.

The dialog is stilted and unimaginative ( “I can’t believe I’m doing this”). There are some redeeming story virtues, such as having the two brothers use distinct vocabularies and grammatical constructions (and accents, too, of course). There are some really funny lines, though far too few, and all the performances are strong, despite the weak material.

Cinematography is traditional and unobtrusive. Music is twangy Okie tunes, presumably genuine, but they drove me up the wall, forcing emergency >>FF. Pacing is unreliable, with lots of sagging dead space, such as cars and trucks driving around (so the dreadful songs could play).

Despite these serious flaws, I recommend the movie just because Norton is so unbelievably good.

Smiley Face: Grade C

C
Smiley Face (2007)
Anna Faris, John Krasinski. Director Greg Araki

In this fluffy stoner comedy Faris eats a plate of “electric” cupcakes by mistake and is completely stoned when the movie opens. She remains stoned for the whole rest of the day. Never mind that marijuana dosage is not additive like that or that it would be pretty hard to stay high for a full day on any single dose. It’s a “I am so high” joke and you have to accept that premise.

Her agent reminds her of a big audition, which she will have to do stoned, and her pot dealer (who pontificates on Reagonomics) warns her to be at Venice beach by 3pm to pay the money she owes, “or else.” The audition is hilarious. While trying to bum a ride to Venice, she runs into Krasinski (“Jim” from The Office), who gets her involved in some adventures ranging from a trip to the dentist to acquiring a rare manuscript copy of the Communist Manifesto. There are some subtle political jokes there. But I enjoyed the parody of the Scary Movie series, (which was already a parody). Faris starred in those movies and here she makes good fun of herself, if you are alert to what’s going on. Instead of monsters and chain-saw killers, the “horrors” are the sounds of the dentist’s office and its wood-paneled waiting room, squalid offices, the Marxist professor’s suburban wife, a ride on a city bus, and so on. It's funny satire, helped a lot by Faris’ Scary-Movie-like mug shots and physical acting. The stoner jokes involve well-worn references to memory loss, munchies, present momentism, lack of motivation, and so on. There are a few funny lines, but most of it is pretty lame. Still, Faris’ self-parody keeps the ball rolling even though the story is ultimately pointless. There is no character or relationship development. Krasinski seems utterly lost.