For Sale: "Secondhand Lions"

How many times have you heard a trailer say of a movie, "Fun for the whole family"?  Typically, these are movies that are aimed at children and also contain adult humor for the parents.  However, these characteristics do not mean that these movies are meant for the entire family.  Secondhand Lions actually is a movie for the whole family.

Story: young introvert Walter (Haley Joel Osment) is dropped off with his two eccentric uncles (Robert Duvall and Michael Caine) for the summer while his irresponsible mother goes to "learn court reporting."  According to rumor, the two uncles, Hub and Garth, have millions hidden away from their forty-year disappearance (stolen from Al Capone, maybe?), and the mother wants Walter to get his uncles to like him so that they'll leave him all their money when they die.  Over the summer, he learns of their adventures in Africa, grows a garden, deals with pesky relatives, takes care of a lion, and grows up.

On one level, this is a coming-of-age tale for Walter, who learns to trust people and stand up to his mother instead of going along with whatever she does and living however she wants him to live.  He learns to have faith in the things that others might doubt--many stories float around to explain why the uncles are so rich, so is he going to believe the real story that Garth eventually tells him?  He also finds out that he has to do what's right for him, rather than doing what others prescribe for him but might not be the best.  There's a big difference between what's best for Walter and what's most convenient for his mother, and he has to find the willpower to stand up for himself, which is not easy.

Perhaps more importantly, though, this is a story about his two great-uncles, who grew old on the outside, but inside, their spirits are "as wild and restless" as they ever were.  Hub in particular, who spent many years fighting in wars, feels like he has outlived his usefulness just because his body's getting old.  He has much wisdom that he wants to share, but no one cares to hear what he has to say.  However, when the occasion presents itself, he shows that he is more than capable of laying a verbal AND physical smackdown on a group of rowdy teenage boys.  His statements embody how many people feel about growing old--their bodies are decaying rapidly, but inside, their souls haven't changed.  Even though many will point out that there is only one lion in the movie, an old lioness that the uncles buy, this movie is called Secondhand Lions.  Hub and Garth are also lions, metaphorically--once young and vigorous, now old gardeners, they still remember their adventurous youths and love the thrill of the hunt, which is what attracts them to somewhat dangerous enterprises.  Thus, the movie presents us with two different types of youth.  On one hand, we have a young boy physically growing up.  On the other, we have two old men who still feel young on the inside, yet also have much wisdom from their experiences.

The uncles and Walter draw each other out of their introverted existences.  At first, the uncles keep Walter around so that their relatives (Walt's mother isn't the only one after the fortune) will get tired of the attention Walter gets and leave.  Then, they grow to like his company.  When he arrives, Walter is daunted by the idea of spending a summer without a telephone or television with these two old men he's only just met.  He's also not too happy with the tobacco they feed him.  But, he later enjoys many of the things that his uncles do.  Walter loves the Africa stories that Garth tells him, which provide some fun, Indiana Jones-style action.  In an interesting twist, rather than seeing the stories as flashbacks, we see them as fantasies in Walter's mind, leading to one case where he revises a scene in his head after questioning what he's just heard and then getting the real story.  He also tries to unravel the mystery of the woman in a photograph that he finds in an old trunk.  Hub and Garth find that they have something to live for and feel like they have a purpose in their lives again.  They have to be responsible uncles to a kid that they've grown to care about.

There is a great deal of humor in this film as well: the uncles looooooove their shotguns, whether they're used for shooting fish, skeet-shooting, or terrorizing traveling salesmen.  The fantasies that Walter has about the Africa stories are fun, attaining the kind of epic adventure and sillyness that probably didn't happen, but which a kid would easily imagine.  And did you know that Purina makes food for lions? 

I really dig Michael Caine's Texan accent.  If you ever perceive him slipping, remember this: after living abroad for decades, he wouldn't have a pure Texan accent anymore, but one mingled with that of the "tourists and Hollywood folk" that he had a lot of contact with in Africa.  He and Duvall give great performances as old men who have spent their lives in exotic places and, and now that they've retired to the country, don't quite know what to do with themselves and only garden because one of them heard that "gardening is what retired people do."

This film was sadly overlooked when it came out in 2003, and I wish it hadn't been.  It doesn't talk down to anyone, has some great performances, and is a warm-hearted, but never pandering, experience for children.  It has themes that both children and adults can relate to.  If you're looking for a movie that your whole family really can enjoy, try this one.

Next up, The Pacific.  Boy, am I going to have a lot to say about that one.

Strangers in Good Company

Plot: Several elderly women are on a trip through the country when their bus breaks down.  They walk down the road to an old house on a hill, where they divy up food, prepare mattresses, make rescue signals, and talk about their lives.  And that's it.

What struck me initially about this film was how gentle and kind it was.  Too often in movies, the characters are mean-spirited and nasty to each other for no reason.  In some stories, characters need to be this way, but oftentimes, they are unpleasant for no plot purposes.  Here, the ladies are always kind to one another because they have no reason not to be.  It's a very pleasant watch and is a good antidote for movies that feature overly-annoying and spiteful characters.

Another stand-out is that the women are very calm about the situation.  Instead of hoarding food, yelling at each other, ruining attempts at rescue, or falling victim to any of the typical pitfalls involved in movies of this nature, they work together, which feels realistic.  They combine their food (and go foraging for berries and hunting for frogs when the food runs out), make smoke signals, create a net out of sticks and pantyhose, and spell out "HELP" in rocks.  They accept the situation without feeling bitter, scared or angry; it's just something that's happening to them right now.  Rather than being fearful, they show ingenuity, versatility, and even delight.

While awaiting rescue, they play cards, splash around in the water, have a dance-off, and talk about their pasts.  One woman talks about losing her son, but does so without anger, great sadness, or bitterness at the world.  Another fears death, but will accept it when it comes, and even gets rid of all of her medications at one point (that's perhaps the one thing they worry about--they have medications, which they can't find in nature, and have to remember to take them at the right times and with the right things).  Yet another talks of being a lesbian at a time when homosexuality had to be kept hidden, and the experience of being liberated.  As this script was mostly ad-libbed, all of these stories are true; all of the photographs interspersed thoughout the film are authentic.  This film presents these women at the end of their lives, looking back on what has happened and accepting and sharing it all.  Helping matters is that, with one exception, none of these ladies are professional actresses--this is the only film they made.  This, along with the ad-libbing, leads to very natural performances.  You feel like you're listening to your grandmother and her friends talk, or like you're watching a documentary of a group of seniors whose bus broke down and who just happened to have a camera handy.

Perhaps the only downside to this movie is its slow pacing and lack of action.  There are no fierce arguments that force reconicliation at the end, no action scenes, no mind-blowing plot twists.  In fact, it almost doesn't matter when the women are rescued at the end.  The point is not to see how these ladies get rescued, but rather to listen to them and see how they deal with and dealt with life in all its forms, whether it's at a nursing home or in the middle of nowhere (and is there a difference in how they live and act based on where they are?).  As a result, some viewers may find it a trying experience, as nothing earth-shattering happens to grab the audience's attention.  However, if you're in the right mood, the slowness and pleasantness will strike the right note.  It's almost like Barry Lyndon in that respect--make sure you're in the mood for something slow, or the pacing could become grating.  Otherwise, the experience is rewarding.

I'll leave it at that.  I suspect that most of my reviews will be longer than this.  Next time, I will review the 2003 film Secondhand Lions.  Until then, Wise Wolf is signing off...

First Post

So, since I could never figure out how WebCam and MovieMaker worked, I decided to write all of my reviews to put online instead.  Besides, speaking was never my strong point.

I'll review anything that I have a strong enough opinion about.  Since I generally don't keep up with current movies and television shows, reviews I do of movies and shows will be of older works.  I will try to review works that don't have many reviews, and will also try to focus on some things that other reviewers may not consider.

I hope you enjoy my blog and I'll get things started as soon as I decide what to review first.  I will take any recommendations.

Signing off...