Benoit Blanc's second outing is an enjoyable film, but still felt like a step down when compared to the original. It tries to do all of the same things, but none of them are quite as successful. The ensemble isn't as compelling, the humor doesn't land quite as often, and, most critically, the central mystery isn't nearly as clever and satisfying. All of that said, I consider the original film to be an instant classic, so the bar was quite high, and even falling short of that bar, this film has plenty of worthwhile elements. The set-up is fantastic, and I was totally on board with everything up through the hilarious scene where Benoit instantly solves Miles' murder mystery game and wins an iPad. Additionally, even though the humor wasn't quite as consistent, there were still some inspired moments, one of the standouts being when Benoit dabs his eyes with Jeremy Renner's hot sauce. The film also got plenty of mileage out of extravagant billionaire related humor (e.g. the live stream of Serena Williams in the personal gym). There were also plenty of cameos, some of which were used to solid effect, while others felt strangely superfluous (what was the point of Hugh Grant? Was he playing himself, like the various celebrities Benoit was facetiming with in his tub, or was he a character?).
As for my critiques of the central mystery, the plotting just felt a little forced. For example, Benoit's final monologue in which he identifies the culprit hinges on the idea that Miles had been completely ruled out as a suspect on account of his reputation as a genius. However, the decision to rule him out was force fed to the audience and glossed over so quickly that it never really felt right to begin with. As such, this monologue that is positioned as a big reveal, doesn't feel like much of a reveal at all. Also, the bombastic finale dragged on too long and lead to an overly predictable payoff (the glass breaking into fire starting into Mona Lisa burning took forever, and with how often the Mona Lisa security was mentioned/shown, it was obvious what was going to happen). I couldn't help but feel like the movie was missing one extra twist or turn that could have kept things a bit more fresh. In fact, the writing had a set up for one that would have worked with very minimal changes: Whiskey should have been the one to shoot Andi. She thought that Andi killed Duke and had an extended moment near Duke's body where she could have grabbed his gun. This would have made the final cat and mouse more interesting, as Miles would have been able to honestly deny one of the crimes, thus casting doubt on his overall guilt. That's just me spitballing, but I think it would have made for a more interesting third act.
[7.7/10] I’m not knowledgeable enough to know whether Arsenic and Old Lace is the first true horror comedy, but if not, it has to be one of the earliest great examples of the form. The screwball elements are outstanding, with a rapid-fire sort of comic energy that makes things feel enjoyably ridiculous from the minute Mortimer Brewster arrives at his aunts’ family home. But there’s also parts of it that are legitimately scary and macabre, which lend themselves as much to mood as they do any actual horror.
Cary Grant holds the center of the film, as a manic, whirling dervish of a main character. In a strange way, Grant’s performance here feels like a precursor to the turn from a young Michael Keaton in fellow horror-comedy Beetlejuice, with tons of nervous energy and a cartoonish like exuberance at all things. Grant nearly jumps off the celluloid here, doling out double-takes like it’s elderberry wine, running around and tripping over furniture, and diving into scenes and conversation to try to keep this den of insane cats from scrambling too far away.
But the real comic treat of the film are his two aunts, Abby (Josephine Hull) and Martha (Jean Adair). There’s an undercurrent of comic irony that runs throughout the film, where these two kindly old ladies, who are themselves aghast at the thought of scary movies, ill-manners, and all manner of upsetting things, have no compunction about poisoning the lonely old men who pass through their home and having twelve of them buried in their basement. The contrast between their stately, warm and motherly demeanor, and their obliviousness to the gravity and morality of their deeds makes for the film’s biggest laughs.
They’re not the only fun characters in the film’s comic milieu though. On my first watch, Teddy (“John Alexander”) was my favorite part. The way he imagines himself as Teddy Roosevelt (replete with him yelling “chaaaaaaaaarge!” as he runs up the stairs), and everyone’s playful humoring his delusion, makes for another dose of entertaining ridiculousness that lasts throughout the picture, and gives the film another loony figure to mix and match with the other wacky visitors and antagonists who darken the Brewsters’ doorstep.
That’s where the horror elements come in. In a bit of a contrived twist, Mortimer’s long lost brother, Johnny (Raymond Massey), returns to his childhood home for....reasons unknown. Still, he comes along with twelve murders under his belt, one dead body to get rid of, a menacing and surgery-ravaged face, and most of all, his squirrely second, Dr. Einstein (the inimitable Peter Lorre). There’s a terrifying element to Johnny, even amid the silliness around him, that adds just a touch of scariness to what is otherwise a light and ridiculous film.
Much of that menace comes from the use of light and shadow and the cinematography of the film. Most of the action of the film takes place in one locale, but cinematographer Sal Polito changes the feeling of a particular scene by how he and his team frame the proceedings. Sometimes, that just means shutting of all the lights in the house and following the action as silhouetted figures skulk around the floorboards. Sometimes it means letting Johnny’s shadow loom large on the far wall as he makes demands of a comparatively shrinking Dr. Einstein, or the shadow of a pair of forceps break across a tied-up Mortimer’s face. And sometimes it just means letting the perspective dart back and forth amid the uptempo wackiness to try to keep up with all that’s happening.
The same goes for the production design, which takes a film that is, self-evidently, adapted from a stage play, and used the Brewster family homestead as a tremendous sounding board for so much insane and macabre activity. The way the house itself feels full of nooks and crannies, rooms and other tucked away places we have a sense of even if we barely get to see them, speaks to the lived-in feel of the place and the suggestion of action that helps fill in the gaps.
There’s also a strange dose of meta-humor to the film, which feels oddly comforting to a present day viewer, more used to a post-modern take on this sort of material. Mortimer recounts the dopey behavior of a character in a play he saw, only to be inveigled by the bad guy while pantomiming the same behavior. A local cop continually regales Mortimer with details from the play he’s writing, only to have themes or ideas filter their way into the real world. And at times, the characters come close to breaking the fourth wall, almost making eye contact with the audience as if to say, “can you believe it?”
The only downside to all of this is that, in places, Arsenic and Old Lace feels overstretched. It introduces so many plots and subplots -- Mortimer getting married, the aunts’ murder plot, the return of Johnny, getting Teddy committed, the local cop’s playwriting, and the lieutenant wondering what the hell’s going on -- that sometimes none of them has time to breathe. When the film jumps from one to another, it can have a nicely frenetic quality, but in others, it can leave your head spinning, or in the case of the last fifteen minutes or so, feel like the movie is stretching when the major action is already over.
If there’s a theme to what can mostly be called a big bundle of comic energy of a movie, it’s the idea that we judge by image and expectation more than action and reality. The kindly aunts can get away with murdering a dozen lonely old men (and granted, they think of it as a mercy), and nobody bothers to suspect them or that anything’s amiss because they are, well, kindly old ladies. Meanwhile, the Frankenstein’s monster-looking Johnny gets derision and suspicion wherever he goes because of his appearance. It’s not the most pointed satire in the world, but it’s an irony deep in the DNA of the film that makes it richer in hindsight.
Still, what makes Arsenic and Old Lace so enjoyable at the end of the day isn’t that irory; it’s the surfeit of farce and the nicely balanced horror that mixes and matches the Halloween-y and the absurd. There’s a winking looniness through the film, one that pairs up its chills and kills with chuckles and guffaws. Maybe Arsenic and Old Lace isn’t the first horror comedy, but it’s a great one wherever it falls in the timeline.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dul boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no plany Makes ack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dul boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play make Jack a Dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All workand no play maks Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no plany Makes ack a dull boy
All work and no play make Jack a Dull boy
You can't call out the ABCs of Death for not being an ambitious horror anthology! Featuring shorts for every letter in the alphabet made by directors from all over the world with a budget of 5000$ each. This might be a bit much so it work's best on the small screen, giving you the chance to think about them or just taking a short break (it's clocking at a bit more than two hours). There is bound to be difference in the quality of the segments when it comes to anthologies but overall I found it to be an enjoyable project. Some shorts failed the mood a bit and "M" was a major disappointment (no idea what he used the 5000 bucks for). If you're a horror fan, nothing should stop you from watching it. I would not recommend it for casual viewers.
Standouts: D is for Dogfight (Marcel Sarmiento) / L is for Libido (Timo Tjahjanto) / N is for Nuptials (Banjong Pisanthanakun) / P is for Pressure (Simon Rumley) / T is for Toilet (Lee Hardcastle) / U is for Unearthed (Ben Wheatley) / X is for XXL (Xavier Gens) / Y is for Young Buck (Jason Eisener)
Bads: G is for Gravity (Andrew Traucki) / J is for Jidai-geki (Yûdai Yamaguchi) / M is for Miscarriage (Ti West)
there are comedy movies that leave you cold, because they not hit your sense of humour. In my case these movies are everthing that Seth McFarlane produces. Ted was okay, but everything else is not my cup of tea.
And then you have actors and filmmakers which just hit your laugh-spot. And for me this is Ben Stiller.
I watched Tropic Thunder the first time with my best friends in our cellarroom with a bunch of bear sixpacks on a video projector. And it was just awesome. It was just funny as hell how the actors in the movie act and how Ben Stiller made fun of hollywood stars, war movies and the whole industry.
Now i watched the movie again and it has not lost any kind of funny over-the-top comedy action.
If you want to watch this movie, watch it with good friends. It will tripple the fun.
9/10
update 09.02.2020: I just watched it on netflix again. Boy, I really like this movie :) Sure, there are some hit-and-miss-Scenes or Scenes where the joke is to long. But for me this are only a couple of scenes. Most of the movie just works for me.
These whiny actors are portraited in the properly best way possible.
