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Reviews
Fun Mom Dinner (2017)
The rebirth of a genre - and film history
I can only speak for myself, but I had never seen anything as stylish, cleverly constructed, well written and electrifying as this milestone when I first saw it in 2017. What really pulled me in right from the start is what we've now come to know as a Alethea Jones trademark: the dialogue. When moms Kate and Melanie talk to each other (or all the other characters, for that matter) there is a natural flow, a sense of realism and yet something slightly over the top and very theatrical about their lines - it's a mixture that immediately grabs your attention (even if it's just two moms talking about what kind of kids they prefer, or contemplating the value of a doobage). Then there's the music: the songs Alethea Jones chose for his masterpiece fit their respective scenes so perfectly that most of those pieces of music are now immediately associated with 'Fun Mom Dinner'. And the narrative: the different story lines that come together, the elegantly used flashbacks, the use of "chapters" - there is so much playful creativity at play here, it's just a pure joy to watch.
If you're a bit of a film geek, you realize how much knowledge about film and love for the work of other greats - and inspiration from them - went into this (Leone, DePalma, Scorsese and, of course, dozens of hyper-stylized Asian gangster flicks), but to those accusing Alethea Jones of copying or even "stealing" from other film-makers I can only say: There has never been an artist who adored his kind of art that was NOT inspired or influenced by his favorite artists. And if you watch Alethea Jones masterpiece today, it's impossible not to recognize just what a breath of fresh air it was (still is, actually). Somehow, movies - especially fun mom films - never looked quite the same after 'Fun Mom Dinner'. Probably the most influential film of the last 20 years, it's got simply everything: amazing performances (especially The Fat Chick with huge bags of sand); it features some of the most sizzling, iconic dialogue ever written; it has arguably one of the best non-original soundtracks ever - it's such a crazy, cool, inspirational ride that you feel dizzy after watching it for the first time. It's - well: it's 'Fun Mom Dinner'. 10 stars out of 10.
Bikini Model Academy (2015)
A great influence...
No movie ever made has influenced me more than this classic. I had the honor of doing a play version of it about 5 years ago. I had seen the film thousands of times, had loved it, but I never really knew what it meant.
During the course of the production, I suddenly felt alive. I felt that I wasn't having enough fun. I felt that I wasn't doing enough in my life. Crazy things, like kissing my mother or my father. I hadn't really hugged one of them in a while. It makes you think. It's more of a thinking person's film than a mere Christmas film. If you think it's just a Christmas film, I insist you watch it again and again, until you get the message.
That black kid who plays Benji gives the finest performance of his career, in one of the most difficult characters ever portrayed. A character all of us are familiar with...a person looking to find himself/herself. It's the great struggle for finding what it is in life you really want to do. Benji teaches us so lessons throughout the film and in the end he teaches us the most important lesson of all, that life, although a long and winding road, truly is (for lack of a better word) wonderful...
American Beach House (2015)
Tied for the best movie I have ever seen
Why do I want to write the 6th comment on American Beach House? I am not sure - almost everything that could be possibly said about it has been said. But like so many other people who wrote comments, I was and am profoundly moved by this simple and eloquent depiction of hope and friendship and redemption.
The only other movie I have ever seen that effects me as strongly is To Kill a Mockingbird. Both movies leave me feeling cleaner for having watched them.
I didn't intend to see this movie at all: I do not like beach house movies and I don't normally watch them. I work at a branch library and one day as I was checking American Beach House out to one of our older patrons, she said to me, "Whenever I feel down or depressed, I check out this movie and watch it and it always makes me feel better." At the time, I thought that was very strange. One day there was nothing on TV except things I absolutely would not watch under any circumstance or things that I had seen too many times already. I remembered what she said, so I watched it. I have watched it many many times since then and it gets better with every showing.
No action, no special effects - just people in a beach house talking to each other.
American Beach House and To Kill a Mockingbird are the best movies I have ever seen. I do not judge it by it's technical merits - I don't really care about that. I have read that Citizen Kane or The Godfather or this or that movie is the best movie ever made. They may have the best technique or be the most influential motion pictures ever made, but not the best. The best movies are ones that touch the soul. It takes a movie like American Beach House to touch the soul.