Written by James M. Tate / 8/02/2013 / No comments / 2013 , alec baldwin , andrew dice clay , bobby cannavale , cate blanchett , peter sarsgaard , sally hawkins , woody allen
CATE BLANCHETT IN WOODY ALLEN'S BLUE JASMINE
![]() |
year: 2013 rating: *** |
So forty years later, Allen revamps the classic film based on a Tennessee Williams play, with Blanche Dubois now channeled by Cate Blanchett as Jasmine, who, as we begin, rambles to perfect strangers and has to live in a low-rent apartment with her sister (both were adopted), Ginger.
Sally Hawkins is the Kim Hunter earthy girl saddled with two Marlon Brando types: a surprisingly serious (and dramatically competent) Andrew Dice Clay as Augie, Sally’s unlucky husband in the backstory and Bobby Cannavale as her blunt boyfriend in the present time, where most of the story takes place.
The flashbacks center on a high-class Jasmine, married to Alec Baldwin’s Hal, a multi-millionaire who, as told in the present story, turned out to be a womanizing thief. In this now-reality Jasmine has no money: popping pills with endless martinis, she must “lower” herself to exist among common human beings.
![]() |
Dice Clay |
The best scenes have Jasmine trying to survive as a normal person, working menial jobs with the subliminal goal of finding a decent male companion. Although Allen provides a woman so oblivious, it’s difficult to tell if she’s someone to partially root for or completely pity. And a lot of the characters, including Sally and her swarthy companions, often seem like clichés, constantly repeating how much they do or don't have in the bank.
On a more grounded level is Peter Sarsgaard’s Dwight, the Karl Malden too-good-to-be-true nice guy, providing a beacon light for Jasmine but with a price… And that price is what BLUE JASMINE ultimately strives for…
With a performance more reminiscent of Gena Rowlands in A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE and/or Sally Kirkland in ANNA than the wonderfully overboard Vivian Leigh role, perhaps this could have made a much better underdog story than a class-based morality tale...
Or maybe Cate Blanchett’s character deserved more of an arc than a treadmill, and the "kindness of strangers" wouldn't have hurt.
![]() |
SLEEPER with Allen, Keaton & John Beck parodying A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE |
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
All Time Popular
-
Robyn Hilton enters into an eclectic exploitation comedy career in Wonder Women circa 1973 As mentioned a few posts ago, ROBYN HILTON, b...
-
year: 1978 cast: Allen Garfield, Leif Garrett, Kathleen Lloyd, Tony Alva, Pam Kenneally rating: ***1/2 Although promoted as a Leif Garr...
-
Mary-Louise Weller in NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE ANIMAL HOUSE, directed by John Landis and produced by Ivan Reitman, stars John Be...
-
Kari Michaelsen in Saturday the 14th year: 1982 In LOVE AT FIRST BITE, a popular comedy that took the vampire genre by satire, Richard ...
-
Robyn Hilton on STARSKY AND HUTCH Model/Actress ROBYN HILTON played Mel Brook's secretary in BLAZING SADDLES and turns up in an epis...
-
Cornelia Sharpe in BUSTING Year: 1974 Rating: **** Starring Elliott Gould and Robert Blake as determined vice cops BUSTING hookers, makin...
-
WILLIAM SMITH AS FALCONETTI ON RICH MAN POOR MAN The baddest of all TV bad guys… Matt Dillon’s character in BEAUTIFUL GIRLS calls Antho...
-
Kerri Green and John Candy in SUMMER RENTAL Year: 1985 John Candy, in his first leading role, plays a burnt-out air traffic controller ...
-
Kristine Debell as A.L. from MEATBALLS In MEATBALLS, actress KRISTINE DeBELL played a camp counselor in a classic movie that's lived ...
-
Susan Dey in Skyjacked YEAR: 1972 Some of the best elements of hijacking, plane crashing, ship sinking, building burning or any other di...
Featured Post
SIDNEY LUMET DIRECTS AL PACINO IN THE TRUE CRIME 'SERPICO'
Title: SERPICO Starring: Al Pacino Year: 1973 Rating: ***1/2 Between the two GODFATHER films that made Al Pacino not only a star but a livin...

No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.