DVD Picks & Pans: Rx for Cabin Fever, II

Tom Miller

Okay, we're almost at the midpoint of winter--climatologically speaking anyway. Melatonin levels are scraping along the bottom, and cabin fever is epidemic. And Al Gore wants more of this, not less. Go figure. He probably owns vulnerable ocean-front property.

Unlike Big Al, I don't presume to be able to do anything about the weather, so I can't promise any warm fronts. But, I can recommend some diversions to help you get through the worst of winter. Today brings several new DVD releases for your amusement including the following potpourri of light comedy, drama, classic television, and an Audrey Hepburn classic. 

Take two with popcorn and hot chocolate and call me in the morning. 

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"Swing Vote," DVD-2009 ($29.99, Touchstone/Buena Vista Home Entertainment) Also available in Blu-ray.

I'm not sure what effect director/writer Joshua Michael Stern was plumbing for in this thoroughly implausible melodrama. Is "Swing Vote" a redemption drama? A political satire? A civics tutorial? A dysfunctional-family dramady? All of the above?

I'll report. You decide.

When the vote is counted on Election Day, the presidential contest comes down to the single vote of good-old boy Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner) of tiny Texaco, New Mexico.

Bud is trailer trash. A single father, he lives with his precocious 12-year-old daughter Molly (Madeline Carroll) in a trailer park.  Molly's Mom, a junkie and aspiring singer, lives in Albuquerque. Bud works, when he's not drunk, at a local egg-packing plant. He drives a truck, listens to country music, and follows NASCAR. 

This is Hollywood's idea of working class America. 

Anyway, Molly believes the stuff she hears at school about citizenship and voting and nags Bud about doing his civic duty. The cynical--or just plain lazy--Bud finally agrees to meet her at the voting place after work. But, he's laid off, gets drunk, and never shows up. Undaunted, Molly tries to vote for him, but her vote isn't registered because of a power failure. Yeah, right? 

As fate, and Hollywood, would have it, the election comes down to Bud's vote. According to New Mexico's election laws, Bud gets to recast his failed ballot in ten days.  At that point, the real fun begins.

The news media, in all its herd instincts, descends on Texaco and Bud's trailer. Both campaigns gear up to win Bud's vote. Perennial loser Bud enjoys all the attention, but idealistic Molly is dismayed by the circus-line atmosphere. 

From there, the dénouement--Epiphany!  Redemption!!--is utterly predictable. 

So, what is "Swing Vote"? Take your pick. 

Military.com Rating: ** ½  

(DVD extras include deleted and extended scenes, audio commentary by writer/director Joshua Michael Stern and writer Jason Richman, and a featurette: "Inside the Campaign: The Politics of Production.")

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"Brideshead Revisited," DVD-2009 ($29.99, Miramax/Buena Vista Home Entertainment) Also available in Blu-ray.

British novelist Evelyn Waugh's classic Brideshead Revisited--already the inspiration for  an acclaimed 1981miniseries--comes to the big screen in this lavish production.

Set in England in the pre-World War II era, Brideshead tells the story of young commoner Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) and his ambiguous relationship with the aristocratic--and jarringly dysfunctional--family of his Oxford mate Lord Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw).

The family is dominated by Sebastian's staunchly Catholic mother, Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson), who manages to drive Sebastian to alcoholism and his sister Julia (Hayley Atwell) to a loveless marriage.  Along the way, Charles falls for both siblings--although his relationship with Sebastian is perhaps more platonic than physical. 

Director Julian Jarrold ("Becoming Jane") focuses rather more on the romantic relationship between Charles and Julia than Waugh did, but it makes for a more entertaining, if less faithful, adaptation. Even so, Brideshead remains an intriguing drama of ideas--social class and the power of religion foremost among them--and character development.  

The film looks gorgeous and the cast is solid. Whishaw, as the tragic Sebastian, and Atwell, as his conflicted sister, are especially good. Make no mistake: This is not an action movie.  Ideas, regardless of how nuanced, animate this bittersweet tale. 

Military.com Rating: *** ½

(DVD extras include deleted scenes, filmmakers' audio commentary, and "The World of Brideshead" featurette.)

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"Breakfast at Tiffany's--Paramount Centennial Collection," DVD-2009 ($24.99, Paramount Home Entertainment)

(Caveat emptor: I love Audrey Hepburn. Have since at least 1967 when I first saw "Two for the Road." Grace Kelly was more luminous perhaps, but nobody exuded class like Ms. Hepburn?)

Based on a Truman Capote novella, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is beyond classic. It's iconic. 

Ms. Hepburn plays Holly Golightly, an enigmatic free-spirit perfectly in tune with her name. Holly shares a stylish New York apartment with her cat, Cat, sleeps late, dresses stylishly, hosts lively parties, and once a week, visits crime boss Sally Tomato in Sing Sing. 

If Holly is a free spirit, her new neighbor, writer Paul Varjak (George Peppard), whom Holly insists on calling "Fred", is downright boring. He hasn't written anything in years and is the kept "boy toy" of a wealthy socialite (Patricia Neal). Of course, he falls for Holly. Who wouldn't? But, Holly has secrets--including a stranger (Buddy Ebsen) who claims to be her husband. Anyway, she has her sights set higher than a struggling novelist. 

In the original, Capote left questions unanswered and issues unresolved, but director Blake Edwards and screenwriter George Axelrod offer viewers a different and more conventional--and perhaps more satisfying--denouement. 

Capote didn't like the movie. He was opposed to Axelrod's changes and the casting of Ms. Hepburn. He wanted Marilyn Monroe. So did Jack Kennedy.

Capote was wrong about Hepburn at least. Her pose in a little black dress with a cigarette holder became an iconic image.  She also received a Best Actress Oscar nomination--one of five the film garnered. It won two Oscars: Original Music Score (Henry Mancini) and Best Song ("Moon River by Mancini and Johnny Mercer).

The movie also boosted the career of fashion designer Givenchy who designed three of Hepburn's dresses. Ebsen's role as Doc Golightly revived his flagging career and led to his casting as the patriarch of "The Beverly Hillbillies." 

But, this is Hepburn's movie. And, she is irresistible. 

Military.com Rating: *****

(DVD extras include galleries, the original theatrical trailer, commentary by producer Richard Shepard, and several featurettes: "A Golightly Gathering," "Henry Mancini: More than Music," "Mr. Yunioshi: An Asian Perspective," "The Making of a Classic," "It's So Audrey: A Style Icon," "Behind the Gates: The Tour," and "Brilliance in a Blue Box.")

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"The Rockford Files, Season Six: The Final Season," DVD-2009, ($39.98, Universal Studios Home Entertainment)

This three-disc set includes every hour-long episode of the sixth and final season of the classic 1970's private eye drama. 

Emmy Award-winner James Garner plays Jim Rockford, an iconoclastic ex-con turned private investigator, in one of television's most influential crime dramas. The series was nominated for eighteen Emmy Awards and won five, including Outstanding Drama Series. TV Guide ranked the program 39th on its list of the "50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time."

What set Jim Rockford apart from the traditional private eye was his easy-going charm, his non-violent approach to detection (he kept his gun in a cookie jar in the kitchen), his lack of pretension (he lived in a dilapidated trailer near the beach), and the piddling cases that came his way (insurance scams, missing persons). 

Nevertheless, the show rode its quirky characters--in addition to Rockford, they included his father Rocky (Noah Beery, Jr.), a retired truck driver; Rockford's former cellmate at San Quentin Angel Martin (Stuart Margolin); and LAPD homicide detective and frequent nemesis Dennis Becker (Joe Santos)--and their engaging relationships to success. 

Season Six guest stars include Tom Selleck--himself a pretty fair TV private eye but somewhat less scruffy than Rockford--Larry Manetti, and Michael Des Barres. 

Military.com Rating: ***

(Bare bones DVD.)

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Military.com Picks & Pans Rating Scale

* Pan--Save your time
** Borderline Pick--Okay but only as a last resort
*** Pick--Worthwhile & enjoyable
**** Enthusiastic Pick--Excellent 
***** Not to Be Missed--A Classic

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Copyright 2009 by Tom Miller