Trucker

Michelle Monaghan has proven herself as a top actress with two recent films. In Made of Honor, opposite Patrick Dempsey, she demonstrated that she could do a romantic role with charm and ease. In Eagle Eye, with Shia LaBoeuf, she showed her skills in the thriller domain. In Trucker, Michelle is awesome when she's behind the wheel...and less impressive when she's playing mom.

Quite often actors get inspired by an idea, work on a script, and finance a film. For some reason, Michelle found the notion of playing a young female trucker worthy of her money. She financed a film that is only partially good.

Without makeup, and wearing jeans and frayed shirts, Michelle is perfect as the tough, no-nonsense rig driver, who is driven to get her truck to places on time, and only pauses to bed a few no-name young studs with whom she has no desire to bond. The entire lifestyle of the female trucker, including her modest house, visits to truck stops, and hours on the road, are extremely well done.

The film falters when the protagonist tries to play mom. No spoiler, as usual, but whoever penned the words between the mother and her eleven year old son has never had kids. The lines are so far off as to be absurd. The big question: Will Michelle as "mom" ever learn to be a good mother? Will she stop living the hard life and stop running from her past?

I'd recommend the film for the non-mom scenes. A great look at life for a pretty young driver who handles grit just fine. The confused, driven protagonist is a feminist at heart. Best to look to other films for the distant parent/needy child reconciliation theme. It just does not work here.

Running Mates

I've never been too impressed with Tom Selleck. Maybe it's been the roles he's played. As Magnum PI, Tom was not quite a superhero. He was just okay as an Australian in Quigley Down Under, as a ballplayer in Mr Baseball, as a writer in Her Alibi, and as a cowboy in a few westerns.

But Mr. Selleck excels in Running Mates. As the democratic front-runner for president, Selleck is perfect...he's believable, strong, principled, and charismatic. Laura Linney is even better as his campaign manager. Now add to the mix the likes of Teri Hatcher and Faye Dunaway, and you've got yourself a top-notch cast doing top-notch work.

No spoiler, but the main themes are: Will the presidential candidate sell out to big money and big business? Will Pryce (the candidate) stay true to his wife, after affairs with more than a few women still present in his life? Will the future be politics as usual or a new way of governing Washington?

This reviewer is not a great fan of "political" movies. But this film is a winner. It takes us into the world of a political climber and shows how he, and his support staff, shape image, policy, and publicity.

A- for an outstanding portrait of a politician. A bit too light in tone at times, and one scene with four women gossiping about bedding the candidate that needs deleting...otherwise, an excellent film.

Coyote

My favorite films are those that draw us into another reality. Coyote transports us to the American/Mexican border, where "coyotes", or organizers of illegal aliens crossing to the U.S., brazenly escort the desperate through the hot desert.

Coyote is the brainchild of Brian Petersen, who writes, directs, and plays the major role in the film. Brian plays Steve, a seemingly well-educated, decent fellow who can't get a job...and discovers that he can be a good samaritan by bringing illegals across the border in style: with water bottles, hats, respect, and a can-do attitude. He hugs the folks and bids them well as they enter the U.S. amid cactus and sagebrush.

With his best friend Jay, who is bi-lingual in Spanish, Steve seems to be a good guy doing a good deed for a good fee...until the bad Mexicans, the cartels, who control the desert crossings, get peeved that the two have moved in on their territory.

No spoiler, but suffice it to say that the film is a powerhouse. Will Steve and Jay continue to live the good life and fool themselves into thinking they're not really doing anything illegal? Will the cartels do them in? Will their girlfriends hang in there with them?

Whether the viewer is liberal or conservative re illegal immigration, the film presents the daunting, scary world of illegal crossers in graphic detail.

A stunning, powerful portrait of a world we can only imagine.

The American

George Clooney has done some fine work. He's a riot in the Coen Brothers' O Brother Where Art Thou. He's gripping in the romantic romp, Up in the Air. He's a hard hitter in action films such as Syriana, Ocean's Eleven, and most of all, The Peacemaker.

We need to keep this in mind as we view, or, I should say, suffer through, The American.

You could watch snails crawl on your driveway....or ants meander to a nest...or flowers grow... OR: You could watch The American. Few movies in this reviewer's memory have moved so slowly, been so insipid and shallow, and offered so little in the way of meaningful messages.

No spoiler, as usual. The film is vaguely about an assassin who must counter those who would end his sad career. There's a bit of gunfire here and there. Or better, misfire here and there. The whole film, I would suggest, is one big misfire.

Now add to this disaster a few scenes about guns, which, to most gun experts, are woefully erroneous. Also add shots of Italy's ugliest territory, the barren plains of the south. And throw in some stupid stares and even stupider lines. Now you've got The American.

Some contrarians might argue that the film strives to create a certain tone, a melancholy mood with stylistic moments. BUT: There is something wrong with a film that has no character development, no depth, no plot twists...in fact, no reason for existing on the screen.

One positive: The relatively unknown Violante Placido plays the assassin's love interest. Her pretty smiles sometimes brighten this dour landscape.

Grade of D- for a poorly constructed, mindless, boring, meaningless flick. However: Lots of fun viewing the film with my esteemed colleague, Valerie. With spouses, we enjoyed chewing this film up and spitting it out.

Mad Men 8-29

Not as tightly wound as last week, but still a solid one. Don did more smiling in this episode than all the previous combined. And it looked weird on him! Some people actually look better not smiling, I suppose. Anywho, I loved the flashback with Roger Sterling sporting slightly darker gray hair. Don's bold persistence in landing his job paralleled with the little squirt wood-pile relation of Roger's was an interesting twist.

Don's brewing (pun intended) alcohol consumption leading to work foul ups and a lost weekend add to his complex character. I was most intrigued when the waitress bimbo he cluelessly woke up next to, called him by his real name, Dick. In his stupor he must have given her that name. Suggests that one can never completely deny one's true identity, background, etc. He cannot shake that he's a Dick. (laughs here)

I am totally drawn in to Peggy's evolving character. As she goes deeper and deeper into male career territory, it makes this blog writer feel new appreciation for those women who broke through those boundaries, not without a LOT of irritation, anguish, frustration...

Two strange coincidences from this episode: In a phone conversation with a friend just hours before the show, I happened to reference Peyton Place (completely out of left field). Later, the show alluded to it! Wacko.

Daughter spent last weekend in the Hamptons (!) and met a man who had been creative director for BBDO, one of Madison Avenue's top 4 agencies during Mad Men era. A couple of days ago, I watched Face in the Crowd, the classic break-out film for Andy Griffin and Patricia Neal (will post later), and in it, BBDO is mentioned. In this episode of Mad Men, as in some previous ones, BBDO is again referenced.

Jersey Shore (TV)

Reality TV is fun! My daughter Sara dragged me kicking and screaming into this genre, but I am now grateful for her persistence. From American Idol to The Real World, programs that focus on so-called "real" life (hardly very real at times) are entrancing and often captivating.

Jersey Shore grabs you out of your own world and takes you into a wild, twenty-something whirlwind where the F-word is as common as morning cereal and extreme eastern accents abound. To enjoy this strange reality, you need to be fascinated by new lingo, foul mouths, and bizarre manners of communicating!

The eight or so kids of obvious Italian origin live together, much as in The Real World. They date each other, hate each other, love each other, and gossip about each other....how much better can TV get? You'll enjoy the funny nicknames: Mike Sorrentino calls himself "The Situation," because his six-pack abs are so-welll sculpted they are the essence of life itself! Jenni Farley is known as JWoww, because yes, you guessed it, her female anatomy is so large it's a wow...to guys, at least! Nicole Polizzi goes by "Snooki" because, well, who knows?

Gotta get into the eastern-Italian lingo to enjoy the humor. Example: In the Jersey Shore universe, you say "He hates on me" rather than "He hates me." And keep an eye out for funny gestures, so many new ones that mean F-you.....the finger is simply passe!

So turn on the tube, forget that there are ways of speaking without the F-word, and get into the fun! The show is becoming iconic, adding language and expressions to our culture, so you might find yourself getting a very needed, unexpected education!

Jersey