love, marilyn

Love, Marilyn, directed by Liz Garbus and currently in rotation on HBO,  tries to be something new and different from the many other documentary observations of the iconic star. It tries artfully to include some of Marilyn Monroe's "recently discovered" writings — poems and excerpts, including recipes and shopping lists from Marilyn's notebooks — read dramatically by an assortment of actors. This tactic is very hit or miss. In a few cases the actors actually add something to the proceedings, most notably Uma Thurman, Marisa Tomei, and Elizabeth Banks. But in some cases they seem downright ill-chosen (Evan Rachel Wood, Adrien Brody), or the excerpt being read seems a frivolous choice at best. For anyone who is familiar with Marilyn's life and some of her writings it also becomes clear through Love, Marilyn that many of the poems are read either out of context or out of chronological order, which is in opposition to the orderly time-frame of the star's life that the film otherwise follows, albeit in kaleidoscopic fashion.

Marilyn Monroe, photographed by Milton Greene

There are the usual fabulous photos of Hollywood's most photogenic star, but the most entertaining person in Love, Marilyn is Marilyn's friend Amy Greene (the widow of Milton Greene, the photographer and Marilyn's former business partner), who is a straight-shooter. One wishes that she and Marilyn had been able to keep in closer touch in Marilyn's final years, as the actress could have benefited from someone who had no hesitation in telling it like it is.

Is there anything new in Love, Marilyn? Not really. Not as long as the only way to approach her life continues to be a step-by-step recitation of her struggle for fame and ultimate tragic demise. It's time for a new approach.

robert downey jr. and only you

Robert Downey Jr. has become associated with some iconic characters, real and fictional: Charlie Chaplin, Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man. But there was a period in his career (late '80s, mid '90s) when he was also doing fresh-faced romantic comedies, like The Pick-up Artist, Chances Are, Heart and Souls, and Only You.

Only You is mostly Marisa Tomei's film — until Downey shows up about halfway through and steals her heart and the audience's attention. Downey, even then, was always a bit of a fractious, acerbic presence on film. Undeniably attractive, he still couldn't play just a bland romantic lead. His character in the film, Peter Wright, must lie and trick his lady love into realizing that she has just met her, well, Mr. Right. This all takes place against the beautiful backdrops of Venice, Rome, and Positano, Italy.

La Bocca della Verità has played apart in many a movie romance

This beautiful white dress with cut-outs takes the film to another level

A very funny Bonnie Hunt and glammed-up Billy Zane both add to the proceedings as support staff for the romantic leads. Tomei has has never looked more doe-eyed. What also stands out about Only You is Marisa Tomei's fantastic wardrobe (designed by Milena Canonero) when she gets to Italy. She has three stand-out outfits, in red, white, and black that are as enchanting as the rest of the film. Between Marisa Tomei's gamine looks and flowing costumes and Robert Downey Jr.'s smart-alecky lover, Only You is one of the better romantic comedies out there.

parental guidance

It's easy to dismiss the latest effort from Billy Crystal, Parental Guidance, as just another shtick-filled effort from someone who is famous for, well shtick. And there are jokes as old as the Catskills to be found. But there is also something else going on. Parental Guidance is not just for the geezers. Crystal and Bette Midler, who plays his wife, although they are pretending to be at least a decade younger than their actual ages, may still fill some seats from the 70+ crowd, but the movie is a family comedy that has a little bit for every generation. Grandparents will relate to he ageism subplot, while possibly being as confused as Crystal's character at some of the pop references. Parents will laugh at the extreme version of helicopter parenting on display by Crystal and Midler's daughter, played by Marisa Tomei, and her husband, played by Tom Everettt Scott. Kids will love the three kids.

(Grand) parenting is tougher than you think

The main gist of the story follows Artie Decker (Crystal), a minor league baseball announcer who loves his job, but still dreams of announcing for the Giants. When Artie is fired because he is too "old school," his wife Diane seizes at the chance to get to know her grandchildren better. She is sick of being the "other grandparents" and agrees to babysit the kids for a week while their daughter Alice (Tomei) and her husband Phil (Scott) are away. Alice has tried to distance herself and her family from her parents — her issues seem to be mostly with dear old dad, who simply wasn't around much during her formative years. Alice and Phil live in a Jetsons-like house which greets everyone by name on entry and even makes them breakfast. Who's less involved with whose kids?

The hazards of attachment parenting

Parental Guidance is one of those movies that has a lot of jokes that hit or miss. Probably more miss than hit, but that isn't really the point. It's a chance to see some actors we like skirt (ever-so-lightly) over some issues we can connect to. Whether a viewer has kids or not, no one ever seems to hesitate to have an opinion over how someone else raises their kids — it's highly relatable. And the kids' antics are amusing, for the most part. We know their bad behavior will eventually improve after exposure to the older generation. More proof that Parental Guidance is geared towards the kids than their grannies: the humor is frequently of the potty variety.

Billy Crystal shockingly gives some of the best ba-dump-bump comeback lines to Better Midler. Marisa Tomei's close-ups display a beautiful actress who has freckles and gasp (!) a few wrinkles and hasn't succumbed to Hollywood's omnipresent facial reconstruction (here's hoping she stays strong.) Director Andy Fickman was smart enough to include a musical number for Midler (and Crystal), as well as a few other opportunities for her to break into song. Too bad they didn't push it even further in that direction. So many movies these days pile on the special effects or thrill us with their life-like computer animation. Sometimes it's a relief to see something with the kid that's a bit old school. It's not a rom-com, or a fantasy, or a "meaningful" drama. It's just a few laughs at some silly people in even sillier situations.