Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti and writers for the website talk with the women and men making news in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities around the world. Thanks to Ian Herman for his wonderful piano introduction.
Late October marks not only the advent of Halloween, but also National Frankenstein Friday on October 28, celebrating the birth of Frankenstein and his creator Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. To honor this most iconic of monsters consider watching one of the following films.
Frankenstein (1931) The original that spawned it all. Directed by the late great James Whale (Hell’s Angels, The Invisible Man) and starring the legendary Boris Karloff in the title role, it was spectacularly successful at the box office as was its sequel Bride of Frankenstein. It was ranked 27 on Bravo’s 100 Scariest Movie Moments, and the Chicago Films Critics Association has called it the 14th Scariest Movie Ever Made. The American Film Institute would also name it the #87 greatest movie of all time. Not just greatest scary movie but greatest movie period.
Young Frankenstein (1974) Directed by Mel Brooks and starring the recently deceased, and much mourned Gene Wilder as the title character; a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Teri Garr, Peter Boyle, and Cloris Leachman all helped round out the cast as well. To help evoke the atmosphere of the early 30’s films, Brooks made the bold move of shooting the movie entirely in black and white. It generally heads the lists of all-time great comedies and on its 40th anniversary, Brooks named it his finest (though not funniest) film.
Monster Squad (1987) In this 80’s horror comedy written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker a group of kids seek to thwart the plans of the evil Count Dracula who leads a troupe of legendary monsters including the Wolf Man, the Mummy, and of course “Frankie.” The twist here is that Frankie becomes BFF’s with a little girl, before joining the good guys in the battle against Dracula. While not especially successful when it first opened, Monster Squad has since become an acknowledged cult classic among horror buffs of all ages.
May(2002) This psychological horror film, inspired by Mary Shelley’s concept, concerns a troubled young woman named May (Angela Bettis of Girl Interrupted) whose sole ‘friend’ is a doll named Suzy. Struggling to connect with people around her, May remembers her mother’s advice – “If you can’t find a friend, make one.” Of course to do that she’ll need parts. Lots and LOTS of parts. Bettis won the Award for Best Actress at the Catalonian International Film Festival and the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film. Moreover Bloody Disgusting ranked May #17 in their list of “The Top 20 Horror Films of the Decade.”
Frankenweenie (2012) This Black and White, 3-D stop motion, animated fantasy horror comedy film directed by Tim Burton was a remake of Burton’s 1984 short by the same name. Both a parody and homage to Mary Shelley’s classic, it’s voiced by Burton veterans Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, and Martin Landau. It was critically acclaimed as a welcome return to form for Burton with an 87% fresh rating on the Tomatometer, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
As we enter the final days of a presidential campaign that has been both historic and unusually ahem interesting we are more aware than ever of the vital need to engage in politics, (however distasteful it can sometimes be.) Here are some movies dedicated to examining how the sausage making of electing political leaders actually occurs.
The Best Man(1964) Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner (Planet of the Apes, Patton) and written by Gore Vidal was based on his own play of the same title. Starring Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Edie Adams, Margaret Leighton and Lee Tracy this drama details the sordid maneuverings behind the nomination of a presidential candidate. Tracy was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in what was to be his final film.
The Candidate (1972) This satirical comedy drama was directed by Michael Ritchie (The Bad News Bears, Fletch) and written by former Eugene McCarthy speechwriter Jeremy Larner. Political specialist Marvin Lucas (Peter Boyle) needs a Democratic candidate to oppose a popular Republican incumbent (Don Porter). Since no serious candidate will enter such an unwinnable race Lucas seeks out Bob McKay (Robert Redford) the son of a former Democratic governor who wants to use the campaign solely as bully pulpit to spread his idealistic platform. Things don’t go as planned. It was widely acclaimed for Redford’s performance and Larner’s script, and the latter won an Oscar.
Bob Roberts (1992) This satirical mockumentary was written and directed by Tim Robbins who also starred in the title role as a conservative Republican folk singer who becomes the challenger against a Democratic incumbent for one of Pennsylvania’s Senate seats. Shot through the perspective of Terry Manchester (stage star Brian Murray) who’s doing a documentary on Roberts’ campaign while a young reporter Bugs Raplin (Giancarlo Esposito) attempts to expose Roberts as a fraud. It currently has a 100% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Wag the Dog(1997) This hysterical black comedy produced and directed by Barry Levinson kicks off with allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of the President and an adorable firefly girl…less than two weeks before the election. Trouble shooter Conrad Bean (Robert DeNiro) is brought in to save the situation and he concocts an elaborate scheme to distract the public by creating a fake war with Albania. To that end he recruits legendary Hollywood producer Stanley Motts (Dustin Hoffman) and then things get very, VERY complicated. Besides Hoffman and DeNino we also get Anne Heche, William H. Macy, Denis Leary, and Woody Harrelson all at the top of their game as well. Small wonder it has an 85% rating at Rotten Tomatoes as well as Oscar nominations for Dustin Hoffman for Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Primary Colors (1998) Based on the novel of the same name, directed by Mike Nichols (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Silkwood) and starring John Travolta as a charismatic Southern governor trying to win the Democratic Party nomination for President. (Three guesses who this is based on.) Besides Travolta we also get winning turns by Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, and Adrian Lester. Bates was nominated by the Academy for Best Supporting Actress and screenwriter Elaine May (Ishtar, The Birdcage) also received a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
