104 in 2009 Week 13: Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead and Sliding Doors

This is a big week for mediocrity, with both movies scoring a 5.5. In addition, I was also exposed to Bye Bye Birdie, which I am not rating or counting due to the fact that I didn't finish it - but if I were to rate it, I would give it an "oh god, make it stop" out of 10.

Things to do in Denver When You’re Dead
Gary Fleder, 1995

It’s been several days, and I still can’t really figure out if I like this movie. The central romance is a joke, the made-up slang is kind of obtuse and irritating, and Andy Garcia’s final bit of growth as a character doesn’t seem related to anything he’s done earlier, but there are plenty of really funny parts and the first half especially crackles along at a good pace. The central operation upon which everything else turns is a terrific sequence as well. I guess I’ll call it even, then give an extra half of a point for Treat Williams and his excessive awesomeness.

5.5/10


Sliding Doors
Peter Howitt, 1998

This movie has been recommended to me several times by several different people over the last ten years. As such, I had fairly high expectations going in, despite the fact that it has taken me this long to get around to watching it. Unfortunately, those expectations weren’t really met. The concept is solid, and the way it plays out, structurally speaking, is interesting. The two alternate timelines crisscrossed and even occasionally intersected to a far greater degree than I expected, which held my interest throughout. The acting was a bit more hit and miss. John Hannah, who played the bartender in two of the best episodes of Carnivale, was very good, and Gwyneth Paltrow gave a strong and appealing enough performance to hold the film together. But then there’s Jeanne Tripplehorn. I’m tempted to refer to her character as one-dimensional, but that would imply she had a dimension at all. I can’t blame her entirely, though – it seems pretty clear that she wasn’t written to have any depth.

This is really the main problem with the movie. Having developed an interesting idea and structure, writer/director Howitt wound up fleshing it out with warmed-over romance stories and stock characters. For every moment I really appreciated, such as the death near the end that is indicated by an out-of-focus heart monitor in the background, sans beeping, there’s a peppy pop-music montage or other such nonsense. Howitt also seems to want to make damn sure that we always know his characters are British. On the off chance you manage to forget, they’ll throw a “shagging” into the conversation or, more often, talk about Monty Python, which is apparently the only cultural touchstone these people have in common.

Basically what I’m saying here is that it’s a mediocre movie, leaning toward bad, that’s presented in a cool and interesting way. I guess that makes it worth it, barely.

5.5/10

Progress: 25 (Par -1)