Movie review - "Love and Friendship" (2016) ***1/2 (re watching)

 Whit Stillman is an idea adapter of Jane Austen. I'm not familiar with the novel but it's clear enough - Kate Beckinsale is a flirt with no money who wants to find a husband for herself and her daughter. Beckinsale plays the best character although there's a funny idiot aristocrat. Xavier Samuel suits this sort of story. The daughter is under cast. Chloe Svegniy feels underused as the best friend - it's good to see her but maybe she would've been better as the antaognist sister in law.

I like the use of titles. It skips emotion. This is my second time watching. It doesn't register for some reason. It's good though. I'm aware this is contradictory. 

Movie review - "Last Days of Disco" (1998) **** (rewatching)

 Love the style. The clothes. The music, The dialogue. The gay gags maybe have been overdone now. I have fondness for its weird continuity. Love the scene in the cab. The ending. How Matt Keesler takes over as leading man in the last third.

Movie review - "Damsels in Distress" (2012) *** (re-watching)

 I didn't like this as much as I once did - it lacks the autobiographical detail of Stillman's first three movies, not to mention focus. It doesn't have the same reason to exist - the others were about specific things: debutantes, Americans abroad, disco... not so much this. It's endearing, though - pleasant cast, some great Stillman riffs. Greta Gerwig and Adam Brody are particularly at home. More diversity in the cast for Stillman. Aubrey Plaza allowed to overact. Would've liked more stuff between the editor and Gerwig.

Movie review - "Metropolitan" (1990) ****

 You have to forgive it for its rawness, low budget and erratic acting but the cast are very likeable, in some cases outstanding (Chris Eigeman, plus Carolyn Farina's Audrey gives it real heart and soul). The real star is the script which is great - it's funny, with some stand out characters.

It also embraces universal themes - Tom the outsider (the red hair of the actor really helps sell this), clinging to his socialist beliefs, gradually enjoying being with the gang, still hung up on Serena. Audrey, good hearted, self conconscious, attracted to Tom even though she shouldn't because he's at least smart and has read books and has opinions - then watches him go after other people.

The female characters aren't as well defined as a the male ones - I think Stillman had very strong ideas of how the men should go (Taylor Nicols, Eigemann, red head, drunk guy) and thus had four women to match: Audrey and... then basically did three others who were variations (more sexually forthright). They are good, mind, and have strong scenes they just tend to blend into each other (one wants to be a singer and is an exhibitionist, another is hung up on Rick... actually I think two are hung up on Rick).

I loved the scene where they chatted to the older yuppy who was miserable - that gave this extra texture, as did glimpses of Tom Towsend's mother.

Book review - "The Last Days of Disco, With Cocktails at Petrossian Afterwards" by Whit Stillman (re-watching)

 Gave it another read as I'm on a Whit Stillman kick. Lots of fun. Sometimes waffles. Sticks close to the script with the odd detour eg Alice's aunt. I liked hearing about what happened to the characters after - Des running successful lounges, Jimmy's adventures in Europe.

Movie review - "Barcelona" (1994) ***1/2 (re-watching)

 The story of two Americans who date out of their league  - the leads are terrific just not as good looking as Tushka Bergen or Mira Sorvino (neither or them Spanish) or Hellena Schmiedor or Nuria Badi.

 It benefits from focusing on the central due but unfortunately female characters - strong in Stillman's other films - are weak here. Like none really have personality apart from being hung up on a charismatic Spanish journo. And it shouldn't be a matter of screen time - because Jack Gilpin and Thomas Gibson have terrific turns as an American consul and rival for Nichols respectively (I love how Gibson and Nichols bond over sales books).

It has lovely unique humour, comes at things from different direction, some great looking women and scenery, a budget well spent. There are violent touches too - someone tries to assassinate Eigemann, an American soldier is killed - which give it this extra layer.

TV review - "The Cosmopolitans" (2014) Ep 1 ***1/2

 The pilot and only episode made of Whit Stillman's series for Amazon, about American expats in Paris, as he was. It feels like a Whit Stillman movie that ends after 25 minutes but that's praise - there's lovely charm, banter, meeting new friends, going to parties, people with their hearts broken. Adam Brody works very well in Stillman world and a strong impression is made by Jordan Rountree as a gawkee deep voiced chap.

Movie review - "The Last Days of Disco" (1998) ****

I love this film. I know it's faults - the continuity seems all over the shop, some scenes randomly start and stop, characters sort of appear and then disappear, it takes a while to figure out how the characters know each other.

But it's still wonderful. I love the keenly observed depiction of the group dynamics - the social strata involved - the way the characters get to know each other, become friends, fall in and out of love.

Chloe Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale start off trying desperately to become part of the club then become royalty, kind of. Mackenzie Astin, who has a real knack for Stillman dialogue, uses his friend Chris Eigman to get into the club, loses his job... but eventually becomes attached to Van, the head bouncer. Beckinsale dates Astin then they break up. Matt Keeslar pines after Sevigny.

The dialogue is consistently unexpected and entertaining. The cast handle the dialogue well. Everyone is gorgeously shot. Why didn't Keeslar have a bigger career?

My favourite bits:
*Astin and Eigeman talking in the cab at the end
* Holly (Tara Subkoff) talking about love
*the editing office scenes
*Keeslar talking about disco
*Beckingsale and Eigeman's walk and talk at the end - actually all of this last walk and talk including meeting Burr Steers (Van)
*The Lady and the Tramp scene.

It's got a lovely sense of time passing.

Movie review - "Love and Friendship" (2016) ***1/2

Whit Stillman's movies were often described as modern day equivalents of Jane Austen tales, so he's an entirely appropriate person to be adapting Austen's little known Lady Susan. Extra fun for Stillman fans is the casting of Chlove Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale in roles that would have fitted into Last Days of Disco.

I'll be honest - sometimes I struggled to follow what people were saying, but it's crisp and bright and the handling has vigor. I enjoyed the cast and Stillman's irreverent treatment.

Movie review - "Damsels in Distress" (2012) ****

A welcome return to the movies by Whit Stillman who has been away far too long. He's come up with something with material as strong as anything he did in the 90s helped by a terrific concept - at a modern day college a group of college girls try to help out the depressed and suicidal by teaching them manners and how to tap dance. There's so many wonderful lines and moments, with Stillman's gift of being constantly unpredictable, and a top cast. Occasionally it gets a bit broad and gaggy e.g. people falling off balconies, Aubrey Plaza's performance (I normally love her, she just doesn't feel like she's playing the right tone here). And the big problem is the end - there isn't really one. Would it have hurt to have a bit of a story conclusion? His other three features had it. Frustrating, because I think that will hurt this at the box office which will make it harder to get up his next feature.

Movie review - "Barcelona" (1994) ***1/2

Charming Whit Stillman comedy which looks even better now than it did then. Taylor Nichols (what happened to him?) and Chris Eigman are terrific as the Americans living in Spain at the end of the Cold War. The women are stunning, the city looks beautiful, the humour doll and still fresh. The undercurrent of violence help too.

Book review – “Last Days of Disco” by Whit Stillman

I love the film so was eager to see what Whit Stillman came up with for his novelisation. Stillman’s movies are talky so his screenplays make marvelous reading – Metropolitan and Barcelona were both published (the scripts) but not Disco which presumably won’t be because of this book. 

It's written from the POV of Jimmy Steinway, which offers some useful insights but sometimes feels odd because he wasn’t really the main character of the film (he says interviews were done with the participants, which doesn’t seem right – maybe a couple of different POV accounts would have worked better). 

A lot of the time Stillman seems content to reproduce the script – watching the movie it sometimes felt continuity was odd - eg at the end “that’s why you took my passport” – this faults are not fixed up for the novel, which is frustrating. Some bits are added – a scene where the gang go to a festival, discussion of a Labor Day party that is referred to in the film, a bit of an epilogue to explain what happened to the characters in the subsequent 20 years. 

Most of it is just fleshed out screenplay, but since most of that was wonderful in the first place it doesn’t really matter. I wonder if this and the other two films are the only stories that Stillman has to tell. I hope not.