ARTSETC.
A lack of originality in summer movie lineup
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by Mac VerStandig
Thursday, May 8, 2003
Author John Updike once quipped, “I would especially like to recourt the Muse of poetry, who ran off with the mailman four years ago, and drops me only a scribbled postcard from time to time.”
It is now somewhat obvious that the postman is having an affair; looking ahead to the films that will rock the summer of 2003, it is rather apparent that the Muse of cinema has, too, taken a liking to licking stamps.
The majority of this summer’s major films will be not original concepts or loose adaptations but continuations of material already relegated to your neighborhood video rental store.
The summer unofficially kicked off this past weekend with the much-hyped release of “X2,” the sequel to “X-Men.” And judging by the $85 million the film earned in its opening weekend in the United States alone, it appears as though audiences are once again ready to fork over their money for an entertaining escape from the summer sun.
“X2” won’t reign long, however. “The Matrix: Reloaded” will hit cinemas May 15. The much-anticipated follow-up to “The Matrix,” the film has already awed audiences with a trailer ripe with special effects.
“The Matrix: Reloaded” should be good for Hollywood, too, being that quality action films have been scarce of late and those that have surfaced on the radar have been almost altogether devoid of a cerebral component.
Before May draws to a close, Jim Carrey will tackle the title role in “Bruce Almighty.” The film has the potential to rival “Dogma” and “The Last Temptation of Christ” when it comes to enraging religious organizations as it pits Carrey in an essentially messianic role.
Saving mankind is an awfully tiring task; so much so, actually, that “Almighty” will be Carrey’s only film of the summer. This is significant because it means that “Dumb and Dumberer” will premiere June 13 sans either of the leads from its prequel, “Dumb and Dumber.” There’s no telling why Carrey and Jeff Daniels took a pass, but the completely idiotic nature of the production may have something to do with their decision.
With “2 Fast 2 Furious” also hitting the screen in early June, it may not be until June 20 that the second truly sizeable original production comes to the box office (“Almighty” being the first). “The Hulk,” a Marvel Comics project being released right around the time “X2” is expected to exit theaters, will bring the comic book saga of “The Incredible Hulk” to the silver screen. It’s still not exactly original material, but at least it isn’t another sequel.
Keeping with a theme of oversized characters, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore will bring their cleavage to a theater near you June 27 with “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.” The release date is set in the epicenter of the storm that is “The Hulk,” but the two films should attract radically different audiences but for a crossover of horny male teens who worship comic-book characters and scantily clad women on an equal plane.
Then again, the release of “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde,” which will kick off July, will do little to bring intellect back to the screen. Still, Reese Witherspoon played the naíve protagonist well in the first film, and the sequel looks to take on Washington, D.C. — possibly the only place in America more pretentious and arrogant than her original haunt of Harvard.
Little else in the summer lineup looks even remotely worthwhile. But if you liked the originals, you may be interested in the follow-ups, so look for “Bad Boys II,” “Jeepers Creepers II,” “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life,” “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” and “Freddy Vs. Jason,” a not-quite sequel that looks to combine the protagonists from “Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Friday the 13th.” In this critic’s opinion, it promises to be a horrible combination (pun very much intended).
There was a time, not too long ago, when sequels were rare pleasures; they sought to continue only America’s most loved sagas. Few ever lived up to the standards of the original, and some were just plain ridiculous (see the “Police Academy” series), but they were appreciated for offering a thread of commonality that could weave through Hollywood’s ever-evolving output and tie generations of moviegoers together.
Today, they are a sadly over-saturated norm of film, the unfortunate by-product of a lack of creativity.
With moviegoers paying upward of $7 per ticket, the time has come for Hollywood to invest in a 37-cent stamp and summon the postman back so as to reclaim the Muse of cinema.
But for now, remember to wear suntan lotion this summer and don’t hesitate to pay your neighborhood Blockbuster a visit if you find yourself craving a quality film.
