Cinebanter #93 - CYRUS
The mp3 of this show can be found here.In this episode, Michael and Tassoula duke it out as they review the indie hit CYRUS. In the Last Five®, Michael praises a recent documentary, while Tassoula celebrates the anniversary of a beloved film. Plus, the hosts respond to two Listener Last Fives® from the Emerald City.
The breakdown is as follows:
• 00:00 Intro
• 00:32 Discussion of CYRUS
• Break
• 19:13 To Sum It Up
• Break
• 19:47 The Last Five®
• Break
• 48:50 Listener Last Five (Seattle Edition: Gary B. and Norm G.)
• 1:02:04 Credits & Outtake
Michael's Last Five in this episode were: KIDS, FUNNY PEOPLE, ANIMATRIX, THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP and RESTREPO. Tassoula's Last Five were: BEYOND HATRED, BACK TO THE FUTURE, PLEASE GIVE, NO ONE DIES IN LILY DALE and TO SIR, WITH LOVE.
Labels: 2010, Cinebanter, Cyrus, Duplass, independent film, John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, MichaelVox Tassoula
posted by Cinebanter @ 12:05 AM
4 Comments:
The Millenium Trilogy comprises The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played With Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest in that order. It's essentially one story broken down into 3 parts and in my opinion works better through reading as the plot is dense and intricate, whereas the movies left me feeling dissatisfied.
I agree with Tassoula regarding Cyrus. The bulk of the humor came from the chemistry among the actors, so I was able to forgive a silly falling-down-on-the-wedding-presents gag or the like here and there.
After perusing Cyrus message boards, it's apparent Michael's not alone in his hatred for the film. Personally, I thought it was a fun, harmless movie, so it's been surprising to see how divisive this movie has been.
I think Michael is completely off the mark here. I don't like pulling the "when you have kids you'll understand" card, especially since I have no idea if Michael has kids, but the Molly-Cyrus relationship rang totally true to me. Creepy yes, but come on, Hollywood would have us believe so many creepier things. If this was a mother-daughter relationship (a la Gilmore Girls) we'd have no trouble accepting that a single mom raised a kid who is now her best friend. Oh yeah, and the idea that you push your kid out of the house at 18 is so recent and upper middle-class American that it's laughable to even use that as an argument. I loved the fact that this movie brings to the fore the weird Oedipal thing that is central to Western civilization in a subtle, just barely inappropriate way and people run screaming "Ew ew ew!" Of course, Molly would know and yet not want to face what she's done to Cyrus. Parents mess their kids up unintentionally all the time. When I heard that this was about a mother-son love triangle I thought it was going to get way worse (thinking uncomfortable mother -daughter scenes in "Olivier, Olivier"). This is so tame and believable, I'd go as far as saying that the fact everyone recognized their bad behavior actually proves they're generally well-adjusted.
@Andrea--Your Gilmore Girls idea is a good one. But if Rory went into the bathroom as Lorelei was showering, no one would feel creeped out. So the gender thing adds another layer to the discomfort. I agree that America wants their kids to leave the nest earlier than most other countries (Italy). I had no trouble, really, with the Oedipal thing. I recently saw MA MERE, which has a whole other level of inappropriateness going on. Tomei was simply too smart to have not seen what was going on. I don't think she felt bad about her parenting and therefore looked the other way.
I have a 2-year old daughter. I anticipate messing her up in some way before she's 20. I hope it isn't the same way Cyrus was messed up.
Thanks for writing.
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