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 Double Jeopardy! Potpourri (Continued) Back to Part One Adam Jahnke - Main Page |
| Based
on the semi-autobiographical novel by Miles Franklin, My
Brilliant Career is the story of Sybylla (Judy Davis in
her film debut), a strong-willed young woman determined to find her
own path in life. But options for women in Australia at the turn of
the century are limited to say the least. Her family presses her to
accept any marriage proposal that comes along, particularly one from
the extremely desirable Harry (Sam Neill). Sybylla rejects that
idea, certain that she can take care of herself without resorting to
marriage. Sybylla's journey is an interesting one, taking her from poverty to wealth and back again. Equally interesting is the fact that Sybylla doesn't know exactly what she wants to do with her life apart from living it independently. She has dreams of a "brilliant career" in literature, music, the arts in some capacity or other but she doesn't discover her true talent until later on. Judy Davis is a great actress and the strength and character she brings to every role is on full display in her debut performance. Blue Underground has given My Brilliant Career the 2-disc treatment, presumably due to the plethora of audio options on disc one. Everything from the original mono on up to a DTS-ES 6.1 mix is offered. The mono track would have been more than enough as this is a quiet, low-budget movie anyway but if you love fiddling around with surround sound, you've certainly got plenty of opportunity to do so here. Most of the extras are found on disc two and while they aren't as plentiful as some Blue Underground releases, they are of consistently high quality. Miles Franklin's life is explored in a brief featurette before moving on to separate interviews with producer Margaret Fink and Gillian Armstrong. There's also a couple of minutes worth of footage from the film's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, apparently taken from Australian television, a poster and still gallery (somewhat skimpy by Blue Underground standards) and a DVD-ROM study guide. By far the most valuable extra on the set is Armstrong's commentary on disc one. It's full of valuable information, choice anecdotes, and comparisons between this and Armstrong's later hit, the thematically-similar Little Women. It's unfortunate that Judy Davis couldn't be coaxed into contributing at least an interview for the set. Her performance is so vital to the film's success that the disc can hardly be considered definitive without her presence. Blue Underground's presentation of My Brilliant Career proves that the company isn't just a "guilty pleasure" label, as it has dubbed itself in the past. They're capable of producing quality DVDs no matter what the film. My Brilliant Career is a must-see for fans of movies like Little Women and this disc does a fine job preserving it for future generations. |
| As
usual, building a story around a sketch character doesn't add up to
greatness. There are long, painful stretches here that go past
without a laugh, simply because the premise has been stretched too
thin. But Run Ronnie Run bears
a strong similarity to the flawed Kids in
the Hall feature, Brain Candy.
A lot of it isn't funny at all but the stuff that does work is
freakin' hilarious. Like the Kids in the
Hall, Bob and David are talented enough that it is
probably physically impossible for them to put together 90 minutes
worth of material that doesn't have something in it that's funny.
Run Ronnie Run has some
terrifically funny material and hands down the best celebrity cameos
of any movie in the past decade (including Jack Black, Jeff
Goldblum, and funniest of all, Mandy Patinkin, of all people). The movie was shelved for a long time and apparently both Bob and David have washed their hands of the whole thing. A troubled production would make for some fascinating behind-the-scenes documentaries and audio commentaries but because major studios only want to promote the rah-rah everything's super school of filmmaking, we never get to see anything like that. Sure enough, Run Ronnie Run boasts eight deleted or alternate versions of scenes (all of which are pretty funny) and a music video for the song The Greatest Love in History (which is clever but not as clever as the one in the movie itself) and that's about it apart from some New Line promotional material. I'm not surprised by the dearth of extra features, just disappointed. If you're a fan of Mr. Show, you should check out Run Ronnie Run at least once. It isn't great but it has its moments. It's not going to replace HBO's discs of the show itself in your rotation anytime soon. But a movie built around a sketch character could have been much, much worse. It could have been Superstar… or The Ladies Man… or A Night at the Roxbury… or It's Pat… need I go on? Adam Jahnke ajahnke@thedigitalbits.com |
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