The Grouchy Editor

Bob Dole, that cantankerous old coot from Kansas, made news during the 1996 presidential campaign when he attacked a relatively obscure British movie called Trainspotting.  According to Wikipedia, “U.S. Senator Bob Dole accused it of moral depravity and glorifying drug use … although he later admitted that he had not actually seen the film.”

Dole lost the 1996 election, but he made a good point.  I give Trainspotting an above-average grade because the movie is inventive, rollicking entertainment – but it does glorify heroin users.  My complaint (and Dole’s) is nothing new; critics carped in the 1960s about Butch and Sundance, and Bonnie and Clyde, for their alleged bad influence on youthful moviegoers. 

But whining about “sinful” cinema is a lost cause.  The truth of the matter is that if you put a clump of putrid dog vomit on the big screen, someone, somewhere, will spearhead a cult following for said dog vomit.  There is an audience for just about anything.  (Incidentally, I am not comparing Trainspotting to dog vomit.)

Danny Boyle’s gritty depiction of Scottish drug addicts does have tragic moments, but they are glossed over as Boyle moves on to other concerns:  a frantic pace, clever dialogue and – above all – a desire to amuse his audience.  As druggie Renton says in the film, “People think it’s [drug abuse] all about misery and desperation and death … but what they forget is the pleasure of it.  Otherwise we wouldn’t do it.”

Trainspotting is all about pleasing oneself.  For every dead baby scene, there is a hilarious bit about “the worst toilet in Scotland,” or the perils of pummeling a dog’s posterior with a pellet gun.  Bob Dole was correct:  the movie does glorify drug use. But it is also glorious fun.      Grade:  B

Director:  Danny Boyle  Cast:  Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, Kelly Macdonald, Peter Mullan, James Cosmo, Pauline Lynch, Shirley Henderson  Release:  1996

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Random scrawls on the wall (with a can of spray paint) about an American classic:

• Ron Howard made the best decision ever by an actor when he moved from in front of the camera to the back.  Howard was, frankly, a dreadful actor.  Young Ronnie Howard got by on TV’s The Andy Griffith Show because he was such a cute little kid.  Older Ron got by, again, on Happy Days because Richie Cunningham was a stiff, awkward young character played by a stiff, awkward young actor.  American Graffiti, in many ways a delightful showcase for actors, grinds to a screeching halt every time Howard’s character, Steve, is the focus.  Worst scene:  Near the end of the film, Steve glances at his wristwatch and says to Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), “Where are you going?  It’s awfully early in the morning.”  If that reads bad, wait until you hear Howard say it.

• Other than Howard, the actors shine in this film.  This is odd, because this is a George Lucas film, and the soft-spoken filmmaker is not considered an “actor’s director.”  Said Harrison Ford, who got his big break in Graffiti:  “George is not overly fond of the actual shooting part of filmmaking.”  Lucas was more at home in the editing room or creating special effects.  But in 1973 he paid attention to the characters in his movie and the result was magical.  I think American Graffiti is his best film, and yes, that includes the overblown Star Wars flicks.

• I have mixed feelings about the use of nonstop period music in the film.  Lucas’s decision to do this was so successful that it influenced scores of movies to come — especially those set in the ’50s or ’60s.  Thanks to this rock-and-roll overkill, there was a time when I never again wanted to hear Buddy Holly.  Or The Platters.  Or The Flamingos, et al.

• This excerpt is from a 2001 review of American Graffiti on a Web site called thedigitalfix:  “Maybe it’s because we’re British, or maybe it’s because the film has lost most of its charm over the years, but either way, American Graffiti isn’t as good as the praise that has been heaped on it.”

Well, maybe it’s because I’m American, and maybe it’s because I was once an anxiety-riddled, naïve teenager cruising the streets of a small American town, but the film has lost none of its charm for me.  Lucas has called his first hit movie “uniquely American,” and I suppose that’s true — but only to an extent.  It’s a universal story because all of us were teenagers, but it’s American because it does such a wonderful job depicting a specific place and a specific time.      Grade:  A

Director:  George Lucas  Cast:  Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, Wolfman Jack, Bo Hopkins, Harrison Ford  Release:  1973

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