SteveMartin Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's kind of impossible to choose just one scene I love from Carl Reiner's classic comedy, The Jerk, where a young Steve Martin is at the top of his game in one hilarious scene after another, each showcasing the comedian's pitch perfect humor and impeccable sense of timing. One scene always stood out to me for its ability to capture the thing I love most about the film and its leading actor -- the duet between Navin (Martin) and Marie (Bernadette Peters) to the tune of Tonight You Belong to Me.

Like the song, the relationship between man-child Navin and Marie is utterly sweet even though it's so short -- that is until Marie gets back together with Navin after his "successful" business venture (inventing the Opti-Grab). Martin and Peters have chemistry, no doubt attributable to their real-life relationship. The bond between the performers is evident throughout, turning up repeatedly in the glances and interactions between them.

This mixture of broad comedy and subtle romance is handled unusually well in the scene -- there's a perfect balance of sentimentality and humor, something we don't see often enough in comedies where gags tends to sublimate everything else and become redundant. The entire film is a smart exercise in simplicity despite the character being such a "jerk". This scene is just one of many where Martin's philosophical yet absurd approach is so refreshing and unexpected (and random, like the cornet solo). Even his questions ("You will? ... You don't? ... She did? ... She does?") are examples of Martin's ability to find that tricky balance between deliberate and unencumbered, or in this case a question and a statement. The end result is a scene that subverts expectations and feels more honest and romantic than most of the rom-coms being cranked out by the dozens.

Check out the clip after the jump.

On the drive home from my Oscar party this evening I was reminded on the radio of a red carpet interview that Meg Tilly gave back in 1985. She had been nominated for Agnes of God and when asked what the nomination and/or win would do for her career, she said bluntly that she was more likely to be an answer to a Trivial Pursuit question. That is very much how the 82nd Academy Awards probably felt to a lot of viewers. While we can all rejoice in a new movie-themed edition of the board game that will ask "who was the first female to win a Best Director Oscar?", what else will we really remember? Will anyone beyond the Oscar reporters and prognosticators remember who won all the acting awards, who was snubbed and why we were all so angry during award season 2010? Maybe not, but in the moment we can take heart in David beating Goliath and vent some frustration away until we start this all over again.

In a glorious turn of events, Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker exceeded even my expectations by winning six Oscars (over my predicted four). Mark Boal grabbing Original Screenplay early in the evening was a siren that Avatar might be in some trouble. But it was the sweep of the two "sound" Oscars away from Dances With Smurfs that signaled it was going to be a good night. Just not for James Cameron or Harvey Weinstein.

You may have seen the candy commercial in which two old folks are slammed into the mud during a pickup football game. Betty White and Abe Vigoda are the "old folks," which is supposed to be what happens to young people who don't keep up their sugar rush by eating candy bars. It's a funny ad, but (forgive my rudeness), I couldn't help thinking: "Good night, how old are they? They've looked the same age forever."

Ms. White, for the record, is 88, and Mr. Vigoda just turned 89. When I first saw them on television -- Ms. White as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Mr. Vigoda as Detective Fish on Barney Miller (I didn't catch up with The Godfather until later) -- I was a much younger lad and they looked old and wizened to my eyes. Now that I'm middle-aged myself, they hardly seem to have aged at all. A few more lines and wrinkles, sure, like all of us as we age, but they sound hale and hearty.

Certain actors appear ageless, either because they're blessed by genetics or because they looked all grown-up when they first made an impression. Steve Martin, for example, didn't make his first movie until he was in his 30s (The Jerk); his prematurely white hair made him look even older. Now that he's 64, he looks younger than his age. Meryl Streep was in her late 20s when she made her movie debut, but in a long string of serious roles she often looked older than her age -- more mature, more dignified, more weight on her shoulders. She's turned 60, yet looks younger than ever, thanks in part to taking on some lighter, comedic characters.

The pairing of showbiz veterans Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin seemed plenty safe enough when they were announced as this year's Oscars co-hosts. And I'm sure the 30 Rock star and the formerly funny comedian (who's hosted twice before) will do a perfectly fine job, though their retiree appeal promises to make this year's banter as fresh and young as their 2009 hit, It's Complicated. But according to Adam Shankman, the March 7 show could have been very, very different, because his first choice to emcee the 82nd annual Academy Awards was none other than British prankster Sacha Baron Cohen.

Shankman shared the revelation in an interview with NPR's Teri Gross (via Reuters), saying that when he and Oscars co-producer Bill Mechanic first took on the revitalization of the show, they both wanted the man behind Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, "Da Ali G Show," and last year's Brüno to host.

Not so shockingly, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, an organization known for being, well, a little bit old and fussy, said no to the controversial candidate. "The Academy swatted it down," Shankman said. "They thought it was too big of a wild card."

If you smoke even a single marijuana cigarette, the MPAA thinks you're a bad example and should not be viewed by children unless accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Nancy Meyer's It's Complicated, a romantic comedy starring Meryl Streep as a divorced woman who must decide between two suitors, one of them her architect (Steve Martin) and the other her ex-husband (Alec Baldwin), earned an R rating from the MPAA, despite an appeal by distributor Universal Studios. And it wasn't for profanity or nudity, but for "pot smoking with no bad consequences," according to sources cited by the Los Angeles Times. Total number of joints smoked: one.

When I first read that story, I thought that surely there were other factors involved; the MPAA site shows the rating for "some drug content and sexuality." Well, when I finally saw the film at an advance screening, I kept an eye and an ear out for any objectionable content -- and it just isn't there, in my opinion. The sex scenes are handled discreetly, very few profanities are used, and, as a point of fact, there are consequences for smoking pot, which I won't detail to avoid spoilers. Evidently the consequences weren't sufficiently severe to avoid the more restrictive rating. Either that or the MPAA is deathly afraid that any discussion of sexuality, especially among women of a certain age, should not be heard by children at the movies.

Rather than rant and rave myself, I'll just point you to Scott Weinberg's recent, well-reasoned critique, and add "pot smoking with no bad consequences" as something children shouldn't see by themselves -- as opposed, say, to the bloodless carnage perpetrated against 10-foot tall blue aliens. It's Complicated opens on Friday, December 25.

When the comedy gods close a door, they open a window. Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. said no to co-hosting next year's Academy Awards, and we barely had time to grieve for what might have been before we received this news: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have said yes. It's official, as detailed in a press release from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Martin has hosted the Oscars twice before, in 2000 and 2002, and he happens to be my personal favorite host. In fact, he's one of my personal favorite entertainers, period. The man is a straight-up genius, the terrible movies he's made in the last decade notwithstanding. Baldwin was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for The Cooler, so he at least knows his way to the theater, and he's currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity thanks to his top-notch work on TV's 30 Rock.

Martin and Baldwin have worked together several times thanks to their longstanding affiliation with Saturday Night Live. Martin has hosted 15 times -- more than anyone else -- and Baldwin is right behind him at 14. In 2006, Baldwin showed up on a Martin episode, followed a few months later by Martin crashing a Baldwin show, both times with Martin trying to kill Baldwin to prevent him from overtaking his hosting record. (In the Oscar press release, Martin says, "I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin.") Martin guested on an episode of 30 Rock, and both actors will appear in It's Complicated this Christmas.

I think both of these men, separately and together, are hilarious, so I'm excited about the Oscars (to be held March 7, 2010). What do you think?

I think our original idea behind the Classic Cameos series was to pick one memorable cameo from a movie. However, The Muppet Movie is a long string of cameos, and why should I have to highlight only one? So many people pop up throughout the 1979 film -- my favorites are James Coburn, who owns the El Sleezo nightclub; Carol Kane's very silly "Myth? Yeth?" running gag; Mel Brooks in what's really more of an actual role than a cameo, as the mad scientist; and Orson Welles at the end of the film.

If that sounds like enough cameos, I've barely started. The Muppet Movie also has appearances from Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn and Telly Savalas, Paul Williams, Cloris Leachman, Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Edgar Bergen (and Charlie McCarthy), Elliot Gould and Big Bird. Director James Frawley supposedly appears onscreen briefly, but I'm not sure I'd recognize him. I've included two YouTube clips of cameos after the jump: Richard Pryor as a balloon salesman who gets Gonzo in a lot of trouble; and Steve Martin as -- what else? -- a rude waiter.

The Muppet Movie sometimes gets a "cameo for cameo's sake" feeling after you've seen two or three of them that have little to do with the plot and aren't that funny. As the years go by, however, I do get a warm sentimental feeling from watching various performers who are no longer with us -- including, of course, Jim Henson himself as Kermit the Frog.

Oh, Nancy Meyers. I thought The Holiday was endless pap, full of admittedly charming actors in predictable situations over the length of a Quentin Tarantino WWII riff or Michael Mann crime drama, and man, was I pleasantly surprised by Something's Gotta Give for precisely the first half before Diane Keaton's extended crying fit signaled the end of something playful and the beginning of something painful.

But this could be cute, this It's Complicated of yours. The trailer seems to suggest as much. Meryl Streep (in her third film of the year come Christmas time) finds herself torn between the renewed flame of her ex (Alec Baldwin) and the flirtations of her architect (Steve Martin). You know what, that actually seems surprisingly simple despite its title, and middle-aged romance is certainly in your wheelhouse, so the benefit of the doubt is indeed yours.

If I can just make one small request: keep it short. Keep it simple. The natural charm of even a cast like this can only go so far. Don't wear it out. Be romantic. Be comedic. And then leave us be. That'd be a gift I'd cherish above most.

(Cinematical Rewind is a new column that showcases some of our favorite posts from the past few years. Here's Jeffrey M. Anderson's famous Cinematical Seven from 7/22/08)

Occasionally Hollywood cobbles together random members of the A-list to play family members on film, even if their genes obviously come from opposite ends of the earth. If the actors are good enough or if the chemistry is there, sometimes the combo can work, such as Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman as brothers in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead or Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor in Cassandra's Dream. Other times, it stretches credibility, such as Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman in The Darjeeling Limited. My all-time favorite oddball casting is in Sidney Lumet's Family Business (1989), with Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman and Matthew Broderick playing grandfather, father and son. (Huh?) At the same time, there are actor combos out there who just scream to be paired up in a family capacity. Remember Julia Roberts and Kyra Sedgwick in Something to Talk About? Well, neither do I, but that pairing was perfect. Here are a few others that could work:

1. Christian Bale & Samantha Morton

I don't mean to harp on that old "Bad British teeth" thing, but both Christian and Samantha have front teeth that seem to curve slightly upward in the center, so that their pearly whites tend to disappear under their top lips when they speak. As a result, both speak with ever-so-vague sibilant 'S'es -- Christian more so than Samantha. (It's fairly inconvenient trait for a Bruce Wayne trying to maintain his secret identity.) But aside from that, they both have dark, intense eyes and they certainly both project a similar, singularly dedicated mood onscreen. (Christian is the big brother, three years older than Samantha.)

In 1993, Steve Martin wrote his first full-length play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile. In it, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, and some others interact in a Parisian bar called Lapin Agile (Nimble Rabbit), and debate about genius and talent, art and science. The play is set in 1904, right before Picasso paints Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and Einstein publishes his theory of relativity.

Lapin is a play that's traveled the world, but has now been stopped in its tracks by an Oregon high school, according to the CBC. It seems that students at La Grande High School were gearing up a production when they were stopped by the school board, who received a complaint signed by 137 people in the community. Why did they want to stop it? Because it takes place in a bar and includes sexual references. (They must really hate Grease then!)

To me, it seems quite silly, especially considering the fact that the play is about a much more cerebral subject matter than the usual high school production, and in the days of Hannah Montana, that should be praised. Heck, my alma mater did nothing but a yearly musical, and nothing that came close to the idea of Picasso and Einstein chatting in a bar. Luckily, the show must go on, and Martin has offered to pay for the production to be put on at Eastern Oregon University.

To get a glimpse of this play, head after the jump for a recording of a performance, and check out this piece of trivia:

The first reading of the play took place in Martin's home. Tom Hanks read the role of Pablo Picasso, and Chris Sarandon read Albert Einstein.