Summer’s spiciest movies

Date: 2010.07.25 | Category: Movies | Tags:

I have had no trouble sticking to my post-”Iron Man” resolution to boycott superhero movies, though there seems to be another onslaught on the way. I’m still puzzling out what the difference is between “The Green Hornet” and “The Green Lantern”; all I know is I reserve a special enmity for the latter, because it co-stars my favorite actor, Peter Sarsgaard, in some kind of freakish makeup that makes him look like a cross between the kid from “Mask” and a Klingon.

The fact that indie film “The Kids Are All Right” is doing extremely well at the box office shows that there are adults who want to go to the movies during the summer. I was so excited that it was opening at our local multiplex, which usually only shows the most commercial Hollywood fare, that I insisted we go see it immediately, if for no other reason than to encourage more quality films to play there. After all, “Cats & Dogs: Revenge of Kitty” is opening next Friday and I’m sure the theater operators would be merciless in kicking “The Kids Are All Right” to the curb if it failed to perform.

If you’re the sort of person who sought out previous indie summer hits like “Little Miss Sunshine” and “(500) Days of Summer,” you probably already have “Kids” on your to-see list. Julianne Moore and Annette Bening play a lesbian couple who have been together for a couple of decades. Each of them had a baby, using sperm from the same donor. Moore’s Jules is the biological mom of son Laser, a slightly feckless 15-year-old whom his moms fear is spending too much time with a pal who’s a “bad influence.” Nic’s (Bening) bio-kid is Joni, an 18-year-old high achiever who is about to leave for college. Before she goes, Laser asks her to contact the sperm bank to see if they can give her any information about their donor (you have to be 18 to make the request). She’s hesitant, but ultimately makes the call, which leads to the kids meeting Paul (Mark Ruffalo), a restaurant owner who has never quite settled down since he dropped out of college — a fact which disturbs Nic, who had chosen Paul in part because he had indicated on his form that he was an international studies major.

Gradually, Paul finds himself bonding in his laid-back way with the kids and with Jules, while the highly-strung Nic remains suspicious of his motives. I didn’t read any reviews of this film before seeing it, and afterwards, when I did go back and read a few of them, I was disappointed (though not particularly surprised) that almost all of them gave away what happens next. You won’t hear it from me!

Even if you’re “opposite married,” in the immortal words of Carrie Prejean, you’ll no doubt find yourself relating to the difficulties Nic & Jules go through — they could be any long-wed couple, trying to balance work and family commitments and dealing with an impending empty nest. Bening and Moore both give incredible performances, and really make us believe in this couple’s relationship. Bening has the slightly more difficult role — she’s often unlikable, but in several scenes is heartbreakingly sympathetic. (I also appreciate the fact that Bening is that rare Hollywood creature who has obviously never gone under the knife; she would never have been able to convincingly play this role if she’d been Botoxed and nipped & tucked.) Considering that parts this good for actresses don’t come along too frequently, I suspect she’ll be remembered at Oscar time. Recommended for anyone who appreciates quality cinema, with the minor caveat that this film definitely earns its R rating.

As usual in the world of the MPAA, adult sexytime = R, while approximately 47 dead bodies shot at point-blank range = PG-13. There’s a high body count in “Salt,” the new spy thriller starring Angelina Jolie, and this is usually the kind of film that action-movie buff Joe goes to see by himself. But again, I wanted to use my dollars to make a statement: I want to see a woman kick ass, for a change! I was especially intrigued by the fact that the script was written for a male actor (Salt was originally supposed to be played by Tom Cruise, who wound up doing “Knight & Day” with Cameron Diaz instead).

It is indeed great to see an actress do the sort of outrageous stunts and gunplay that is usually the purview of men. But after a promising first hour, “Salt” goes completely off the rails. As far as spy fiction goes, it’s so ridiculous that it makes the TV show “Burn Notice” look like a documentary by comparison. (“BN”‘s Fiona, incidentally, could go head to head with Evelyn Salt any day.) The plot involves deep-cover Russian agents living in the U.S., which might have seemed quaintly nostalgic until a bunch of them were actually discovered last month. (That part is somewhat plausible; what happens next just gets silly.) Jolie is excellent; the script, not so much. If there’s a “Salt II,” “III,” etc. the series could develop into a distaff version of the “Bourne” flicks. Jolie deserves a screenwriter who can make Salt live up to her spicy potential.