Summer RerunsMost seasonal movie fare seems 2 familiarBy Matt Brunson
photo: 20th Century FoxNicole Kidman
& cohorts in
Moulin Rouge
For all its faults, there’s one good thing you can say about the film capital of the world: They sure know how to recycle out there in Hollywood. If there’s one expression that can be used to describe the upcoming summer movie season, it’s the one about how everything old is suddenly new again. Take the sequels. Every year, we get our fair share of follow-ups to big moneymakers, but this summer alone will see the releases of six sequels (seven if you count the latest Jay and Silent Bob adventure). Add to that a couple of remakes, an alarming number of movies about plans to take over the world (a hoary plotline straight out of an old Republic Pictures cliffhanger), a handful of techno-flicks (either about computers or employing computers), and a few blatant rip-offs of earlier hits (I’m convinced that Evolution was pitched at the studio meeting as Ghostbusters meets Men In Black), and it slowly becomes apparent that the most original movie of the period may be the one starring perennial irritant Rob Schneider (what this says about civilization in 2001, I’m afraid to ask).
At any rate, here’s a preview of 45 movies that are expected to reach our city over the next four months. As you sit through most of them, you may finding yourself feeling that it’s deja vu all over again.
MAY 4
THE MUMMY RETURNS
Plot: It’s adventurer Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) to the rescue after the mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) is accidentally resurrected and continues his murderous rampage.
The Good: The 1999 smash was a passable Raiders of the Lost Ark rip-off, and the preview for this one promises more of the same — I suppose there are worse ways to kick off the summer movie season.
The Bad: When the trailer’s narrator states, And [pro wrestler] The Rock as The Scorpion King, the audience chuckles every time.
The Outlook: The original made $155 million; there’s no reason to believe this won’t match (or surpass) that amount.
MAY 11
A KNIGHT’S TALE
Plot: During medieval times, a lowly peasant (Heath Ledger of The Patriot) disguises himself as a knight and finds success on the jousting tournament circuit.
The Good: Writer-director Brian Helgeland won an Oscar for co-writing L.A. Confidential. Like fellow Aussie hunks Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman, Ledger’s popularity continues to climb.
The Bad: The grungy medieval setting may turn off moviegoers looking for sparkling special effects.
The Outlook: Having already seen this one, I can declare it’s a lot of fun, although it’s going to take tremendous word-of-mouth for it to make its mark.
MAY 18
ANGEL EYES
Plot: A Chicago cop (Jennifer Lopez) is rescued from a life-threatening situation by a handsome stranger (Jim Caviezel); even as she falls in love with her savior, she can’t shake the feeling that he’s a figure from her past.
The Good: Against the slam-bam dazzle of the season’s other films, a whispery love story might be just what the doctor ordered (remember Ghost?). Caviezel ably handled the sensitive man part in Frequency and The Thin Red Line.
The Bad: Lopez might turn out to be the new Demi Moore: a controversial actress of questionable talent whose celebrity outweighs her films’ box office grosses. Director Luis Mandoki’s last love story was the underwhelming Message In a Bottle.
The Outlook: Even as counter-programming, it’s doubtful mass audiences will be touched by this Angel.
SHREK
Plot: An ogre (voiced by Mike Myers) and his donkey sidekick (Eddie Murphy) encounter all sorts of fairy tale characters as they set out to rescue a beautiful princess (Cameron Diaz).
The Good: The preview promises a sharp satire of classic fairy tales. Murphy, who stole the show as the diminutive dragon in Mulan, may do the same here.
The Bad: It might end up being a little too hip for its own good (a problem that plagued the overreaching The Emperor’s New Groove).
The Outlook: Nothing to shriek about here: money in the bank.
MAY 25
PEARL HARBOR
Plot: Two dashing young pilots (Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett) and a courageous nurse (Kate Beckinsale) cope with the horrifying events of December 7, 1941.
The Good: The handsomely mounted preview already has audiences chomping at the bit. The distinguished cast includes Oscar winners Jon Voight and Cuba Gooding Jr., plus Saving Private Ryan sergeant Tom Sizemore for good measure.
The Bad: Michael Bay is strictly a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am director, showing little feel for genuine emotion in titles like Armageddon and The Rock.
The Outlook: For better or worse, this is From Here to Eternity for teens. Expect it to emerge as the summer’s top moneymaker.
JUNE 1
THE ANIMAL
Plot: After a car accident leaves him on the brink of death, a wimp (Rob Schneider) gets a second chance after he’s patched up with various animal organs. At first, his newfound abilities make him a hero, but it’s not long before the baser animal instincts begin to take over.
The Good: For me, nothing. For Survivor groupies, a chance to catch the acting debut of Colleen Haskell, cast as Schneider’s girlfriend.
The Bad: From the producers of Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo — words sure to strike fear in the hearts of discerning moviegoers everywhere.
The Outlook: The yahoo hit of the summer.
MOULIN ROUGE
Plot: At the turn of the last century, a sensitive poet (Ewan McGregor) becomes part of the decadent inner circle of artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo) and falls in love with a beautiful courtesan (Nicole Kidman).
The Good: Director Baz Luhrmann, who opened eyes with Strictly Ballroom and helped revive Shakespeare on-screen with Romeo & Juliet (the DiCaprio version), promises an all-dancing, all-singing extravaganza; if it works, it should be glorious.
The Bad: Then again, Francis Coppola masterminded an equally audacious attempt to revolutionize the musical nearly two decades ago, and the result (One From the Heart) helped bankrupt a studio. It’s too bad this wasn’t ready to meet its original Holiday 2000 release date, since it would have stood a better chance as year-end Oscar bait rather than big-budget summer blockbuster.
The Outlook: A known property like Evita could only muster $50 million at the box office, meaning studio executives will be seeing rouge when this one finishes its run.
WHAT’S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Plot: A petty criminal (Martin Lawrence) gets swindled by the obnoxious millionaire (Danny DeVito) he initially tried to rob; with the help of another small-timer (John Leguizamo), he plots his revenge.
The Good: In last summer’s battle of the black men in fat people makeup, Martin Lawrence’s so-so Big Momma’s House stole some thunder away from Eddie Murphy’s godawful Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. DeVito usually finds interesting ways to enliven a script.
The Bad: That title might be an indicator of things to come.
The Outlook: Given Lawrence’s present popularity, the worst that could happen is this will be a mid-range hit rather than an outright home run.
JUNE 8
EVOLUTION
Plot: A group of alien-busters tries to protect the planet from invading extra-terrestrials.
The Good: David Duchovny should have fun spoofing his X-Files character. The ever-excellent Julianne Moore co-stars.
The Bad: Director Ivan Reitman previously helmed two Ghostbusters films, making this the year’s second most desperate-sounding endeavor (after Crocodile Dundee In Los Angeles).
The Outlook: No signs of life at the multiplex.
SWORDFISH
Plot: Two experts in espionage (John Travolta and Halle Berry) dupe a computer hacker (Hugh Jackman) into helping them steal billions of dollars through his cyberspace savvy.
The Good: After Battlefield Earth and Lucky Numbers, Travolta’s rollercoaster career almost insures a hit at this point. Jackman (reteaming with X-Men co-star Berry) is ready for his rising star to go supernova. The always watchable Don Cheadle (Traffic, Boogie Nights) rounds out the primary cast.
The Bad: With the exception of The Matrix (also by Swordfish producer Joel Silver), most cyber-thrillers have sucked. The director is Dominic Sena, who helmed last summer’s soulless spectacle Gone In Sixty Seconds.
The Outlook: In 1932, Swordfish was the password used by the Marx Brothers in Horse Feathers; in 2001, it’ll be the name of one of the summer’s earliest hits.
JUNE 15
ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE
Plot: In this Disney animated feature, a young museum worker (voiced by Michael J. Fox) and a ship captain (James Garner) discover the hidden undersea kingdom of Atlantis.
The Good: This should prove to be more imaginative than last summer’s by-the-numbers effort Dinosaur. The vocal talent includes Leonard Nimoy and the late Jim Varney.
The Bad: A toon flick about a young boy exploring a strange new world — Disney better hope nobody confuses it with last summer’s mega-dud Titan A.E.
The Outlook: As The Emperor’s New Groove proved, the days of Disney animated features automatically earning $100 million are over; this one might make it, but it’ll have to crawl to get there.
TOMB RAIDER
Plot: Adventurer Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) uses her brains and her brawn while hopping around the globe fighting the bad guys.
The Good: Jolie looks picture-perfect as the flesh-and-blood realization of the popular video game character. Jon Voight, Angelina’s dad, plays her screen father as well.
The Bad: Best-selling video games make the absolute worst movies (Super Mario Bros., Street Fighter, etc.).
The Outlook: A rarity among rarities: a video game take-off that really takes off.
JUNE 22
DR. DOLITTLE 2
Plot: The good doctor (Eddie Murphy) again talks to the animals, this time learning of their plan to go on strike in order to save a beloved forest.
The Good: Umm, cute fuzzy critters?
The Bad: The first one wasn’t so hot, although that didn’t stop it from earning $144 million.
The Outlook: Please, God, let it be better than Murphy’s Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. Either way, it should earn a pretty penny.
Also: It’s not exactly John Ford-John Wayne or Ingmar Bergman-Max Von Sydow, but the director and star team of the teen thriller The Skulls, Rob Cohen and Paul Walker, reteam for THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, an action drama about street gangs who race cars instead of rumble. Vin Diesel (Pitch Black) and Michelle Rodriguez (Girlfight) also star.
JUNE 27
BABY BOY
Plot: A 20-year-old African-American (Tyrese) learns to cope with the harsh realities of his downtrodden LA neighborhood.
The Good: Writer-director John Singleton returns to the stomping ground of his first success, Boyz N The Hood.
The Bad: That title might have people mistaking it for a Look Who’s Talking sequel.
The Outlook: It won’t have the same impact as Boyz, but as one of the season’s few films largely geared toward African-American audiences, it should at least break even.
JUNE 29
A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Plot: A robotic boy (Haley Joel Osment of The Sixth Sense) learns what it means to be human.
The Good: Steven Spielberg is at the helm of a project that the late Stanley Kubrick had long been planning to make (Kubrick even gets a screen credit on this version). Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley) leads a strong supporting cast.
The Bad: Uh, didn’t Robin Williams’ atrocious Bicentennial Man boast a similar plotline?
The Outlook: Almost 20 years after E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, it’s likely that Spielberg triumphs again with another heartwarming tale about childhood wonder.
JULY 4
CATS & DOGS
Plot: A megalomaniacal feline mobilizes the rest of the kitty population in an effort to take over the world, and it’s up to the canine contingent to stop them.
The Good: Director Lawrence Guterman’s previous family feature was the intelligent and enjoyable Antz. Those providing voices for the animals include Alec Baldwin and Susan Sarandon.
The Bad: The early preview looked awfully chaotic. Coming after Shrek and Atlantis have run their course, will parents want to sit through another kiddie flick with their incorrigible offspring?
The Outlook: Of course they will; it’s summertime! Expect acceptable grosses.
SCARY MOVIE 2
Plot: The tagline for last summer’s sleeper smash read, No mercy. No shame. No sequel. They lied.
The Good: Scary Movie was one of the few gross-out comedies of recent times to actually contain some genuine laughs.
The Bad: It’s hard for lightning to strike twice, especially in this hit-and-miss genre.
The Outlook: Funny or not, it’ll still make a killing.
JULY 6
KISS OF THE DRAGON
Plot: A martial arts expert (Jet Li) is sent on assignment to Paris, where he’s framed for murder and forced to team up with an American prostitute (Bridget Fonda).
The Good: International superstar Li scored a modest stateside hit last year with Romeo Must Die; this could add to his cache.
The Bad: Then again, a routine-sounding martial arts programmer stands no chance against the big guns of summer.
The Outlook: Kiss this one goodbye.
JULY 11
FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN
Plot: It’s up to a small band of humans to stop evil aliens bent on draining the earth of all its energy.
The Good: The press material states that this is the first feature-length motion picture that brings vivid photoRealism to computer-generated, human characters, and the effects reportedly dazzled seen-it-all theater exhibitors during a recent screening.
The Bad: I’m not sure how groundbreaking this will actually be, since the effects don’t look that different (at least in the trailer) from the type used in films likes Shrek.
The Outlook: On the heels of (among others) Tomb Raider and Swordfish, this might be one techno-toy too many.
JULY 13
THE SCORE
Plot: A career criminal (Robert De Niro) who prefers to work alone is forced to team up with a young hotshot (Edward Norton) in order to pull off the perfect caper.
The Good: Marlon Brando makes a rare screen appearance (it’s always fascinating to see what he’ll do).
The Bad: Marlon Brando makes a rare screen appearance (it’s usually nothing more than pure camp).
The Outlook: Like the recent 15 Minutes, this one won’t fare so hot, leading the nation to ponder the question: Who would’ve ever thought that Robert De Niro the comedian would be more successful than Robert De Niro the dramatic actor?
Also: An airhead (Reese Witherspoon) ends up at Harvard and amazes everyone with her legal smarts in LEGALLY BLONDE.
JULY 18
JURASSIC PARK III
Plot: Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and their new pals (Tea Leoni and William H. Macy) learn you can’t keep a good dinosaur down.
The Good: Luckily for the series (though not necessarily their careers), Neill and Dern have returned after skipping the first sequel. Reportedly, there’s a spanking new dinosaur on view in this film.
The Bad: The Lost World: Jurassic Park was as joyless and mechanical as the original film was exciting and inventive. Will this one be able to reverse course?
The Outlook: Even with Steven Spielberg only serving as executive producer, this one should take a sizable bite out of the box office.
JULY 20
AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS
Plot: The personal assistant (Julia Roberts) to a world-famous movie star (Catherine Zeta-Jones) finds herself attracted to her boss’s estranged husband (John Cusack), a development that panics the publicity agent (Billy Crystal) in charge of making sure nothing goes wrong during an important press junket.
The Good: Zeta-Jones and Cusack had a good rapport in High Fidelity, while Roberts generally has a good rapport with any co-star you throw at her (well, Nick Nolte an obvious exception). The summer smash Notting Hill similarly had Julia finding romance in a movie setting.
The Bad: This spring’s The Mexican broke Roberts’ string of three consecutive $100-million-plus earners (it’s currently holding at $65 million).
The Outlook: Julia Roberts + romantic comedy + a summer slot = instant smash (well, I Love Trouble an obvious exception).
Also: The self-destructive daughter (Kirsten Dunst) of an influential politician falls for a bright Hispanic kid (Jay Hernandez) at her school in CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL.
JULY 27
PLANET OF THE APES
Plot: An astronaut (Mark Wahlberg) lands on a planet governed by damn, dirty apes.
The Good: Tim Burton insists this is neither a remake nor a sequel, and I believe him: Unlike, say, Psycho, this story lends itself to different visions (see the remakes of The Fly and The Thing for similar examples). Among those portraying the apes are Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Roth (oddly, the hairiest person in the cast, Kris Kristofferson, is playing a human).
The Bad: The 1968 original is awfully good; will comparisons be inevitable?
The Outlook: This will make like King Kong at the box office.
AUGUST 3
ORIGINAL SIN
The Plot: A wealthy but lonely coffee merchant (Antonio Banderas) in 19th century Cuba asks his American pen pal (Angelina Jolie) to marry him; she agrees, but ends up bringing all her dark secrets over with her.
The Good: This is based on Cornell Woolrich’s novel Waltz Into Darkness, and filmmakers generally do well when adapting his works (Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Truffaut’s The Bride Wore Black).
The Bad: After winning an Oscar for Girl, Interrupted — and if Tomb Raider unexpectedly tanks — the pressure’s on Jolie to prove that Academy members didn’t err (her follow-up cheesecake role in Gone In Sixty Seconds didn’t do her career any favors).
The Outlook: Could be interesting, though I doubt enough moviegoers will share that view to make it profitable. The fact that its release has been delayed since last fall also raises eyebrows.
RAT RACE
Plot: A tycoon (John Cleese) hides $2 million and then wagers to see which of the ordinary schmoes (including ones played by Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz and Rowan Atkinson) he sets on its trail will be the first to locate it.
The Good: Director Jerry Zucker has some good comedies on his resume (The Naked Gun, Airplane!).
The Bad: Does the world really need a quasi-remake of It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World?
The Outlook: The filmmakers may wish they had the story’s $2 million to make up their losses.
RUSH HOUR 2
Plot: Detectives Carter (Chris Tucker) and Lee (Jackie Chan) are back on the case, this time travelling to Hong Kong to nail a ruthless gangster.
The Good: Rush Hour was a cut above most buddy-cop action comedies, thanks to its engaging odd couple leads.
The Bad: Let’s just hope this isn’t as desperate as those Lethal Weapon films.
The Outlook: The Rush will be on the box office, as this should emerge as August’s top moneymaker.
Also: In THE PRINCESS DIARIES, the latest variation on Pygmalion, a California teen (Anne Hathaway) learns that she’s actually a European princess and must learn lessons of etiquette from her stuffy grandmother (Julie Andrews).
AUGUST 10
THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION
Plot: In the 1940s, an insurance investigator (Woody Allen) finds himself getting tangled up in the affairs of a master thief known as the Jade Scorpion.
The Good: While no masterpiece, last summer’s Small Time Crooks demonstrated that Allen could still make us laugh.
The Bad: The usual all-star cast is pretty anemic this time around (Helen Hunt, Dan Aykroyd, Charlize Theron, Wallace Shawn, David Ogden Stiers).
The Outlook: Allen’s curse at the ticket window continues.
JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK
Plot: Those lovable slackers Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (writer-director Kevin Smith) score their own motion picture. Who cares about the plot?
The Good: Jay and Silent Bob provided many a laugh in four previous features (including Chasing Amy and Dogma). . .
The Bad: . . . but can they carry their own motion picture?
The Outlook: This is supposed to be the final screen appearance for the pair — though if it’s unexpectedly a smash, look for Return of Jay and Silent Bob in the near future.
OSMOSIS JONES
Plot: After a man (Bill Murray) accidentally absorbs a deadly virus (voiced by Laurence Fishburne) into his system, it’s up to a white blood cell (voice of Chris Rock) to save the day (and the body).
The Good: The live-action sequences are directed by There’s Something About Mary pranksters Peter and Bobby Farrelly. It’ll be interesting to see exactly what body part or inner organ William Shatner will provide the voice for.
The Bad: If this isn’t clever beyond belief, it could turn out as rancid as another recent live-action/animation hybrid, the horrendous Monkeybone.
The Outlook: Its grosses will be closer to Cool World than Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Also: John Madden — the Shakespeare In Love director, not the obnoxious football analyst — is at the helm of CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN, a WWII-set romance about a rambunctious Italian soldier (Nicolas Cage) who falls in love with a Greek village girl (Penelope Cruz of All the Pretty Horses).
AUGUST 17
AMERICAN PIE II
Plot: Those horny teens try to get a bigger piece of the pie, this time in a college setting.
The Good: They’ve managed to reassemble practically the entire cast of the first film, a good move given all the natural talent on display there. Bill Paxton joins the cast as Stifler’s dad.
The Bad: Two words: Porky’s Revenge.
The Outlook: An earlier opening, when kids would have the whole summer stretching before them, would have seemed like a no-brainer, but this should still cook up some sturdy profits.
Also: Jesse James rides again in AMERICAN OUTLAWS, a comic Western starring rising star Colin Farrell (Tigerland) and former Bond-man Timothy Dalton. . . Chris Klein (Say It Isn’t So) takes over James Caan’s old role in ROLLERBALL, a remake of the 1975 sci-fi yarn about a brutal futuristic sport.
AUGUST 24
GHOSTS FROM MARS
Plot: In the year 2025, at which time Mars has long been colonized by earthlings, a cop (Natasha Henstridge) and a criminal (Ice Cube) must join forces to stop an army of Martian warriors able to take over human bodies.
The Good: Just because director John Carpenter hasn’t made a good movie since the Mesozoic era doesn’t mean he might not surprise us one of these days.
The Bad: After last year’s deadly duo of Mission to Mars and Red Planet, moviegoers might want to skip this particular journey.
The Outlook: Not a ghost of a chance.
AUGUST 31
ALL THAT GLITTERS
Plot: A young singer (Mariah Carey) tries to make it on the New York club scene.
The Good: This should be a blessing for Carey’s millions of fans. . .
The Bad: . . . and possibly pure hell for those of us who can’t stand her.
The Outlook: Releasing this on the last weekend of the summer movie season signals that the studio realizes it doesn’t have another Saturday Night Fever on its hands (hell, it doesn’t even have another Purple Rain).
NO DATE SET
Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming co-wrote, co-directed and co-star in THE ANNIVERSARY PARTY, a blistering look at a marriage on the rocks. Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Kline and Jennifer Beals also star. . . A computer engineer (Peter Sarsgaard) enters into a risky romance with a stripper (Molly Parker) in THE CENTER OF THE WORLD, from director Wayne Wang (Anywhere But Here). . . John Cameron Mitchell’s HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, about an East German drag queen, earned the Audience Award and a Best Director citation for Mitchell at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. . . A happily married couple (Hugh Laurie and Joely Richardson) desperately try to add to their family in MAYBE BABY. . . Former Gandhi Ben Kingsley foregoes his pacifist ways in SEXY BEAST, a drama about a dangerous criminal who persuades a reformed ex-con (Ray Winstone) to help him pull off one final score. . . Janet McTeer, who earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination for 1999’s Tumbleweeds, headlines SONGCATCHER, about a music teacher who moves to the Appalachian mountains and becomes enamored with folk music. Iris DeMent and Taj Mahal appear in supporting roles.
This article appears in May 5-11, 2001.
