Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Late one night, a drunken Brick Pollitt (Paul Newman) is out trying to recapture his glory days of high school sports by leaping hurdles on a track field, dreaming about his moments as a youthful athlete. Unexpectedly, he falls, leaving him dependent on a crutch. Brick, along with his wife, Maggie “the Cat” (Elizabeth Taylor), are seen the next day visiting his family in Mississippi, waiting to celebrate Big Daddy’s (Burl Ives) 65th birthday.

Depressed, Brick decides to spend his days inside drinking while resisting the affections of his wife, who taunts him about the inheritance of Big Daddy’s wealth. Numerous allusions are made as to their tempestuous marriage – the most haunting of these are speculations as to why Maggie does not yet have children, while Brick’s brother Gooper (Jack Carson) and his wife Mae (Madeleine Sherwood) have a whole clan, many of which run around the “plantation” (as Big Daddy’s estate is called) unsupervised and singing obnoxiously.

Big Daddy and Big Mama (Judith Anderson) arrive home from the hospital and are greeted by Gooper and his wife, along with Maggie. Despite the efforts of Mae, Gooper and their kids to draw his attention to them, Big Daddy has eyes only for Maggie. The news is that Big Daddy is not dying from cancer. However, the doctor later meets privately with Brick and Gooper and divulges that it is a deception, but the family wants him to remain happy. Maggie begs Brick to put care into getting his father’s wealth, but Brick stubbornly refuses. When Big Daddy is fed up with his alcoholic son’s behavior, he demands to know why he is so stubborn. Brick angrily refuses to answer.

Big Daddy forces the issue, dragging Maggie into the conversation and the revealing moment ensues when Maggie tells what happened the night Brick’s friend Skipper committed suicide. Maggie reveals she was jealous of Skipper because he had more of Brick’s time. She claimed she wanted to ruin their relationship “by any means necessary”. She intended to seduce Skipper and put the lie to his relationship with her husband. She got scared and ran away without going through with it. Brick claimed to blame Maggie for Skipper’s death, but it is revealed that he actually blames himself for not helping Skipper when he called Brick in a hysterical state.

Big Daddy learns that he will die from cancer and that this birthday will be his last. Shaken, he retreats to the basement. Meanwhile, Gooper, his wife, Maggie, and Brick argue over Big Daddy’s will. Finally, Brick descends into the basement, a labyrinth of antiques and family possessions hidden away. Once he finds his father, Brick and Big Daddy confront each other before a large cut-out of Brick in his glory days as an athlete. The rest of the family begins to crumble under pressure, with Big Mama stepping up as a strong figure. Maggie says that she’d like to give Big Daddy her birthday present: the announcement of her being pregnant. After Mae calls Maggie a liar, Big Daddy and Brick defend her lie, even though they know it to be untrue. Even Gooper finds himself admitting “That girl’s got life in her, alright.” In the end, she and Brick reconcile, and the film ends with the two kissing with the implication that they will make love.

REVIEW:

I vaguely remember reading Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in either high school or one of literature classes in college. Tennessee Williams’ play, to this day, still is revered as a true classic, but does the film garner the same reputation? Or does it suffer from being labeled as “overrated”?

What is this about?

Members of an avaricious Southern clan scramble to curry favor with dying, wealthy patriarch Harvey “Big Daddy” Pollitt (Burl Ives) in this Oscar-nominated adaptation of playwright Tennessee Williams’s sizzling stage drama. Paul Newman stars as alcoholic ex-football star Brick Pollitt, whose self-pity and drunken malice jeopardize not only his inheritance, but also his marriage to the seductive Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor).

What did I like?

Thespians. At the time this was released, Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman were at that point in their career where they needed a hit to keep moving upwards. Had this been a flop, they may have disappeared into obscurity. Thankfully, that didn’t happen, obviously. Why didn’t it happen? Well, the fact that they were able to actually act is a major reason. The pain and suffering of Taylor and Newman, as well as the other emotions that they go through was a major selling point and earned them both Academy Award nominations.

The play’s the thing. For those that aren’t aware, this was originally a stage play by Tennessee Williams. As such, the film has elements that remind you that it was a play, most notably the way some of the scenes play out, the actors have more of a stage pentameter to their lines, and the whole film takes place in this big New Orleans house. I’m a little torn on how I feel about that, but it does seem to work in some cases. I seem to recall To Kill a Mockingbird having a play-like feel to it, as well.

Big Daddy. Every Christmas, I watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer whenever it comes on (which was shortly after Halloween this year for some reason). One of my favorite character in the stop motion jewel is the narrator snowman, voiced by Burl Ives. This may come as a surprise to some who know me and my love for classic Hollywood and such, but I have never seen a picture of Ives. He looks exactly like the snowman, but his character of Big Daddy in this film couldn’t be further from what he may best be known as. Ives’ is able to bring the scary intensity that a man with lots of money, dying of cancer, and in an unhappy marriage lashing out as his son, for starters, deserves. This is truly something to behold, even he does make you wonder if subsequent Big Daddy characters based out of New Orleans were based on him, either personality-wise or design.

What didn’t I like?

Let’s play. As I mentioned earlier, the film feels like it is a play. I’ve given this some though, and I just can’t get over that. Keeping it in the same few settings is fine, that saves on budget. Acting it out like a play also doesn’t bother me, as it leaves the audience to think that is an homage to the play. However, it is the lifeless way the actors seemed to be saying their lines. A film version of a play should have a more, I don’t want to say flamboyant, but there should be something more to the way these lines were uttered, and it just wasn’t there.

Code. If you’re familiar with the play, then you know it has some controversial themes, namely homosexuality and homophobia. In its place, the film’s final act was totally changed from what Tennessee Williams originally wrote. Why were these changes made? Well, the final act was changed in order for the film to end with a happy ending. As far as the “homo” stuff, that omission can be attributed to the Hays Code, a Nazi-like code that censored films of pretty much anything “fun” from 1934-1968. Audiences can only wonder what this film would be like if that code wasn’t in the way.

Motivation. As I was sitting on the couch watching this film and doing my best to keep up with what was going on, one thing became more and more apparent, these characters don’t really have any development, at least that the audience is able to relate to. How many of us are rich southerners in the late 50s? Also, Paul Newman’s character seems to be too well-centered and rational in the second half of the film considering he was introduced as a self-destructive alcoholic. Elizabeth Taylor’s character comes off as nothing but a pretty face at times and there is a sense of bitterness that permeates the entire film. Can’t people just be happy?

As far as classics go, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is more than deserving of all the accolades it has received, as well as the reputation for being a great piece of cinema. This is a film that will require you to be fully attentive, but with the beautiful Elizabeth Taylor and handsome Paul Newman as the leads, why would you look away? While it is a little slow, this is the kind of drama that I can give a pass to for that. Do I recommend this? Yes, it is one of those films that you should see before you die. It is a great flick from the days of classic Hollywood and should not be passed over in favor of some crappy remake or whatever they call that schlock they churn out these days.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

A Date with Judy

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

The big high school dance in Santa Barbara is coming up. Judy Foster (Jane Powell) expects boyfriend “Oogie” Pringle to be her escort, but he declines. Meanwhile, Oogie’s sister, sophisticated senior Carol Pringle (Elizabeth Taylor), has booked famous bandleader Xavier Cugat and his orchestra for the dance.

Cugat’s lady friend, Rosita Cochellas (Carmen Miranda), is a dance instructor. She is secretly giving rumba lessons to Judy’s dad, Melvin Foster (Wallace Beery), who wants to surprise his wife with a dance for their upcoming wedding anniversary.

Soda shop owner Pop Scully (Lloyd Corrigan) introduces a disappointed Judy to his handsome nephew Stephen I. Andrews (Robert Stack), who volunteers to take Judy to the dance, even though he’s considerably older. Judy finds him dreamy, and having Stephen as her date definitely makes Oogie jealous.

Stephen, however, falls for the beautiful Carol instead. This is annoying to Judy, as is her discovery that her dad is seeing Rosita behind her mother’s back, presumably carrying on a romantic affair. Misunderstandings abound, including Rosita trying to explain the situation to her boyfriend, Cugat.

REVIEW:

Contrary too popular belief, A Date with Judy is not about scoring a date with Judy Garland, though she was quite popular at this time, I believe. This forgotten treasure of classic cinema is sure to take you back to your high school years and the fears of asking out and/or being rejected by the guy/girl you liked.

What is this about?

Teenage best pals Judy (Jane Powell) and Carol (Elizabeth Taylor) find their friendship put to the test when they both fall for the same suave fellow (Robert Stack) in this breezy musical comedy. Meanwhile, Judy’s on a sleuthing mission to find out if her father (Wallace Beery) is having an affair with a gorgeous rumba dancer (Carmen Miranda).

What did I like?

Music, maestro, please. I swear I grew up in the wrong era! This film has a student conducted jazz band performing at the dance. You have no idea what I would have given to have done something like that back in my day…with or without a lovestruck vocalist. Of course, if memory serves, our dances were all done by a dj anyway, so live music, especially big band stuff, was out of the question. Still, the idea is in my head now and thoughts of what could have been are sure to run rampant.

Betty. My God! Elizabeth Taylor was gorgeous, wasn’t she? This is one of her earliest films, and she is quite young, but that beauty is well on display. Aside from her Venus-like beauty, Taylor doesn’t do too bad as the antagonist, if you will, of this film. The first time we see here, she’s decked out in the blue ball gown, and all I could think of is how much she looks like a porcelain version of Betty Rubble.

Seamless. The majority of the film focuses on the kids, no doubt, but the adults are not forgotten, either. As a matter of fact, there is even a subplot involving the parents’ anniversary which brings everything back around full circle, giving each character a story arc of their own, rather than just be some random character that happens to exist.

What didn’t I like?

Length. A common problem have with these classic musicals, especially the more comedic ones is that they tend to be a bit too long. I feel as if this film would have greatly benefited from a shorter runtime, as there were moments all over the place that could have easily been taken out and no one would know the difference.

Cugat. Xavier Cugat was quite the entertaining bandleader of the time. He is responsible for mentoring Desi Arnaz and became the joke of quite a few of episodes of I Love Lucy, I’m not really a fan of how he was used as a cameo at the end of the film to give Carmen Miranda’s character a love interest. Why couldn’t he just be Cugat and lead his band? It worked for Harry James in Bathing Beauty, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.

Powell. Jane Powell may have been the cute girl next door, but I wasn’t impressed with her and wasn’t a fan of her character. To me, she came off quite fickle, and it is no wonder she ended the film the way she did. I can make a case for getting someone else, but there is some reason they chose her.

A Date with Judy is ok, but not great. It is worth watching for the music and the porcelain beauty of Elizabeth Taylor. I don’t have much to say about this other than that, so give it a shot if you get the chance, but don’t feel as if you need to.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Cleopatra

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

The film opens in 48 B.C. shortly after the Battle of Pharsalus where Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) has defeated Pompey. Pompey flees to Egypt, hoping to enlist the support of the young Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII (Richard O’Sullivan) and his sister Cleopatra (Elizabeth Taylor).

Caesar pursues and meets the teenage Ptolemy and the boy’s advisers, who seem to do most of the thinking for him. As a gesture of ‘goodwill’, the Egyptians present Caesar with Pompey’s head, but Caesar is not pleased; it is a sorry end for a worthy foe. As Caesar settles in at the palace, Apollodorus (Cesare Danova), disguised as a rug peddler, brings a gift from Cleopatra. When a suspicious Caesar unrolls the rug, he finds Cleopatra herself concealed within and is intrigued. Days later, she warns Caesar that her brother has surrounded the palace with his soldiers and that he is vastly outnumbered. Caesar is unconcerned. He orders the Egyptian fleet burned so he can gain control of the harbor. The fire spreads to the city, burning many buildings, including the famous Library of Alexandria. Cleopatra angrily confronts Caesar, but he refuses to pull troops away from the fight with Ptolemy’s forces to deal with the fire. In the middle of their spat, Caesar begins kissing her.

The Romans hold, and the armies of Mithridates arrive on Egyptian soil. The following day, Caesar passes judgment. He sentences Ptolemy’s lord chamberlain to death for arranging an assassination attempt on Cleopatra, and rules that Ptolemy and his tutor be sent to join Ptolemy’s now greatly outnumbered troops, a sentence of death as the Egyptian army faces off against Mithridates. Cleopatra is crowned Queen of Egypt. She dreams of ruling the world with Caesar. When their son Caesarion is born, Caesar accepts him publicly, which becomes the talk of Rome and the Senate.

Caesar returns to Rome for his triumph, while Cleopatra remains in Egypt. Two years pass before the two see each other again. After he is made dictator for life, Caesar sends for Cleopatra. She arrives in Rome in a lavish procession and wins the adulation of the Roman people. The Senate grows increasingly discontented amid rumors that Caesar wishes to be made king, which is anathema to the Romans. On the Ides of March in 44 B.C., the Senate is preparing to vote on whether to award Caesar additional powers. Despite warnings from his wife Calpurnia (Gwen Watford) and Cleopatra, he is confident of victory. However, he is stabbed to death by various senators.

Octavian (Roddy McDowall), Caesar’s nephew, is named as his heir, not Caesarion. Realizing she has no future in Rome, Cleopatra returns home to Egypt. Two years later, Caesar’s assassins, among them Cassius (John Hoyt) and Brutus (Kenneth Haigh), are killed at the Battle of Philippi. The following year, Mark Antony (Richard Burton) establishes a second triumvirate with Octavian and Lepidus. They split up the empire: Lepidus receives Africa, Octavian Spain and Gaul, while Antony will take control of the eastern provinces. However, the rivalry between Octavian and Antony is becoming apparent.

While planning a campaign against Parthia in the east, Antony realizes he needs money and supplies, and cannot get enough from anywhere but Egypt. After refusing several times to leave Egypt, Cleopatra gives in and meets him in Tarsus. Antony becomes drunk during a lavish feast. Cleopatra sneaks away, leaving a slave dressed as her, but Antony discovers the trick and confronts the queen. They soon become lovers. Octavian uses their affair in his smear campaign against Antony. When Antony returns to Rome to address the situation brewing there, Octavian traps him into a marriage of state to Octavian’s sister, Octavia (Jean Marsh). Cleopatra flies into a rage when she learns the news.

A year or so later, when Antony next sees Cleopatra, he is forced to humble himself publicly. She demands a third of the empire in return for her aid. Antony acquiesces and divorces Octavia. Octavian clamors for war against Antony and his “Egyptian whore”. The Senate is unmoved by his demands until Octavian reveals that Antony has left a will stating that he is to be buried in Egypt; shocked and insulted, the Senators who had previously stood by Antony abandon their hero and vote for war. Octavian murders the Egyptian ambassador, Cleopatra’s tutor Sosigenes (Hume Cronyn), on the Senate steps.

The war is decided at the naval Battle of Actium on September 2, 31 B.C. where Octavian’s fleet, under the command of Agrippa, defeats the Anthony-Egyptian fleet. Seeing Antony’s ship burning, Cleopatra assumes he is dead and orders the Egyptian forces home. Antony follows, leaving his fleet leaderless and soon defeated. Several months later, Cleopatra manages to convince Antony to retake command of his troops and fight Octavian’s advancing army. However, Antony’s soldiers have lost faith in him and abandon him during the night; Rufio (Martin Landau), the last man loyal to Antony, is killed. Antony tries to goad Octavian into single combat, but is finally forced to flee into the city.

When Antony returns to the palace, Apollodorus, not believing that Antony is worthy of his queen, convinces him that she is dead, whereupon Antony falls on his own sword. Apollodorus then takes Antony to Cleopatra, and he dies in her arms. Octavian captures the city without a battle and Cleopatra is brought before him. He wants to return to Rome in triumph, with her as his prisoner. However, realizing that her son is also dead, she arranges to be bitten by a poisonous asp. She sends her servant Charmian to give Octavian a letter. In the letter she asks to be buried with Antony. Octavian realizes that she is going to kill herself and he and his guards burst into Cleopatra’s chamber and find her dressed in gold and her and her servant Iras dead while an asp crawls along the floor. Octavian is angry that she is dead and leaves. One of Octavian’s guards asks dying Charmian if the queen killed herself well and Charmian answers, “Extremely well” and dies.

REVIEW:

When Elizabeth Taylor passed away awhile back, I wanted to brush up on some of her films. Cleopatra was one that everyone has mentioned as her greatest role, so I was curious to check it out. Why did it take so long to get to it, well, it is four hours long!!! I’m not one of those people who cares for these excessively long movies, so I was in no rush to check it out, but I finally caved.

Somewhere I read that this film has been described as “opulent, decadent excess”. I can’t say that I disagree. So, what did I like?

History lesson. I know a fair bit about Caesar and many things Egyptian, but some somehow I’m not too familiar with Cleopatra, other than she’s like Angelina Jolie (overrated beauty). Like most historical pictures, this flick takes liberties with history, but there are parts that are accurate. These are the scenes that make you wish you could have watched it in history class. Wouldn’t that have been more interesting than listening to your teacher lecture for an hour?

Beauty of a betty. Elizabeth Taylor was a definitive looker back in her day. In the early parts of the film, when she is getting bathed by her slave girls, she even shows off her body…or at least all that could be shown in 1963. Combine all that with her talent and it is no wonder she was cast, despite her, shall we say…lack of pigment?

Epic scale. While this wasn’t filmed in Rome or Egypt, the sets were on a grand scale. If this was done today, most of it would have been computer generated, more than likely. You know how no one wants to work on their craft anymore. Back in the day, such hard work paid off, as can be seen in this film.

Costumes. Similar to the sets, the costumes are just as epic. I think I read that Taylor made around 80 costume changes (don’t quote me on that, though).

Story and performances.  As with 99.9999% of films made in yesteryear, the story is well crafted and executed and the cast gives flawless performances. It shows that people actually cared back then, as opposed to today where filmmakers have all but turned everything over to the computers and think of nothing but money.

What didn’t I like?

Not enough Cleopatra. Seeing as how she is the title character, I was expecting there to have been more of her, and there just wasn’t. I felt that there was too much focus on Caesar, Mark Antony, and to a lesser extent, Octavius. You can make the case about her own story not being that interesting, but I’m sure there was plenty going on down there in Egypt while this film was focusing on Rome.

Not an opera. 4 hours is just too long. The only way I can excuse anything for being that long, is if it was an opera. I know for a fact that I dozed off a couple of times. There are two things they could have done with this. Either split it into two separate films or cut some stuff out. Simple as that.

Whitewash. I’m not one to go on a tangent about race, and I won’t start now. However, last I checked, Egyptians were rather dark-skinned, and yet I don’t believe I saw a single non-white person in the entire films, save for that one African tribe that was dancing fairly early on in the film.

This film is truly a classic. While it may not have been as commercial a success as they would have liked for it have been, it has gone on to make up for that, especially with the legacy of Taylor and the love story that developed between she and leading man Richard Burton. Despite the excessive length, I highly recommend this flick. It is definitely one of those that one must see before they die!

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Life With Father

PLOT:

In late nineteenth century New York a Wall Street broker likes to think his house runs his way, but finds himself constantly bemused at how much of what happens is down to his wife. His children are also stretching their wings, discovering girls and making money out of patent medicine selling. When it comes to light he has never been baptized and everyone starts insisting he must do so, it all starts to get a bit too much.

REVIEW:

With the death of Elizabeth Taylor this week, I figured it was the opportune time to watch one of her earlier films, especially since this has been on my list for quite some time.

Life With Father apparently is the true story of Clarence Day. Yeah, I’d never heard of him, either, but apparently this guy was famous enough to have a statue erected in his honor.

The plot of this film revolves around Clarence, who is a very staunch traditional sort of man and his resistance to change, even though his family is ready to move on to bigger and better things.

Now, that is an oversimplification of what happens in this picture, but it is the gist of it.

The character, Clarence, reminds me of the dad from Mary Poppins, only more extreme. This guy is borderline caveman, if you ask me…not someone I particularly care for.

The children are your typical kids who fear, yet respect their father. Unfortunately, there is nothing memorable about these characters.

As a matter f fact, that goes for the whole cast. With the exception of a very unlikable William Powell as Clarence Day, the whole cast just seems rather flat.

Yes, I know you would like for me to say that Elizabeth Taylor’s star outshined everyone in this picture, but I can’t say that, mainly because she’s only a supporting character. However, we must remember that this one of her first roles, so the greatness that Liz achieved in films such as Cleopatra, is still on the horizon. Everyone has to start somewhere, and this was one of those that got her started.

They say this film is a comedy, but I didn’t really find anything funny about it. I’m not really sure if this is because it wasn’t funny, or if it should have just been labeled as a drama, but it is what it is, and that is not funny.

Is this film any good? Well, I’ve sen much better. However, my main reason for even bothering to watch this flick was to honor the memory of Elizabeth Taylor. So, it served its purpose. However, if you’re wondering what I thought of this as an actual film, then I have to say that it really isn’t worth the trouble. Strangely enough, this film did win nomination for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (William Powell), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color, Best Cinematography, Color and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. So, it does have some credibility. I just didn’t care for it. You’ll have to be the judge for yourself, though.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

The Flintstones

PLOT:

Cliff Vandercave (Kyle MacLachlan), an executive vice president of industrial procurement at Slate & Co., explains to his sexy co-worker Sharon Stone (Halle Berry) of his intentions to frame Fred Flintstone (John Goodman) for a crime, which leads into a live action montage of the opening credits of The Flintstones.

While Fred leaves work for the day, Barney Rubble (Rick Moranis) reveals that he is going to be a father, much to Fred’s amazement. After returning home, Fred reveals to his wife, Wilma (Elizabeth Perkins) that he loaned Barney money so he and his wife, Betty (Rosie O’Donnell) can adopt a child. After adopting a caveboy named Bamm-Bamm, Barney appreciates what Fred did for him and is determined to pay him back. While taking the exams, Fred fails it, and is disappointed since he will not be able to give Wilma the wealthy life she used to have. To pay him back for giving him the money to adopt Bamm-Bamm, Barney (who did well on the exam) swaps his with Fred’s and Fred is promoted to Vice President.

On Fred’s first day as an executive, Cliff brings him to his new office and introduces Miss Stone as his secretary, using her to seduce Fred to keep his attention off of work so he won’t find out about their plan. Cliff has Fred fire Barney because of his exam score, but does his best to help Barney afterwards with financial problems. Cliff proposes a new machine that will do all of the quarry work and increase the company’s income. However, Fred is concerned about the operators losing their jobs. Cliff plans to have a fake version of the machine built and flee with the money gained from the machine, and frame Fred for it. After giving the contracts to Fred, Miss Stone seduces him in an attempt to prevent him from finding out Cliff’s intentions. However, Wilma walks in on the two, forcing a strain on their marriage. The Rubbles move into the Flintstones’ house, causing tension between the Flintstones and the Rubbles, while the Flintstones’ wealth increases. While out at a restaurant, Barney, now working as a busboy, sees on the news that Fred has fired all of the quarry operators. He confronts him about it, and their argument leads to Barney revealing that he switched their tests. The Rubbles move out of the house and Wilma abandons Fred.

Fred discovers Cliff’s intentions, eventually leading into a chase by an angry mob of the unemployed quarry operators. They eventually catch Fred and attempt to lynch him and Barney once they find out it was because of him that Fred was promoted the job. Fred and Barney reconcile while Wilma, Betty and the dictabird arrive at the scene to explain the crime to the mob. Meanwhile, Cliff kidnaps Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm and lures Fred and Barney into a trap. Cliff attempts to kill the dictabird, but is knocked out by Miss Stone, who had realised Cliff’s eventual betrayal. While Barney rescues the kids, Fred uses the catapult to destroy Cliff’s machine, causing Cliff to be trapped in a mixture of water and stone. Miss Stone is arrested, but Fred agrees to vouch for her. Mr. Slate (Dann Florek) declares his love of the substance that Cliff was trapped in, deciding to name it after his daughter Concretia, and declares the Stone Age over with its creation. Slate offers Fred the presidency of a new division in the company, but Fred turns it down in exchange his old job, Slate rehiring all the workers, and adding a few other improvements to the workplace he had originally desired as an executive.

The film ends with a live action montage of the animated series’ closing credits.

REVIEW:

For those of us that actually grew up in the time when cartoons actually came on TV, you may remember The Flintstones (or some versions of it…for me, it was reruns of the original and The Flintstone Kids). This film version of the great cartoon does the show justice, which is something many films that are based on TV shows don’t do.

As you may know from watching the original series, The Flintstones was set in prehistoric time in the fictional town of Bedrock. Everything in this world was similar to today…well, more like the 60s, when the show was originally created, but you get the picture. The only difference is that everything was made of stone, wood, and powered by animals such as mammoths, birds, etc. It is these creatures that made the series such a delight. The movie doesn’t give us as much of them, but what we do get is just like the series.

Casting is actually quite spot on. John Goodman as Fred is perfect, although, at times he seems like he’s trying to more Jackie Gleason than Fred Flintstone.

Rick Moranis could not be more perfect for the role of Barney, but he could have brought a but more of Barney’s simple nature to the character, at least for my taste.

I’m not sure I care for Rosie O’Donnell as Betty, but considering how Rosie was still loved by the public ast the time this film was released, as opposed to the bitter lesbian she appears to be nowadays, my opinion maybe have been swayed subconsciously.

Halle Berry is drop dead gorgeous, no matter what role she’s playing, but as a vixen secretary (scantily clad, btw), she really captures the audience.

Kyle MacLachlan is a total douche as the villain, and it works for him.

I know that the series focused mainly on Fred and Barney, as does the film, but it would be nice to get more of Betty and Wilma. That could just be a personal opinion, though.

As I said before, the fact that this film stayed true to the original series is a huge plus for me. I get so tired of films that based on old series that totally forget their roots. There is a reason these shows worked in the first place, so by taking that away from them, you are stripping them of their identity. It is really impressive to watch the opening and ending. The filmmakers obviously took the timer to make sure they took the animated scenes and turned them into live action, frame by frame. It really works, and if you don’t watch this film for any other reason, you should check that out.

The creatures here are mostly crafted by Jim Henson, but a few are CGI, such as Dino and the sabre tooth tiger cat. No surprise, but the puppets look much better than the CGI. I will give them credit, though. Dino looked good for what he was. I just think he could have been better. Of course, if this film were made today, they’d probably try to make him look unnecessarily real. So much so that he’d be unrecognizable.

The Flintstones is better than most people give it credit for. This may because of the sequel/prequel that was released after, or just because people don’t want to give the flick a shot. I’m willing to give anything a chance, and this was definitely worth the time. A mix of comedy, nostalgia, and fun, this is a must-see. With the same tone as the series, it is hard to not like this film, unless you’re a total purist or one of those people who thinks everything needs to be dark and dreary. If that is the case, then this isn’t the film for you in the first place. Of course, there is alwas Halle Berry to distract you.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars