| |  |
 Content Rating Notice: Recommended for Readers 18 Years and Older Only
|
| Pure and Easy I listened and I heard music in a word. | | by: | |
|
| Item Size: 37 Entries
Created: 8:59am on 10-12-2008
Modified: 8:12am on 11-17-2009 | |
| |
|
[ <<-- Previous || Back To Entry List || Next -->> ]
[ Leave a comment ] [ View 2 comments ]
|
Entry #660351, added on 07-22-09 @ 10:55 am EDT.
[Entry Access Restriction] None.
Title:
A writer writes. Always.
Throw Mama From The Train is not only a marvelous black comedy and homage/tribute to Alfred Hitchcock's work, it is a film that every writer absolutely must see. Not to learn anything much about writing as a skill, but to have a number of satisfying laughs when one recognizes situations that all serious writers have encountered.
When we first meet the protagonist, Larry, he's seated at his electric typewriter (the film was made in 1987) working on his new novel. Unfortunately, he's stuck on the first sentence. "The night was..." Hot. Humid. Sultry. He can't decide on the right modifier. At that point, my heart went out to him, especially when I learned that his ex-wife had stolen his previous novel and had a tremendous hit with it under her own name. Meanwhile, Owen, an unassuming student in Larry's writing class, is trying to write his novel, but his mother constantly belittles him and humiliates him. He decides that she must die. When Larry, who is trying to help Owen with his mystery novel, directs him to the Hitchcock film Strangers on a Train, all hell breaks loose.
Billy Crystal and Danny Devito shine as the harassed writer and his foil. Larry wants only to be left alone, but is shocked into action when he discovers that Owen has pushed his ex-wife off a yacht in Hawaii. All our sympathies are with the two, particularly because Owen's momma is such an unlikable woman. The late Anne Ramsey really shone in this role, her last, becoming a true monster who seems unslayable.
Some of my favorite writing scenes were in the class. We have Mrs. Hazeltine, who has written a WWII novel but hasn't bothered to do much research. "He pushed the button that made the sub go down," she intones. "Yeah, Dave. We showed those bastards." Another would-be writer, Mr. Pinsky, wants to grace the world with a book tentatively entitled "100 Girls I'd Like To Pork". "It would have pictures. It's a coffee-table book."
Anyone who loves black humor will love this movie. The casting, which includes Rob Reiner and jazz great Branford Marsalis in supporting roles, is inspired. The dialogue is sharp and at times deeply moving, such as when Owen shows Larry his coin collection from his late father. Best of all, the ending is satisfying and true to the tone of the story.
Highly recommended for all you writers out there--or anyone who enjoys a great comedy.
 |
© Copyright 2009 Lynn McKenzie (UN: lynnmckenzie at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Lynn McKenzie has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
[ <<-- Previous || Back To Entry List || Next -->> ]
[ Leave a comment ] [ View 2 comments ] |
Login To Leave Feedback |
Login To Leave Feedback |
|
| | | | From Our Sponsor | | | By Online Authors | | | |
![View dlsheepdog's Portfolio. [Offline / Private]](http://imgs.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/costumicons/ps-icon-mystery-60.gif "View dlsheepdog's Portfolio. [Offline / Private]"){kind=icon}
![View lynnmckenzie's Portfolio. [Offline / Private]](http://imgs.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/costumicons/ps-icon-regular-40.gif "View lynnmckenzie's Portfolio. [Offline / Private]"){kind=icon}
![Email User: lynnmckenzie [Offline / Private]](http://imgs.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/mail-off.gif "Email User: lynnmckenzie [Offline / Private]"){kind=small}
