RENAISSANCE MAN is a really-not-that-bad inspirational teacher movie directed by Penny Marshall (A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN) and written by Jim Burnstein (a rookie who later did D3: THE MIGHTY DUCKS). It’s corny in the usual ways but also benefits from the simple appeal of the formula and a more-subtle-than-usual performance by Danny DeVito (ROMANCING THE STONE, THE JEWEL OF THE NILE, BATMAN RETURNS).
He plays Bill Rago, a fuck up in the world of advertising who gets fired after missing an important meeting with out-of-town VIPs. Ed Begley Jr. (last seen two weeks ago in EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES) appears briefly as his friend Jack who hired him and still cares about him but has run out of jobs for him. While defending him to the boss Jack says “the man’s had a few personal setbacks the last couple years,” and we can infer that one of them is a divorce, but I like that they never elaborate. Maybe it was some weird shit too. We don’t know. (read the rest of this shit…)
I wasn’t intending to include CLUELESS in my Summer of ’95 retrospective, since I mainly like to look at “blockbuster” type movies. And I feel very familiar with it. I saw it a long time ago and then I’ll watch parts of it on cable now and then. But I think Mr. Majestyk or somebody said he was hoping I would do it and you know I’m like a DJ, I try to read the audience and move the crowd and what not.
And man, when you sit down and watch it from beginning to end for the first time in a while, CLUELESS really holds up. It’s a funny, unique movie, one that’s simultaneously very ’90s in attitude, music and cultural references, and timeless because of its stylishly heightened (I hope) depiction of the world of Los Angeles rich kids. And you know what, nothing against James Acheson, who won a costume design Oscar for RESTORATION that year, but do you think he ever sent flowers to Mona May, who did this shit? I mean come on. It’s brilliant. Apparently she got her start working with Julie Brown on MTV (not Downtown, the funny one who plays the gym teacher here).
Alicia Silverstone plays Cher, the spoiled daughter of an angry widower lawyer (Dan Hedaya, ALIEN RESURRECTION). She and Stacey Dash as her best friend Dionne (they were “both named after famous singers of the past who now do infomercials”) in some ways fit the stereotype of Beverly Hills teen girls: they obsess over expensive name brand clothes and their own popularity, they think less about school and their futures than about boys and parties (though they don’t seem very interested in drinking and look down on anything more than occasional drug use). They are superficial, but they’re generally well-meaning, nice people. Then one day, inspired by ex stepbrother Josh (Paul Rudd, GEN-X COPS 2: METAL MAYHEM)’s comment about Marky Mark* attending a tree-planting ceremony, Cher decides to try using her popularity for good.
*This was before FEAR, let alone BOOGIE NIGHTS, so nobody called him Mark Wahlberg, not even his parents.(read the rest of this shit…)
WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT THE SHIT OUT OF VERN & OUTLAWVERN.COM
if that's your thing:
1. Patreon
Toss me a couple bucks a month, support the good shit, also get access to a bunch of exclusive writing. This is my primary source of writing money that has allowed me to cut down to part time at the day job. Thank you!
2. Buy my books from your local bookseller or somebody
(NOTE: My ten year contract has passed on the Titan books, so I don't get residuals on them like I do WORM ON A HOOK and NIKETOWN, but I would love for you to read them because I'm proud of them)
EXTRA CREDIT: Review them on Amazon! That would really help me out. Unless you didn't like them, in which case forget I said anything.
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(you pay the same amount you were gonna pay anyway they cut me a little slice)
I also have an Amazon UK one:
(I can't get the search box widget to work anymore, so click on MOONWALKER and then search for what you want.)
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Tell your friends about my reviews and my books and everything. Only cool people though please, we don't need a bunch of suckers and/or chumps around here.
THANKS EVERYBODY. YOUR FRIEND, VERN
* * * *
Recent commentary and jibber-jabber
Aktion Figure on Die Hard: “Double dammit. It’s “The Last Two Weeks of Georges Rivac”. For posterity.” Nov 9, 23:04
Aktion Figure on Predator: “@KayKay Wait, what are you on about? Predator, as much as I love it IS pretty much as lunk-headed as…” Nov 9, 22:17
KayKay on Predator: “Miguel, there are also brain-dead lunkheads who dismiss Predator as just another cheesy ’80s muscle-fest — which is basically code…” Nov 9, 18:07
Aktion Figure on Die Hard: “Dammit, I do it every time. It’s “Dance of the Dwarfs”. I recommend everyone go into that one completely blind.…” Nov 9, 11:35
Aktion Figure on Die Hard: “Don’t really know where else to put this so here’s the spot. Reorganizing some of my bookshelves tonight and one…” Nov 9, 11:09
KayKay on Cronos: “Vern absolutely nails it — and in the behind-the-scenes doc (also on Netflix), GDT himself admits he wanted to dress…” Nov 9, 07:35
Miguel Hombre on Predator: “There’s a hilarious article on The Hollywood Reporter ranking the Predator movies and it has the original PREDATOR third. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/predator-movies-ranked-from-worst-to-best/prey-2022/…” Nov 9, 05:53
CJ Holden on The Fall Guy: “After finally catching up on it, I sadly have to announce my disappointment. Okay, it’s solid. The part about the…” Nov 9, 05:43
Curt on Americana: “I think we’ve all had enough of the TOPO sitting on their holy mountain, forcing us into their dance of…” Nov 9, 03:13
VERN on Cronos: “That’s funny, I didn’t think about that, I was thinking of him as a ’60s rock star, but I totally…” Nov 8, 22:09
KayKay on Americana: “Good points Vern, although I’d question that it was only 3 random posters on an obscure forum which would have…” Nov 8, 19:24
Qban8 on Cronos: “So I had to bypass this thread to carve in digital stone, to the only critic who might see what…” Nov 8, 16:35
VERN on Americana: “KayKay – Good summary, but I want to dispute one thing. I read about it and from what I can…” Nov 8, 12:00
Mike V. on Godzilla Minus One: “I missed this both times it was in theaters (no big surprise–the only films I’ve seen in a theater since…” Nov 8, 09:51
Mr. Majestyk on Materialists: “I stand corrected. I guess they know their audience.” Nov 8, 04:53
June 3rd, 1994
