Seems Like Old Times
Reviews by Paul Preston
Welcome to Today I Watched…, a series of posts documenting my new challenge – watch a movie a day for the rest of my life. Keep coming back to TheMovieGuys.net to find out what I watch each day…and get my take on it.
When I see a movie that’s a new release in theaters or on demand, I’ll give it a proper review in the “Reviews” or “Home Viewing”, otherwise, I’ll write about it here.
June 13, 2017 – Boys
Boys is the story of two young lads playing in the yard, being kids, until their story becomes one of those that artsy ad campaigns can only describe as “a journey of sexual awakening”. This is a film that is tasteful and it is also artfully put together, with sharp tech elements and smart story and directorial choices. The two young actors, Wyatt Griswold and Pearce Joza, are especially brave (I hate that term, but here’s a short asking two kids to be sexual in their pre-teens).
My overall feeling about it, however, though, is…do we have to see it? A straight or gay relationship between two under-age kids is just…uncomfortable, even if it’s truthful. There are messages here about how early in life children can have self-discovery about homosexuality that are important, but kids being sexual was, again, just problematic for me, as a viewer.
June 14, 2017 – It Comes at Night – read the review of the latest from Joel Edgerton, a guy whose every project you should see, in the REVIEWS category of TheMovieGuys.net.
June 15, 2017 – Seems Like Old Times
Fellow Movie Guy Adam Witt realized my wife Karen (hardcore lover of old SNL casts) hadn’t seen this early ‘80s comedy, the second teaming of Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn, so he bought it for us! This is a Neil Simon script, and Seems Like Old Times gets its laughs like one of those does – character hijinks and dialogue. The recipient of the best dialogue is Chase, and he delivers it all with his classic dry wit.
Chase plays a writer who is robbed in his home, then forced to assist two thieves in robbing a bank. While on the lam, he seeks refuge in his ex-wife’s house, but her husband is the D.A. Aforementioned hijinks ensue. Classic bits abound – guy hiding under the bed, pratfalls, talking your way out of a run-in with the police, etc. It’s all quite dated now, but Chase’s charm carries the scenes he’s in. The other scenes get buried under the weight of Marvin Hamlisch’s obnoxiously prevalent score or some cringe-worthy overacting in the form of T.K. Carter as Hawn’s butler/chauffeur.
Wackiness boils over in a dinner scene towards the end where secrets get double-downed on, and everyone keeps up fronts in front of the governor, who’s come for dinner. The wackiness extends to the courtroom finale, it’s all over-the-top. Despite a really bad final moment, the film does bring charm, but somehow doesn’t maintain its cool like the first Chase/Hawn team-up, Foul Play.
Directed by: Jay Sandrich
Release Date: December 18, 1980
Run Time: 100 Minutes
Rated: PG
Country: USA
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
