The Best of Alfred Hitchcock (part 1)

For the last 5 weeks, I have been in London, studying the films of the British "master of suspense", Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock is one of the best filmmakers of of his time, making spy thrillers, horrors and psychological dramas. What makes him even better than his colleagues is his ability to add bits of humor into his pictures--in fact, the more times you see one of his movies, the funnier they become. Hitchcock was and is today the filmgoer's director--he gave us what we want (thrills, laughs, big stars) and gave it to us in the most unique way.

Having made 53 unique films, Hitchcock is not the kind of director who makes it easy to rank his films. Even his "bad" movies (both versions of The Man Who Knew Too Much, Marnie) are fun to watch and analyze. But, nonetheless, I have decided to rank his Top 10 as a way to help newcomers enter his world.

10 Strangers on a Train (1951)

*Farley Granger, Robert Walker and Ruth Roman

While this film certainly isn't a masterpiece, it's still a very thrilling drama. There's just something off about it. I think it's the performances which never seem to take the film to the level it wants to go to. But the film does have some beautifully executed sequences such as Miriam's death scene early in the film as well as a very tense tennis match later on. It's just that, unlike most Hitchcock films, this one doesn't reward those who view it multiple times. But it's still enjoyable that first time.

9. The Birds (1963)

*'Tippi' Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy and Suzanne Pleshette

While I am a fan of this movie and will defend it tirelessly, there is something that's stopping it from being a true horror classic: a proper leading man. Because this is a film about a horror that can't be stopped, there is nothing for Taylor to do besides try to protect his women from an unstoppable force. It doesn't help that Taylor is just not Cary Grant or James Stewart. In any case, the film offers a few legit scary scenes like both times the birds attack the children or when the birds are trying to literally claw their way into the Brenner home. I also love how you can take the bird attacks as a metaphor for almost anything.

8. North by Northwest (1959)

*Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason

This is the ultimate Hitchcock thriller-comedy. It's funny, suspensful, dangerous and full of classic lines and characters. This film was meant to be a lightweight, meaningless thrill-fest after the heavy Vertigo the year before. But in the last 51 years, it has become one of Hitchcock's most studied films. I think that is specifically because Hitchcock wanted it to be an easy film to shoot and watch. It's full of all the devices and imagery that Hitchcock used before--thus making the "Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures".

7. Rebecca (1940)

*Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier and Judith Anderson

Trapped in a an opressive Gothic mansion, the 2nd Mrs. De Winter (whose name isn't given) must live under the shadow of Rebecca, the first Mrs. De Winter. Rebecca is the epitome of beauty, sophistication, class and wit--and the house's new bride is anything but. This film, a proper Gothic romance, is amazing because it makes us feel as claustrophobic as Fontaine's character, even though she's living in a gigantic palatial home. The ghost of Rebecca suffocates us and envelops us into her domestic drama right along with Joan Fontaine. This is definitely a must-see for those looking for a different Hitchcock.

6. Psycho (1960)

*Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Scott Gavin and Janet Leigh

Despite the fact that there are a ton of jokes hidden within the corners of this classic film, I find this movie to be more of a tragedy than a horror film. The two protagonists, Marion and Norman, are both people imprisoned by their lives. Any attempt to escape just ends in, well, murder. The genius of this film is that some scenes are still scary, even after seeing them many times. For instance, when Lila goes through Mother's room, it's a very tense and nervous atmosphere and that's what it makes it scary. You just don't know what's going to happen!

The Best of Alfred Hitchcock #5-1 coming up!

Get Me to the Nearest Exit

I'm always a little weary of comedies without a strong female presence for two reasons. The first is that male-oriented comedies tend to slip into the "boys will be boys" cliches of bachelors on the loose--hard partying, skanky-hot girls, an obscene amount of narcotics and alcohol, projectile vomit. Eye-roll!

The second reason is that women in male-oriented comedies are just items on a list of cliches. The list:

1. the naggy girlfriend/wife from whom the male has to escape (Leslie Mann in Knocked Up)

2. the impossibly flirty sex kitten (Elizabeth Banks in The 40-Year-Old Virgin)

3. the unattainable ex who is continually pleaded to take back the guy who doesn't deserve her (Elizabeth Banks in Role Models)

4. the Perfect Girl--at least she's the adolescent man's version of the perfect girl (Mila Kunis in Forgetting Sarah Marshall)

The last one, which is not as obnoxious as the others, is actually not featured in the comedy Get Him to the Greek, the second directorial feature by Nicholas Stoller who previously helmed the modern romantic-comedy classic Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Aldous Snow, the hilarious fictional rock star in Sarah Marshall, is given his own picture here and is again played by Mr. Katy Perry aka Russell Brand. Jonah Hill also stars as an up-and-comer at a failing music company. Supporting cast includes Sean Combs (aka P. Diddy), Elisabeth Moss (of Mad Men fame), the lovely Rose Byrne and Colm Meaney.

The plot is this: Aaron (Hill) is sent by his boss Sergio (Combs) to bring faded rock star Aldous Snow (Brand) from London to Los Angeles in 3 days for an anniversary concert, which can save both Sergio's company and Snow's career. Both Aaron and Aldous are having romantic problems with their love interests, ambitious doctor Daphne (Moss) and the newly successful singer Jackie Q (Byrne) respectively.

Yes, the movie is funny. The one-liners and the sight gags zing by at a rapid pace. But what makes films like I Love You, Man and Role Models and Forgetting Sarah Marshall so much better is that the zany comedy is accompanied by a real story in which characters grow as human beings. Greek's attempts to ground the characters in reality are harmed by three things.

1. Whenever the film touches upon a real issue, it doesn't explore the issue in a poignant-but-still-hilarious way. Instead, the situation escalates to a ridiculous and farcical level until the original issue is hardly recognizable. Aldous's daddy drama becomes a drug-induced fight scene at a Vegas club. Aaron and Daphne's communication issues become an ill-advised threesome with Aldous (being a fan of HBO's True Blood, I have seen some weird bedroom scenes that were also slightly funny--this one is just weird and poorly written).

In fact, Aaron's relationship with Daphne is one of the movie's biggest flaws. They're painfully awkward around each other as if they decided to move in together after the first date. Moss, who received an Emmy nomination Thursday for her work on Mad Men, is a talented actress but her character is disastrously written.

2. The "race against the clock" story offers no real tension. Sure, the careers of three men hang in the balance but there's no hint of future financial ruin. Aldous Snow doesn't mention his money running out; Sergio seems to be rich enough; and Aaron is about to marry an in-demand doctor! So even if Aldous doesn't make it to the Greek--who is really getting hurt?

3. Stoller (who also wrote the screenplay) seems to think that taking a parodical character from one film and making him into a real character in a spin-off is a smart idea. One of the things that made Aldous Snow so funny in Sarah Marshall was that he was impossibly ludicrous. His music, his lifestyle--everything was just so out there. In this film, he's a legit rock star with legit music--his songs aren't hilarious parodies. And then, when you give him real problems, it just doesn't work. In Greek, he realizes that his career and his marriage have both failed and he's out to destroy his own life through drug abuse, alcoholism and extreme partying. To me, that's pathetic, not funny. This version of Aldous Snow would be better off in an Oscar-bait drama, not a summer comedy.

The only character who is treated right is sadly the one character with the least amount of screentime: Jackie Q, wonderfully played by Rose Byrne (who just received her second Emmy nomination for her work on Damages). Not only does Jackie Q provide some of the biggest laughs in the movie (especially with her two songs "Supertight" and "Ring 'Round") but she is actually the most interesting character (just like how Sarah Marshall was). Jackie is a woman who loves Aldous but knows that he is wrong for her and thus has left him. She will probably never be able to love another man as much as she loves Aldous but she did what she had to do for herself and for her child. Even though Jackie has some serious issues, she's still uproariously funny (the sweetly raunchy phone call, the interview in the beginning of the movie), showing that it's possible to do both. It doesn't hurt that Byrne is a terrific actress whose talent probably brought out a lot of depth that may or may not have been on the page.

Get Him to the Greek is not a terrible movie. It's enjoyable (and even more so if you ignore all of its failures). But don't go see it looking for the depth and insight found in Forgetting Sarah Marshall or in any of the other Apatow Productions' films.

Get Him to the Greek: C+