Look Who’s Talking

Year: 1989
Directed By: Amy Heckerling
Written By: Amy Heckerlng

RYAN’S REVIEW

This movie does not belong in this collection of films.  It is here for one and only one reason; we had babies of our own.  I would have never in a million years purchased this film but I caught it on TV one day when our first born was just a toddler.  Suddenly this really stupid movie seemed like the funniest thing I had ever seen.  To me, that made it worth owning.  Sometimes perspective is everything and makes all the difference in the world.

So much for perspective, I have now finished watching this movie again for the first time in a few years and all I can say is I was really caught up in the moment when I decided to buy it.  I think it just hit me at the right time and I thought much too highly of it when I saw it on a shelf somewhere.  The truth is I have always enjoyed going to the store and buying movies to add to our collection.  The problem over the last few years is that I own nearly everything I ever loved and new movies are often out of the price range I find acceptable for DVDs these days. I miss finding new additions that I could snatch up and add to the shelf so sometimes I find myself reaching and buying movies that aren’t worth a damn.  This is one of those cases I’m afraid, I said it even before watching it again; this movie flat out does not belong.

Do I even bother spending the time to write about this movie? It has its moments here and there that are funny if you have experience with babies and small children but otherwise it is a complete waste of time.  John Travolta’s career had fallen straight into the crapper and if nothing else this franchise did do something to keep him going until he got his role in Pulp Fiction and got his star power back. He made three of them after all and they seemed to get progressively worse capping off with the most ridiculous excuse for a sequel ever in which the dogs were doing the talking. Despite all that if it kept him afloat long enough to recapture some stardom it at least matters for something.

I was too young to really get into Cheers when it was the hottest thing on TV so Kirstie Alley has never meant much to me.  To be perfectly honest she did nothing in this film to win my favor either.  I think she has a really whiny voice, and a whiny personality to go along with it.  My wife is a big fan and pulled for her on Dancing with the Stars but I have never seen the appeal. I feel it’s necessary to mention Bruce Willis in this review because he is a big name attached to the film.  As the voice of Mikey he certainly made that sperm/baby/toddler sound pretty cool but I don’t think this film was ever listed on his resumé.

I am a fan of Amy Heckerling and think she is a talented filmmaker.  Despite my opinion about this film I still think she did many good things with it.  She wrote really clever dialogue for the baby and toddler to think and I think she captured what so many of us know to be true early in parenthood.  I specifically like her intro to the film with the egg making its way into place and the scene in which sperm Willis manages to beat out all of his competition to inseminate the egg.  I will always be a fan of Heckerling though because she made one of my favorite high school films, Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

I think I have said too much about this film already and I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to see it.  If you are a parent then there is plenty here to laugh at should you catch it on TV one day but overall I don’t think this movie is worth your time.

AMBER’S REVIEW

I remember watching this movie when I was little. My mom had a collection of movies that I would watch when I visited her and it included this one. She had a thing for both Travolta and Alley. I used to laugh and laugh. It’s also one of those movies that you watch as a kid and don’t fully understand the opening scene. Once you are an adult, you realize what it is and it becomes so much more…you know I don’t even know the words for the feeling. Maybe awkward? In any case I still love this movie and that’s probably because I have kids of my own now. Never been a big lover of Travolta, but I like his greaser-esque role in this movie.

This poster came out in 89, so I think it is actually doing a pretty good job of being clean and to the point. It also hits the target market: parents. If you don’t have kids then you probably don’t understand why the kid is chewing on the letters of the title. Until you have kids, you don’t understand the innate need they all have to put every last thing they grab into their mouths. And who can really blame them, what with all the bones forcing their way through gummy tissue. This poster hits the target market, keeps the typography and imaging clean and simple, and overall I think it does quite an incredible job. Especially for this caliber movie and time period. Kudos designer.

NEXT MOVIE: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2003)

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Year:1982
Directed By: Amy Heckerling
Written By: Cameron Crowe

RYAN’S REVIEW

I have written in several other posts about what it is that makes us love high school movies likes this one and all of that applies to this film.  This is a great movie that I always enjoy watching.  It is a good insight into life in the early 80s and it sports an awesome soundtrack with lots of music from the time period. What I find most interesting about all movies like this is that no matter what time period it comes out of the kids are always doing the same things.  They are doing the same things now only they have headphones in their ears and cell phones in their hands.  The great high school films are timeless despite being a product of their time period.  This movie came out before I was born but it has always spoken to me despite my growing up in a completely different time.

I think this was the best of all Amy Heckerling‘s films by far. I like that certain songs are used multiple times to express the mood of the character on screen. I also really like how she incorporates graffiti from so many locations.  I love when Judge Reinhold is practicing what he will say to his girlfriend in front of a mirror with “BIG HAIRY PUSSY” written on it in giant letters.  I have always liked Reinhold and I think he is really great in this movie.  He is just one part of a great cast though.  Phoebe Cates is great here too, and she has such an awesome topless scene set to “Moving in Stereo” by The Cars. Jennifer Jason Leigh is very much the main character in the film and I think she does a great job but she scares the shit out of me because I have daughters. Sean Penn is so classic in this film, he has gone on to have such a great career but I think many of us will always remember him most as the stoner Jeff Spicoli. Ray Walston is great as Mr. Hand, playing a teacher that reminds us all of a teacher we had ourselves.   Forest Whitaker has a small role as the star football player at Ridgemont.  Also taking an important career step in this film is Nicolas Cage before he was Cage.  He was credited as Nicolas Coppola in this film and was only cast as an extra.  Before his career took off he changed his name to Cage to distance himself from his famous relative Francis Ford Coppola.

There is a lot to like about this 80’s high school flick and it is really fun to watch.  It is a great depiction of life in 1982 and I think that makes it special. They are wearing the crazy 80’s clothes and smoking everywhere. The movie did lead to a television show that ran for a while and Amy Heckerling directed it.  I have never seen it though and don’t know much else about it.  If you haven’t seen this film and have the opportunity I would recommend to anyone.  It is an awesome movie that is more than worth your time.

AMBER’S REVIEW

I totally love this movie. It is a classic movie about teens during a certain time period much like Dazed and Confused. There are so many famous actors in this movie that weren’t yet super famous at the time. The amazing Sean Penn plays the stoner that has pizza delivered to class. This movie is a great one because it takes you back to your own high school days and makes you reminisce. I definitely recommend this one. It is light-hearted and fun; a movie that doesn’t make you think too hard about it.

NEXT MOVIE: Fearless (2006)