Now You Know Your ABCs (Movie Challenge W-Z)

 

This is it, the final countdown, the conclusion, the definitive finale. Again, if you have no clue to what I'm referring to, the post introducing this whole challenge is here. For all of the movies I have viewed so far, you can find them here: part 1; part 2; part 3, and part 4.

 

So let's get on with the final movies in this challenge, shall we? This list of choices felt more satisfying than part 4 and I managed to watch some classics. Read on to find out which ones made the cut... 

W) What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

With the first choice on this list, I went with the classic drama/thriller, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? I have, of course, heard of this film but only really knew of the infamous behind-the-scenes dramatics than the actual plot. The film follows the child star 'Baby' Jane (Bette Davis), as she enters  adulthood while desperately trying to hold onto her fleeting fame. Her sister Blanche (Joan Crawford) has carved out a successful acting career for herself, much to her jealous sister's dismay. The rivarly goes a step too far one night when Blanche gets pinned by a car that's driven by her sister. Due to Blanche's disability, Jane becomes her main carer, much to both sisters' dismay. Jane's descent into madness grows, leading her to take all her frustrations out on her sister violently.

 

So, I was not actually expecting this film to be as tense as it turned out. I'm not too sure what I was expecting, I just knew that the two main stars hated each other with a passion, but I never understood why. The feud between the two legends started long before the film was even conceived and in fact was used, during production, as publicity to drive people to watch them in action. As I said before, this film was filled with tension, right until the final credits and kept the viewer glued to find what would become of the sisters. I did not think the film was going to be as dark as it was, considering the time it was shot. It was definitely memorable and the two stars were both striking and gave a lasting impression on the audience. Even though Davis received the oscar nomination, I think props must be given to Crawford for giving as much a riveting performance as her co-star. A shame that both seemed quite petty in real life as they had great chemistry on-screen, leading to a taunt thriller.

X) Xanadu (1980)

 

The next choice wasn't the easiest. I settled on the classic, campy musical Xanadu. A frustrated artist, Sonny Malone, is trying to make a living out of freelancing but is failing. In one of his failed attempts at drawing up something special, the discarded art somehow resurrects the subjects of a mural, that of the nine muses of Olympus. All but one flies onto Olympus, and she, Terpsichore chooses to return to earth instead. She rollerskates her way through town, literally bumping into Sonny which prompts her to kiss him and then goes on her merry way. Meeting Terpsichore again through work, Sonny and her (now going by the name of Kira) soon fall in love, though Kira does not tell Sonny the truth about her background. After encouraging Sonny and his friend to open a nightclub, Kira reveals her true self as a muse to Sonny and informs him she cannot stay and be in love with him. Sonny follows Kira to her real home, called Xanadu and persists in trying to encourage Kira to come back with him. Her father, Zeus (yeah, that Zeus) forbids this from happening and sends Sonny back to earth. After Kira professes her feelings for Sonny to her parents, they relent for her to visit Earth again. There Kira and the muses hold one last concert at Sonny's nightclub before heading back to Xanadu. However, despite Sonny's misery over this, he soon meets a waitress who happens to very much resemble Kira and engages with her.

While I had heard of this film, I never realised that it received such negative reviews (a film about a rollerskating muse not from this world receiving lukewarm reviews? Surely not). It took a while for me to want to watch this film and to continue watching. It was cheesy, campy, comical but quite an experience to watch. The cheesiness and bizarre plot kind of actually made the film stand out more and is what viewers remember the most. The teaming of the plot with the soundtrack by ELO works well together. It was definitely something I would remember for a long while, mostly because I was left wondering what on earth it was that I was watching.

 

Y) Young Frankenstein (1974)

For the film representing the letter Y, I decided to watch the horror comedy Young Frankenstein. As you might be aware by now, this is another film where I had obviously heard of it but did not know what to expect. I, of course, had my own expectations that turned out to be wrong. Mel Brooks directs Gene Wilder in an interpretation of the classic story Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, in which Wilder stars as Frederick Frankenstein, the grandson of the legendary Dr Victor Frankenstein (how many times can I say Frankenstein in a sentence?). Frederick is so determined to not be associated with his grandfather and his experiments, he insists everyone pronounce his surname as Fronkenstine. After Frederick is informed that he has inherited his grandfather's estate, he travels to Transylvania to inspect the property. Upon arriving, he is greeted by a servant called Igor (pronunced eye-gor) and through his exploration of the estate, Frederick discovers that his grandfather's documents of his experiments ignites a fire inside himself, one that he wishes to continue with the legacy. As Frederick conducts his own experiments, he re-creates Frankenstein's monster leading Frederick to convince the town, and its people, the benefits of playing God and creating man.

I did not expect to love Young Frankenstein as much as I ended up doing. Every time the film gets referenced, I always imagined it to be a slapstick, juvenile kind of comedy. While there are jokes that could be found in most Carry On...films, I was astounded at how much faith to the original story it upheld. It was able to still tell a story that centered on Frankenstein, while remaining witty and hilarious. The dry deliverance of the lines by Wilder and Marty Feldman (Igor) were an absolute highlight, with Wilder's deadpan delivery of jokes and expressions being the most memorable. The behind-the-scenes partnership of Brooks and Wilder made me care deeply for the characters, making this a comedy that can be upheld for the ages. It is also very apparent how much fun each cast member had. This film has definitely piqued my interest in the work that Brooks and Wilder produced and I am likely to seek out more of their films together.

 Zipper (2015)

 

 My very final film in this challenge comes in the form of the political thriller, Zipper. Now did I choose this film mainly because the other films beginning with Z really didn't appeal? Maybe. Did I choose to view this film just because Patrick Wilson starred? Most definitely. Wilson stars as Sam Ellis, a successful prosecutor who is being eyed for a career in politics. Just when his life couldn't get any better (successful career, loving and supportive wife, a son who dotes on his father), an intern makes a move on him at a party. He turns her down and the viewer lets out a sigh of relief. However, the perfect image starts to shatter when Sam decides the best way to curb any unfaithful desire is to see a professional escort (I'm sure there was some logic somewhere). After trying to convince himself that his time with the escort was a one-time occurance and was out of his system, Sam starts to become addicted at the thrill of seeing more escorts. As with most addicitons, he has the foolish confidence of thinking he is in control until the thread is pulled and his life starts unravelling. The once perfect life has come undone and Sam has to make amends to everyone he has hurt. Of course, the deception that he has learned from hiding his double life, is one that's quite appropriate for future life as a politician.

I'm not sure if I can be disappointed by a film that I had never even heard of before this challenge and yet here I am. The only memorable part of Zipper (apart from that title) is Patrick Wilson's performance. He 100% brings everything to the film, which can't be said of his co-stars, or the plot. The film is pretty forgettable, though I was left scratching to my head to the conclusion that Sam's wife (Lena Headey) came to: in order to forgive her husband's betrayal and to save his career, she must sleep with the journalist breaking the story (Ray Winstone). Yeah. I did like the ending that indicated that Sam continued on with his discretions, despite nearly ruining everything for his sordid compulsion. It made the film a tiny bit more realistic, that things didn't conclude with a happy ending (well not for Sam's family anyway) Overall though, a film lacking tension and sympathy for any of the characters.

 

 

And that is that. A challenge that I foolishly envisioned to run for 26 days (ha!), I'm still glad I decided to partake in it, as it opened up the opportunity to view films that I may not have had the chance to, otherwise. Only a few films in the entire list were disappointing and since I viewed a total of 26 films, I would say that was pretty impressive. The most satisfying films, for me, were the classic films I had heard so much about living up to their hype. If you have any other ideas for challenges, let me know in the comments below.