Movie Review: Any Day Now (2012)

"Any Day Now" follows a gay couple, Rudy (Alan Cumming) and Paul (Garret Dillahunt) who in a matter of days fall in love and take in a teenager with Down's syndrome named Marco after Marco's neglectful mother is arrested.  Despite Rudy's objections, the couple must live closeted in order to maintain temporary custody of Marco.  The truth about Rudy and Paul's relationship threatens the happiness they find parenting Marco, who flourishes in their care.  The film follows the legal and personal struggles the gay couple have in the 1970's trying to gain legal custody in this based on a true story.

I really fell for this film, perhaps as quickly as Rudy and Paul fell for each other in the film.  I felt though this is not the lightest of stories, it is an important one and is well told in this character-driven drama.  The characters and their relationships are well-developed and I especially liked seeing Dillahunt's character Paul really grow from a closeted and timid lawyer to a passionate father and partner to the head-strong and passionate Rudy.  One of the best aspects though is that there are moments when the antagonists such as the judges and other opposing forces show sympathy towards Rudy and Paul though the reality is that in California in the 1970's the legal system simply wasn't going to bend for a gay couple in a custody situation.  I think this gave an element of humanity to the minor players, who were easy to portray as one-dimensional "bad guys."  Look out for the scenes where Rudy sings - I think the staging is especially poignant  and effective at conveying emotion.

Overall I think this is a well-done and effective small film that had the benefit of a well-written script and strong acting by Cumming and Dillahunt.  Give this one a rental - A-

Movie Review: Spring Breakers (2013)

"Spring Breakers," written and directed by famed Harmony Korine, follows four college students who are childhood friends and are desperate to find themselves at Spring Break in Florida.  The problem for the girls is that they lack the money to fund this much-needed trip of self-exploration.  So Candy (Vanessa Hudgens) and Brit (Ashley Benson) devise a plan to rob a local restaurant with fake guns and Cotty (Rachel Korine) as the getaway driver.  The plan is a success and even more straight-laced Faith (Selena Gomez) grabs her bags and jumps on the bus to St. Petersburg, FL for fun in the sun and wild partying.  Things go well and the girls feel they've found paradise until the police bust a party and they find themselves in jail.  A local rapper/gangster called Alien (James Franco) bails the girls out in hopes of bringing them into his world, which three out of the four happily oblige.  Spring Break soon morphs from mindless fun into something much darker.

I wanted to hate this movie but it's not all bad.  Yes it is filled with the over-the-top partying scenes with topless girls all over the place and the acting (and the dialogue written for them) by the lead actresses is not best but the film is not all bad.  First there's an almost unrecognizable James Franco playing a character that is unlike any other I've seen.  Alien is a character I almost couldn't take seriously but I couldn't get him out of my head.  Second I liked the comparison of the light, idealistic ideal of the college Spring Break (parties, sun, beautiful people) with the seedy violence that permeated through the film, including the really violent act that enabled the girls to take this trip to paradise.  Though the girls are often depicted as sweet, immature girls there's this other side to them (with the exception of Gomez's character) that is very dark.  The look of the film is unique - it almost plays like an extended music video - quick cuts, bright colors, slick music.

All this said, the script is not the best and most of the acting isn't either.  Also this is not the typical fun or light Spring Break movie as there is a good bit of violence and language.  C-