By: Henry J. Fromage –
My last day of the Wisconsin Film Festival had a bit of an unexpected theme- straight up crowdpleasers.
268. Sholay
Who knew my favorite film of the fest would be a restoration of a 1975 Bollywood smash (which got good buzz at TIFF, but I don’t go there to watch previously released films)? There’s a reason it played five years straight at some theaters in India- it absolutely slaps. The story of a couple of best friends and career criminals who get enlisted by an ex-cop to help capture a psychopathic bandit terrorizing a small rural town is essentially Bollywood’s rejoinder to the great Spaghetti Westerns of the decade prior. It’s also peak Bollywood- maximalist t0 its core- all of the tones! all of the genres! all of the cheese! performances pitched straight through the rafters and into outer space! Every once in awhile pandering to the crowd yields something that simply pleases any crowd. A Toast.
269. I Want Your Sex
Gregg Araki is about as indie as it comes, unafraid of sex and taboo (not always a crowd-pleasing stance, of course). Here, though, he’s working with the biggest stars he has in awhile, including Olivia Wilde as a famous artist and Cooper Hoffman as her “sexual muse”/sub (and a supporting cast including the likes of Charlie XCX, Johnny Knoxville, and Daveed Diggs, among others). Yes, there are shades of Secretary or Pillion here, but this isn’t a stealthily romantic concoction by any stretch of the imagination. It is, however, consistently quite funny in its jabs at generational differences in sexual mores and the right kind of unserious in examining the ways in which our sexuality can trip us up or be weaponized against us. Two Beers.
270. Power Ballad
It’d actually be more of a surprise if John Carney didn’t deliver a crowd-pleaser. It certainly looks like we’re shaping up for one in this story of a musician who never hit it big (Paul Rudd) crossing paths with a superstar at a crossroads (Nick Jonas)- another lovely film about human connection and the power of music, comin’ right up! Well, not quite, as the plot centers on Jonas basically stealing a song Rudd shows him, which becomes a massive hit, sending Rudd into a bit of a tailspin until he finally decides to go to L.A. to confront him. It’s a bit knottier stuff, focusing on regrets and the consuming power of the chase for musical success and fame, but never fear, there’s a wholesome realization of what’s truly important before all wraps up. Two Beers.
