61* in '61

I finally got around to watching Billy Crystal's HBO movie 61* -- that is to say, I finally found it at the Library and didn't have to pay for it. Even a member of the loyal opposition can appreciate the history of the Evil Empire, and the heroics of Mantle and Maris nearly 50 years ago.

On one level, there is a great deal of nostalgia. Whether Crystal was trying to depict it or not, even a baseball movie from as recently as the decade in which I was born makes you yearn for day games, reasonable salaries (Mantle made about $70,000 that year, which less than Babe Ruth had made in his prime more than thirty years earlier), and accessible ticket prices. Baseball truly is -- or was -- the people's sport, being played every day with the intent that you can take your son or sweetheart to the game that afternoon without a great deal of saving, planning or a second mortgage.

Unfortunately, however, while 61* is about baseball's most accessible era, Billy Crystal makes it inaccessible to young fans. Why he finds it necessary to include a plethora of foul language and a little too much detail on the Mick's extracurricular habits makes the movie unsuitable for children, much like today's game (with 8:30 PM starts and decent tickets starting at $100) is also out of reach.

One other minor complaint -- several times in the movie, the Whitey Ford character addresses Mantle as "Slick." In fact, Slick was Ford's nickname (and the title of his autobiography), because Ford was the "City Slicker" of the bunch.

Some viewers also find fault with the film being bookended by the performance of Mark McGwire in 1998, breaking Maris' record, given how McGwire has disgraced himself since then. A fair enough criticism, although it should be noted that 61* was made in 2001, when McGwire still held the record and was still active (Bonds set the new record later that year). This viewer found it a curious cinemagraphic tool which probably made sense in Crystal's mind in 2001 -- who would have expected it to be somewhat jarring to the audience eight years later. Those who feel more strongly may want to Give It Back to Maris.

For Diehards Only

And for Red Sox fans with a lot of time on their hands, click here.

Good Luck, cont'd

One other thought on "Good Night and Good Luck" -- there's a scene where the Fred Friendly character (played by George Clooney) interrogates a military officer, asking him (amongst other things) who made the decision and if those people "were elected." An interesting thought coming from a member of the Fourth Estate.

Good night, good luck, and merry Christmas.

Being an old media hack, I figured I'd take in Good Night, and Good Luck. It's certainly well-filmed and well-cast (although the ridiculous subplot, which you can read more about in this review (scroll down!), may be the worst I've ever seen).

I won't nitpick the details with a view towards exposing the prejudices of the filmmakers, because we already know the conclusion of that. Since all I know about the 1950's is what I've read, or heard, or seen on Happy Days, I'll leave much of that judgment up to people who were there.

However, I do find it interesting that a movie full of caterwauling about the integrity of the media and its centrality to the preservation of democracy, produced by a cadre of well-known leftists, leaves us wondering how, exactly, Edward R. Murrow and his colleagues would evaluate the current state of media proselytizing, particularly their awestruck worship of the (eventual) commander-in-chief over the past 18 months or so, and their failure to find any flaws in his administration since January. I'm not naive enough to expect total impartiality, but I would like to see something close to the incisive and tenacious journalism that See It Now employed against the junior senator from Wisconsin.

Good night, and good luck -- to all of us -- that we would be saved from ourselves.

Hemmingway on Hughes

Interesting article on John Hughes by Mark Hemmingway.

I haven't seen too many of his movies, although I did see The Breakfast Club about 3 times, and I never decided if I liked it or not. I supposed I should have, since I was in high school when it came out, but I wasn't sure if I was John Bender, Andrew Clark or Brian Johnson. Maybe a hybrid.

Sheriff at the Gates

For those who appreciate great satire, with a Shakespearean twist.

Watch out for the "Fool" in Act III.