Monthly Archives: January 2023

Here Are The 2022 Nominees of the San Diego Film Critics Society

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The winners will be announced on January 6th!

Best Picture
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
ELVIS
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
THE FABELMANS
TÁR

Best Director
Edward Berger, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Todd Field, TÁR
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Martin McDonagh, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Steven Spielberg, THE FABELMANS

Best Actor
Austin Butler, ELVIS
Colin Farrell, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Ralph Fiennes, THE MENU
Brendan Fraser, THE WHALE
Gabriel LaBelle, THE FABELMANS

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, TÁR
Danielle Deadwyler, TILL
Regina Hall, HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL.
Michelle Williams, THE FABELMANS
Michelle Yeoh, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

Best Supporting Actor
Brendan Gleeson, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Brian Tyree Henry, CAUSEWAY
Barry Keoghan, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Ke Huy Quan, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Mark Rylance, BONES AND ALL

Best Supporting Actress
Kerry Condon, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Jamie Lee Curtis, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Nina Hoss, TÁR
Stephanie Hsu, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Lashana Lynch, THE WOMAN KING

Best Comedic Performance
Nicolas Cage, THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT
Daniel Craig, GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
Brian Tyree Henry, BULLET TRAIN
Brad Pitt, BULLET TRAIN
Daniel Radcliffe, WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY

Best Youth Performance (For a performer under the age of 16)
Jalyn Hall, TILL
Madeleine McGraw, THE BLACK PHONE
Banks Repeta, ARMAGEDDON TIME
Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, AFTER YANG
Jaylin Webb, ARMAGEDDON TIME

Best Original Screenplay
Keith Beauchamp, Chinonye Chukwu, Michael Reilly, TILL
Todd Field, TÁR
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Martin McDonagh, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Seth Reiss, Will Tracy, THE MENU

Best Adapted Screenplay
Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Guillermo del Toro, Patrick McHale, Gris Grimly, Matthew Robbins, GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO
Samuel D. Hunter, THE WHALE
David Kajganich, BONES AND ALL
Sarah Polley, Miriam Toes, WOMEN TALKING

Best Documentary
ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED
FIRE OF LOVE
GOOD NIGHT OPPY
NAVALNY
WILDCAT

Best Animated Film
GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO
MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON
PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH
TURNING RED
WENDELL & WILD

Best Foreign Language Film
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
CLOSE
DECISION TO LEAVE
HAPPENING
RRR

Best Editing
David Brenner, James Cameron, John Refoua, Stephen E. Rivkin, Ian Silverstein, AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
Sarah Broshar, Michael Kahn, THE FABELMANS
Mikkel E. G. Nielsen, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Jonathan Redmond, Matt Villa, ELVIS
Paul Rogers, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

Best Cinematography
Russell Carpenter, AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
Ben Davis, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Janus Kaminski, THE FABELMANS
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, THIRTEEN LIVES
Linus Sandgren, BABYLON

Best Production Design
Katie Byron, DON’T WORRY DARLING
Rick Carter, THE FABELMANS
Rick Heinrichs, GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
Jason Kisvarday, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Florencia Martin, BABYLON

Best Visual Effects
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO
TOP GUN: MAVERICK

Best Costume Design
Jenny Beavan, MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS
Ruth E. Carter, BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
Catherine Martin, Rachelle Mejia, ELVIS
Marci Rodgers, TILL
Mary Zophres, BABYLON

Best Sound Design
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
BULLET TRAIN
ELVIS
TÁR
TOP GUN: MAVERICK

Best Use of Music
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
ELVIS
THE FABELMANS
TÁR
WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY

Breakthrough Artist
Jessie Buckley, WOMEN TALKING
Austin Butler, ELVIS
Danielle Deadwyler, TILL
Anna Diop, NANNY
Taylor Russell, BONES AND ALL

Best Ensemble
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
THE MENU
WOMEN TALKING

Here Are The 2022 Winners Of The DiscussingFilm Critic Awards!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Earlier today, the winners of the DiscussingFilm Critic Awards were announced!

And here they are:

BEST PICTURE
Aftersun (RUNNER UP)
The Banshees Of Inisherin
Bones and All
Decision To Leave
Everything Everywhere All At Once (WINNER)
The Fabelmans
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
TÁR
Top Gun: Maverick
Women Talking

BEST DIRECTOR
Charlotte Wells – Aftersun
Park Chan-wook – Decision To Leave (RUNNER UP)
Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All At Once (WINNER)
Steven Speilberg – The Fabelmans
Todd Field – TÁR

BEST ACTRESS
Taylor Russell – Bones and All
Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All At Once (WINNER)
Cate Blanchett – TÁR (RUNNER UP)
Danielle Deadwyler – Till
Mia Goth – Pearl

BEST ACTOR
Paul Mescal – Aftersun
Colin Farrell – The Banshees Of Inisherin (RUNNER UP)
Park Hae il – Decision To Leave
Austin Butler – Elvis
Brendan Fraser – The Whale (WINNER)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kerry Condon – The Banshees Of Inisherin (RUNNER UP)
Stephanie Hsu – Everything Everywhere All At Once (WINNER)
Dolly De Leon – Triangle Of Sadness
Hong Chau – The Whale
Claire Foy – Women Talking

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All At Once (WINNER)
Brendan Gleeson – The Banshees Of Inisherin
Barry Keoghan – The Banshees Of Inisherin (RUNNER UP)
Mark Rylance – Bones and All
Ben Whishaw – Women Talking

BEST ENSEMBLE
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (RUNNER UP)
Triangle Of Sadness
The Woman King
Women Talking (WINNER)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
David Kajganich – Bones and All
Rian Johnson – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Guillermo del Toro & Patrick McHale – Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (WINNER)
Samuel D. Hunter – The Whale
Sarah Polley & Miriam Toews – Women Talking (RUNNER UP)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Martin McDonagh – The Banshees Of Inisherin (WINNER)
Park Chan-wook & Jeong Seo-kyeong – Decision To Leave
Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All At Once (RUNNER UP)
Todd Field – TÁR
Ruben Östlund – Triangle Of Sadness

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (WINNER)
Marcel The Shell With Shoes On (RUNNER UP)
Puss In Boots: The Last Wish
Turning Red
Wendell & Wild

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
All The Beauty And The Bloodshed (RUNNER UP)
Descendant
Fire Of Love (WINNER)
Moonage Daydream
Navalny

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
All Quiet On The Western Front
Bardo
Broker
Close
Corsage
Decision To Leave (WINNER)
EO
Holy Spider
RRR (RUNNER UP)
Saint Omer

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Linus Sandgren – Babylon
Greig Fraser – The Batman
Ji-yong Kim – Decision To Leave (RUNNER UP)
Hoyte van Hoytema – Nope (WINNER)
Claudio Miranda – Top Gun: Maverick

BEST FILM EDITING
Babylon
Decision To Leave (RUNNER UP)
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All At Once (WINNER)
Top Gun: Maverick

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Babylon (RUNNER UP)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (WINNER)
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All At Once
The Woman King

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
The Batman (WINNER)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis (RUNNER UP)
Everything Everywhere All At Once
The Whale

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Babylon (WINNER)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All At Once (RUNNER UP)
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

BEST SOUND
The Batman
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Nope (WINNER)
Top Gun: Maverick (RUNNER UP)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar: The Way Of The Water (WINNER)
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Everything Everywhere All At Once (RUNNER UP)
Top Gun: Maverick

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Babylon (RUNNER UP)
The Batman
Bones and All
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (WINNER)
Women Talking

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Lift Me Up” – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
“Vegas” – Elvis (RUNNER UP)
“Ciao Papa” – Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
“Naatu Naatu” – RRR (WINNER)
“Hold My Hand” – Top Gun: Maverick

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Aftersun (WINNER)
Fresh
The Inspection
Nanny
Turning Red (RUNNER UP)

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Frankie Corio – Aftersun
Diego Calva – Babylon
Stephanie Hsu – Everything Everywhere All At Once (WINNER)
Gabriel LaBelle – The Fabelmans (RUNNER UP)
Dolly de Leon – Triangle Of Sadness

BEST HORROR FILM
Barbarian
Bones and All (RUNNER UP)
Nope (WINNER)
Pearl
X

Everything Wins In Oklahoma

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Oklahoma Film Critics Circle has announced its picks for the best of 2022!

And here they are:

Best Picture
“Everything Everywhere All At Once“

Best Director
Winner: Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert – “Everything Everywhere All At Once“
Runner-Up: Steven Spielberg – “The Fabelmans“

Best Actress
Winner: Cate Blanchett – TÁR
​Runner-Up: Michelle Yeoh – “Everything Everywhere All At Once“

Best Actor
Winner: Brendan Fraser – “The Whale“
​Runner-Up: Colin Farrell – “The Banshees Of Inisherin“

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Jamie Lee Curtis – “Everything Everywhere All At Once“
​Runner-Up: Hong Chau – “The Whale“

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Ke Huy Quan – “Everything Everywhere All At Once”
Runner-Up:Paul Dano – “The Fabelmans“

Best Documentary
Winner: “All The Beauty And The Bloodshed“
​Runner-Up: “Fire Of Love”

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: “Decision To Leave“
​Runner-Up: “RRR“

Best Animated Film
Winner: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio“
​Runner-Up: “Marcel The Shell With Shoes On”

Best Score
Winner: “Babylon” – Justin Hurwitz
​Runner-Up: “The Batman” – Michael Giacchino

Best Cinematography
Winner: “Top Gun: Maverick” – Claudio Miranda
​Runner-Up: “Babylon” – Linus Sandgren

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” – Rian Johnson
​Runner-Up: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” – Guillermo del Toro & Patrick McHale

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: “Everything Everywhere All At Once” – Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
​Runner-Up: “TÁR” – Todd Field

Best Ensemble
Winner: “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery“
​Runners-Up: “Babylon“

Best Body of Work
Winner: Colin Farrell (“After Yang,” “The Banshees Of Inisherin,” “The Batman” & “Thirteen Lives“)
​Runner-Up: Paul Dano (“The Fabelmans” & “The Batman“)

Best First Feature
Winner: “Aftersun” – Charlotte Wells
​Runner-Up: “Emily The Criminal” – John Patron Ford

Most Disappointing Film
Winner: “Don’t Worry Darling”
​Runner-Up: “Babylon”

Lost Heroes: The Untold Story of Canadian Super Heroes (2014, directed by Will Pascoe)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Lost Heroes is an engrossing look at the history of Canadian super heroes.

Starting in the 1930s, Lost Heroes details how Canada’s entry into World War II also led to the first Golden Age of Canadian comic book heroes.  After the passage of the War Exchange Cultivation Act of 1940, many American products, including the comic books that were just as popular with children in Canada as they were in America, could no longer be imported to Canada.  Looking to fill the hole, Canadian publishers put out their own comic books, all featuring uniquely Canadian heroes who fought the Nazis.  Because these books were published in black-and-white, they became known as the Canadian Whites.

The first half of the documentary is about the Canadian Whites and the companies that published them.  Maple Leaf was the home to a hero who dwelled under the sea and who was known as Iron Man.  Cosmo Grant was a Batman-style scientist while Brok Windsor traveled in a canoe.  Anglo-American published the adventures of Commander Steel and Freelance, two international adventurers who aided in the Canadian war effort.  Educational Projects introduced readers to Canada Jack, an ordinary Canadian who fought crime but also taught valuable life lessons.  Most popular of all was Bell Features, which was home to Nelvana of the North (who drew her powers from the Northern Lights), Crash Carson, and Johnny Canuck.  Johnny Canuck’s super power was “being Canadian.”

The stuff about the Canadian Whites is genuinely interesting.  Jack Tremblay, one of the artists of the Golden Age, is interviewed and talks about the experience of being a 16 year-old comic book artist.  (Because of the war effort, many of the Golden Age comic books were written and illustrated by teenagers who weren’t old enough to enlist.)  Along with re-introducing some forgotten World War II super heroes, the documentary also looks at how those super heroes represented Canadian culture and how they helped readers take pride in being Canadian.

The end of World War II also brought about the end of the Golden Age of Canadian comics.  With the war over, the War Exchange Cultivation Act also came to an end and, once again, American comics could be sold in Canada.  The black-and-white Canadian comic books could not compete with the color comic books coming from the States and most of the Canadian publishers closed up shop.  The rest of the documentary deals with the periodic attempts to revive the Canadian comic book industry throughout the years.  Though Captain Canuck it found some brief success in the 70s, it ultimately could not compete with the Marvel and D.C. titles coming across the border.

Much of the second half of the documentary deals with Wolverine and Alpha Flight, both of which were created for Marvel by John Byrne.  Along with being one of the world’s most recognizable and popular super heroes, Wolverine is also Canadian and several people interviewed in the film take pride in pointing out all of the things about Wolverine that identify him as being from Canada, everything from his love of beer to his flannel shirts.  Alpha Flight is less warmly received, with many criticizing it for being more about how Americans view Canada than Canada itself.

Lost Heroes is an interesting and informative documentary.  It examines both the history of Canadian comics and also what those comic book heroes said about Canada’s national identity and its efforts to distinguish itself from its neighbor down south.  The documentary ends with the suggestion that the Canadian super heroes will rise again.  I hope they do.

Retro Television Reviews: The Love Boat 1.19 “A Very Special Girl / Until the Last Goodbye / The Inspector”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Wednesdays, I will be reviewing the original Love Boat, which aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986!  The series can be streamed on Paramount Plus!

Beware the Inspector!  Read on and find out more about this week’s cruise of the Pacific Princess….

Episode 1.19 “A Very Special Girl / Until the Last Goodbye / The Inspector”

(Dir by Roger Duchovny, originally aired on February 11th, 1978)

Captain Stubing starts the cruise by giving the crew some potentially frightening news.  The company has sent an inspector to take the cruise and observe how everyone is doing their job.  The catch is that the inspector is disguised as a passenger and the crew now has to figure out who it could be!

Marvin Waterman (Jim Backus) seems like a good suspect.  He’s stuffy.  He always wears a suit.  He carries around a notepad.  He’s always asking questions about the ship.  It must be Marvin!  Nope, sorry.  It turns out that Marvin is just a children’s book author and he’s doing research.

Could it be eccentric Mrs. Corwin (played by Gavin MacLeod’s wife, Patti MacLeod)?  She acts like she’s spacey and not always sure where she is but maybe that’s just a cover!  She does make a lot of calls back to the mainland!  Nope, it’s not Mrs. Corwin.  It turns out that she’s just an eccentric widow who likes to call her daughter and let her know what’s going on in her life.  Fortunately, Mrs. Corwin meets and inspires Marvin and they fall in love.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t bring the crew any closer to finding the inspector.

Surprise!  The inspector wasn’t actually on the ship.  He arrived late and wasn’t able to board.  However, his father (Jack Bernardi) did get on board and he spend the entire cruise wandering about and asking people questions in Russian.  As far as I could tell, none of the crew made much of an effort to help the confused old man out so I’m guessing they’re all out of a job now.  I wonder what next week’s episode will be like….

While the crew was looking for the inspector, Mike Andrews (Bob Seagren) was looking for Melanie Taylor (Laurette Sprang).  Mike arranged for his goofy sidekick, Doug (Sal Viscuso), to spend all of his time with Melanie’s best friend, Jane (Debralee Scott).  Fortunately, Doug and Jane fell in love.  Meanwhile, Mike abandoned Melanie as soon as the cruise ended.  Booooooo!

Finally, the crew was fascinated by an older man (Paul Burke) who was traveling with a younger woman (Susan Blanchard).  For the majority of the episode, everyone assumed the man and the woman were lovers.  But then the man collapsed and it turned out that he was the woman’s father and he also terminally ill.  This cruise was their long goodbye.  This was a sweet story, even if it was kind of icky that everyone assumed that the father was carrying on an affair with his daughter.  But, really, that mistaken assumption is the fault of the crew.  I’m surprised they didn’t mistake the older man for being the Inspector.

Anyway, this was a fairly typical episode of The Love Boat.  It got the job done with a minimum of complications and, if nothing else, it looked like a fun vacation.  The Love Boat always works best as wish-fulfillment.  It’s the type of show you watch and think, “What would I do if I was on that cruise?”  I enjoyed this episode.  The whole thing with the inspector was silly but the other two stories were well-handled.  I hope things worked out for Doug and Jane!

January Positivity: Consider It All Joy (dir by William Mings)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 1986 short film, Consider It All Joy, features one of my favorite scene transitions.

Newly married Claire (Bonnie Hawley) and David (Gary Costello) kiss while sitting in front of the fireplace.  One jump cut later and Claire is smiling and pregnant and David has a look on his face that says, “My boys can swim!”  That’s about as close as any faith-based film will ever get to acknowledging that two people, even two married people, have not only had sex but that they actually enjoyed having sex and that they probably had sex more than once.  Of course, it helps that Hawley and Costello had a lot of chemistry and they just seemed like they belonged together as a couple.  They’re totally believable as one of those married couples who rarely fight and yet don’t annoy their friends with their happiness.

The other thing that Consider It All Joy has is a lot of wood paneling.  I wouldn’t say that every room in this film has wood paneling but enough of them do that, as I watched, I found myself saying, “That’s a lot of wood paneling.”  But that makes sense.  This is a low-budget, indie film that was shot in the 80s.  It was designed for a very specific audience and there’s nothing particularly slick or overly stylized about it.  Watching the film, the viewer gets the feeling that the majority of it was filmed in someone’s house, as opposed to on a set.  The actors probably wore their own clothes.  In many ways, the film itself feels like a time capsule.  Until time machines are invented, watching a film like this might be the closest that one could get to witnessing the 80s firsthand.

As for the film itself, it tells the story of Claire dealing with the sudden death of David.  The majority of the film is told in flashback so we watch all of the scenes of them meeting, courting, marrying, and starting a family with a sense of dread.  As happy as they are, we know that it’s not going to last.  When David is laid off from his job, he refuses to get upset and instead tells his boss that he knows everything will work out because he has faith and that God will provide.  Everyone at the office is apparently really impressed with David’s good attitude.  Of course, they’re not impressed enough to keep him around and to continue to pay his salary.  Personally, I think they’re getting off easy but then again, everything that I know about downsizing and corporate America comes from the second season of The Office.

David does eventually find a new job and it turns out to be a far better one than he previously had!  However, no sooner has David left for work than the police show up at the door and tell Claire that he’s been killed in an auto accident.  At first, Claire is angry but then she remembers David’s faith and she decides to consider it all joy.  The film ends with her witnessing to one of David’s friends, with the suggestion being that Claire might not be single for long!

As I’ve said before, I have a weakness for low-budget indie films, especially ones that pretty much epitomize the era in which it was made.  This is pretty earnest film and I doubt that it will change the minds of anyone who doesn’t already agree with its message but Bonnie Hawley and Gary Costello are a believable couple and the film couldn’t be more 80s if it tried.

Prey of the Jaguar (1996, directed by David DeCoteau)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Derek Leigh (Maxwell Caulfield) is a former Special Ops agent whose son and wife are killed by a drug lord (Trevor Goddard) than Leigh helped to put behind bars.  Inspired by his dead son’s love of super heroes, Leigh puts on a purple rubber suit and learns karate from Master Yee (John Fujioka) while The Toymaker (Paul Bartel) supplies him with an arsenal of weapons.  Calling himself the Jaguar, Leigh goes after the men who killed his family.

Caulfield wears an obviously fake mustache for the first half of the film so that he can shave it off when he becomes The Jaguar.  The camera never stops spinning around.  Most of the fights look fake and the exterior of Derek’s house changes from shot-to-shot.  Stacy Keach plays a high-ranking government official but doesn’t bother to get a haircut or hide his pony tail.  Linda Blair plays a cop and sounds like she sucked helium before filming her lines.  I’m not sure what she was doing in the movie.  She may not have been sure either.  Prey of the Jaguar is a reminder of just how cheap and cruddy most super hero films were before Marvel took over Hollywood.  Of course, Derek doesn’t really have any super powers, beyond getting proficient at martial arts in record time.  He is just wearing the outfit to honor the spirit of his dead son.  That actually makes more sense than most of the Marvel origin stories.  The movie itself was too cheap to work and the actors were so disinterested that they seemed to actively be trying to make sure that there would never be a Prey of the Jaguar 2.

The most interesting thing about the film are the opening credits, which reveal that this film was executive producer by the Wolf of Wall Street himself, Jordan Belfort.

Retro Television Reviews: Fantasy Island 2.3 “The Beachcomber/The Last Whodunit”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Tuesdays, I will be reviewing the original Fantasy Island, which ran on ABC from 1977 to 1986.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

This week …. Tattoo gets a trumpet!

Episode 2.3 “The Beachcomber/The Last Whodunit”

(Dir by George McCowan, originally aired on September 30th, 1978)

Tattoo is learning how to play the trumpet and Mr. Roarke can barely hide his anger.  That is this week’s Tattoo/Roarke storyline and it rasies a lot of questions about Roarke and Tattoo’s relationship.  Is Roarke upset because Tattoo is a bad trumpet player or does he just dislike Tattoo in general?  Does Tattoo really care about learning how to play the trumpet or is he just looking for an excuse to annoy Mr. Roarke?  I think all of those possibilities may be true at the same time.  If the previous two episodes hinted that Roarke and Tattoo no longer hated each other, this episode seems to confirm that they’re still the frenemies that they’ve always been.  I sympathize with Roarke but it’s hard not to appreciate Tattoo’s determination to be an agent of chaos.

As for the fantasies, Charles Preston (John Astin) is a successful businessman who wants to throw it all ways so that he can spend the rest of his life as a beach bum.  Roarke sets Preston up in a cabin on one of the shabbiest beaches on Fantasy Island.  Seriously, the layout of Fantasy Island is just weird.  A third of the island is a luxury resort.  A third of the island is a magical jungle.  And a third of the island is apparently just a collection of poverty-stricken fishing villages.  Do the people who live on the island know that they could be having a fantasy if they only had the money?  Let’s hope none of them ever pick up a copy of Marx or Piketty. 

Anyway, Preston soon discovers that the life of a beach bum is not as easy as he thought it would be.  For one thing, the chief of the island’s indigenous population demands that Preston marry his daughter.  (The joke is that his daughter is overweight and …. well, it’s all pretty cringey by 2022 standards.)  Meanwhile, a bounty hunter slaps some handcuffs on Preston and threatens to take him back to his family unless Preston pays him $70,000.  “All of you beachcombers have a stash!” the bounty hunter hisses.  Fortunately, Preston’s wife shows up and announces that she’s fine with him being a beach bum, as long as he’s a responsible beach bum who helps to pay the bills.  And that’s the end of that.  What an underwhelming fantasy.

Luckily, the episode’s other fantasy is a bit more entertaining.  Mabel Jarvis (Celeste Holm) loves mystery stories and she wants to spend a weekend as her favorite fictional detective.  Of course, Mabel soon finds herself investigating the real-life murder of Mabel’s favorite writer.  Mr. Roarke explains that the writer was a friend of his and that he hoped Mabel could solve the case.  That seems like a lot of responsibility to put on someone who is just looking for a vacation but, fortunately, Mabel proves to be up to the job.  Anyway, this was a fun little fantasy and, as an avid reader of mysteries, it was one to which I could relate.  Celeste Holm seemed to be having a lot of fun as Mabel and, even more importantly, her cat played a key role in solving the mystery.

This was not a bad episode.  The beach stuff was forgettable but the episode was saved Celeste Holm and Tattoo’s trumpet.