ELIZABETH WHO?

     In a recent article about Ian Holm, I posited that he's the guy you don't know until you see him on the screen and say, "Oh, yeah, that guy." And the possible flip side of that phrase is the late Elizabeth Wilson, who died recently at 94. Same deal- you can't place her, but when you see her on the screen you'll immediately recognize the face.

     Well, she certainly wasn't afraid of working. She played the feisty and somewhat obnoxious mother of FDR in Hyde Park On The Hudson (2012). In a heavily fictionalized account, Robin Williams is the President and Laura Linney is Daisy Suckley (one of the Prez's supposed paramours). The plot involves the visit (true enough) of King George VI,
who wanted to encourage America to enter World War II. As Sara Delano, Mrs. Wilson is everything we would expect from the character. By the way, she was 91 when this film was made!

     Let's go way back to 1967 to the classic The Graduate. Dustin Hoffman is recent college grad Benjamin Braddock. His mom is ably played by Elizabeth Wilson. The more famous movie mom is, of course, Mrs. Robinson (cue up Simon & Garfunkel) played by the sultry Anne Bancroft. She's also the mother of Elaine (Katherine Ross), Ben's true love.

     The underrated Quiz Show (1994) is about the 1950's scandal involving patrician Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes) and the quiz show 21. He was the son of poet Mark Van Doren (Paul Scofield) and novelist Dorothy Van Doren (yep, Elizabeth Wilson). While Van Doren was knocking them dead with improbable correct answers, it turned out he was being coached through his headset. The pivotal character is actually Herb Stempel, played quite well by John Turturo. He was forced to lose to Van Doren by the producers and blew the whistle on the cheating. I remember the real Charles as much more likeable than Herb and I remember my Dad saying there was something not quite right about the quiz shows. (Yeah, I'm that old.)

     There are three characters to like in 9 To 5 (1980): Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lilly Tomlin, all office victims of the hateful boss Dabney Coleman. The other character to hate is his nosey, officious secretary Roz, played with verve by Elizabeth Wilson. The revenge of the secretarial pool is hilarious.

     Elizabeth Wilson can be glanced in fairly minor roles in Neil Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) and Catch-22 (1970). 

     All of the movies in this article are available on DVD and for streaming. Adults only, please.

GOOD 2014 DOCS

     2014 was a spectacularly good year for documentaries. Two of my top three films for that year were docs, and there were many other very good ones.

     Finding Vivian Maier is the fascinating and almost unbelievable story of a quiet low-key Chicago woman who took the most astonishing photographs. She was a nanny for all of her adult life. She never married and was unassuming and very private. Almost nobody knew what she was up to with that old camera. The film depicts how John Maloof stumbled on a cache of nearly 100,000 pictures after Ms. Maier's death. It also presents interviews with the few people who knew her, and a generous helping of those wonderful photos. You will be dazzled!

     Roger Ebert was my very favorite film critic. He died in 2013 after a long struggle with a cancer that took away his voice and half of his face but none of his spirit. Life Itself tells the story of his career and life. He and Gene Siskel invented the television movie review program in the 70's. Their discussions and sometimes heated arguments were the stuff of TV legend. Roger wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times and Gene for the Chicago Tribune. They got together once a week to vote thumbs up or down for the latest releases. 

     Keep On Keepin' On is the true story of the unlikely friendship between 93-year-old jazz trumpet legend Clark Terry and 23-year-old blind piano prodigy Justin Kauflin. The music is wonderful and the interaction between these incredible talents is so good you won't want it to end. 

     Whitey: The United States Vs. James Bulger tells the story of how the title figure hid in plain sight from the FBI for 16 years. He was indicted for 19 murders and suspected of committing many more. Because he was thought to be an informant, the bureau let him slide for a long time. When the law finally caught up with him, his FBI handler tipped him off and he high-tailed it. The film doesn't exactly shower glory on the FBI. We're used to the Feds being the bad guys in TV shows and movies, but this story is true!

     Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me is about the fabulous life and career of the title character, who entertained on Broadway, TV and film for over 70 years. Her body was ravaged by diabetes and various other illnesses, but her spirit was undaunted and she performed well into her 80s. Her performance as Alec Baldwin's hateful mother on 30 Rock is vintage Stritch. Mr. Baldwin and numerous other entertainers weigh in on their experiences with Ms. Stritch in an entertaining film about a show biz legend.

     All of the films in this article are available on DVD and for streaming. All are definitely for grown-ups. 

BALTIMORE

     In the midst of all the bad news from Baltimore, I got to thinking about all the good movies I've seen from that city. So why not an article about them?

     At a little over 600,000 it's only the 18th largest city. But Baltimore is the birthplace of Edgar Allen Poe, the home of the Orioles, the Inner Harbor and the best crab cakes in the whole world. It is also fortunate to be the beloved home of director Barry Levinson, who has turned out several good movies about his town.

     Barry Levinson's quartet of cinematic love letters to his city starts with Diner (1982), a coming-of-age story that is not only a delight, but the launching pad for lots of acting careers. Steve Gutenberg, Daniel Stern, Ellen Barkin, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon and Paul Reiser are part of the then-unknown repertory company. The director's affection for the time and place is evident and contagious.

    Richard Dreyfuss and Danny DeVito literally run into each other on the streets of 1963 Baltimore in Tin Men (1987), a dark comedy about aluminum siding salesmen who might cut a corner or two. A little uneven, and the least successful of the four, it still has moments of humor well worth getting on board for.

     There really isn't a better immigrant film than the wonderful Avalon (1990), the third of Mr. Levinson's cinematic missives to his city.  The immigrants happen to be Jewish, but their story of making it in America applies across the board to all of us immigrants. At 126 minutes, it takes its time on small, interlocked and telling stories.

     The last (so far) Levinson-Baltimore film is Liberty Heights (1999), a story of a Baltimore neighborhood's reaction to the influx of African-Americans into an historically Jewish enclave. Adrien Brody, Joe Mantegna, Bebe Neuwirth and Orlando Jones are part of a fine cast.

     John Waters' hilarious Hairspray (1998) is a distinctly different take on the integration of Balitmore, this time through a teenage dance show. This film became a hugely successful Broadway musical, and then a movie musical in 2007.

     Ann Tyler is perhaps Baltimore's finest author, and two of her novels have become movies. The Accidental Tourist (1988) features William Hurt as a travel writer for business people who want only to avoid problems. His marriage to Kathleen Turner is disintegrating and he is being pursued by the pugnacious Geena Davis. You can find out how this turns out by watching it... Breathing Lessons (1994) is a made-for-TV (but quite good) movie. The book won the Pulitzer Prize. The movie stars James Garner and Joanne Woodward in a story about a woman who discovers her life hasn't quite turned out right. She is afflicted with telling everyone everything and trying to better the lives of strangers. Her husband is long-suffering but loving.
     Finally, I must mention The Wire (2002-2007), which ran for five years and to my mind is the best TV series ever made. 
     All of the movies in this article are available on DVD and for streaming. All are suitable for 12 and up except The Wire, which gets a little rough.