Alan Arkin

                                                                            Part 3

Herewith the last article about the incredible Alan Arkin. This one contains two more Oscar nominations and his only win. He seemingly could do anything relating to show biz. He wrote the Harry Belafonte hit Banana Boat Song, the Christmas song It’s The Best Time of the Year, and many others. He recorded an album as lead singer. He won two Tony awards. He won a fistful of Emmys. And now, his final big movies:

    Jakob The Liar (1999) is pretty much Robin Williams’ movie. In the Warsaw ghetto, Jakob hears good news over a forbidden radio and spreads the news around. This goes so well he starts making up good news. Alan Arkin has a nice turn as a ghetto resident commenting on Jakob’s efforts and the Nazis’ efforts to stop him.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006) is a hoot from start to finish. The Hoover family would make most dysfunctional families seem normal. Alan Arkin, the foul-mouthed grandfather who was kicked out of his retirement home for snorting heroin, almost steals the thing. And he won his only Oscar. Abigail Breslin (Olive) is superb as the kid going to California to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine contest. The whole crowd piles into their aged VW bus and hits the road. The bus stalls repeatedly and the only way to get it started is to push it til it reaches 20 mph, then jump back on. The cast includes Brain Cranston before he was famous, Steve Carrell, Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette. 

Argo (2013) won the Oscar for Best Picture. In 1979 Islamic militants storm the US embassy and take everybody in it hostage. But six personnel have evaded capture and are hiding out in the home of a friendly Canadian. A plot is hatched to convince the Iranians that the evaders are filming a Canadian sci-fi movie. Yeah, it sounds nuts, but just wait and watch. Alan Arkin plays Hollywood agent Lester Siegel. Arkin was nominated for Best Supporting Oscar but lost to Christoph Waitz for Django Unchained. Oh, and this zany story is based on a true event!

And finally, another weird true story on the screen in Million Dollar Arm (2014). Two failing American sports agents realize that Indian cricket players can really throw hard and bring the best to the US, hopefully to make the major leagues. They go from place to place to try out. They really can throw hard, but tend heavily to wildness. Their encounters with American mores are hilarious. Alan Arkin is good, of course,  as a reluctant major league scout. 

Even though Alan Arkin was featured in three Mr. Movie articles, I left out scads of other good films. All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults. 

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