My one quibble with the movie was a twist at the end that felt
out of
place and unnecessary. With any other director, I'd call it a
cheap
attempt at sensationalism, but I'm willing to give Sayles the benefit
of
the doubt. He tends to have high integrity and to avoid stooping
to such cheap mechanisms, so I'll assume that he had some purpose
(which
was beyond me) in slipping in that last surprise.
Palookaville
What a great name for a movie. What a great name for a
town.
If I ever found a town called Palookaville on a map, I think I would
move
there just so I could say it as often as possible. Unfortunately,
the most likely place for a Palookaville to be located is probably some
place like New Jersey or West Virginia. The downside of living in
Palookaville is that you're likely to be surrounded by palookas.
But it's still a great word. People don't use "palooka" anymore. I'm not sure that I know anyone who qualifies as a palooka, so I don't have the chance to use it much. In fact, I'm not even sure that I know what a palooka is. I just like the sound of it.
Oh yeah, the movie. It's a lot of fun. Sure enough,
this
Palookaville is actually Jersey City, which I would have named
"Guidoville,"
but that's beside the point. The film follows the adventures of
three
likable losers who would really like to commit a lucrative crime, but
who
never quite manage to pull it off. It's funny, well-written and
-acted,
unpretentious, and energetic. Go see it, even though it doesn't
really
clear up what a palooka is.
Trees Lounge
Talk about your losers! I saw Trees Lounge the
day after Palookaville, and the similarities are striking;
Trees
Lounge (the bar the movie is named for) looks like it could be in
Palookaville.
But the folks are a lot more depressed. Whereas the ones in
Palookaville
are enjoyable to watch, there's nothing likable about the losers who
hang
around in Trees Lounge, the movie and the bar. You can
practically
smell them, and boy, do they stink.
The film is well-made, and it's a lot funnier than Leaving Las Vegas (the inevitable comparison, since this is also a film about an alcoholic going nowhere fast). But it's basically hanging around a bar with a bunch of drunks all night -- if you don't like to do that normally, you're probably not going to care much for the movie. I guess that's a testament to its realism. Like your average barfly, it's entertaining and funny at first, but eventually the joke gets old and you start to wonder why this guy doesn't ever change. I think I enjoyed it while I was watching it, but afterwards I started to get really depressed thinking about it. In fact, you're probably going to like this movie a lot more if you're feeling kind of bleak when you see it. It ain't exactly life-affirming.
On the other hand, the guy in front of me enjoyed the movie immensely. In fact, he didn't stop laughing throughout the entire film. Of course, he was pretty stinky himself, so maybe he had just come from his own personal Trees Lounge. Maybe he was thinking, "Hey, that guy is just like Al! Man, I wish I could find a bar this nice to hang out in."
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