Fever Pitch (1999)

Paul is an easy-going teacher whose one true love is the Arsenal football team. When he starts up an affair with the uptight teacher in the next classroom, her prejudice against football yobs puts his new relationship in conflict with his lifelong fandom. The romance is alright, but it's the flashbacks that really make this something special.

We see the genesis of Paul's obsession: how it made him eager for outings with his father, something that used to be a chore. And Paul's mother, who knew nothing about the game, eventually becomes a fan when she has to take over the ticket-buying once her ex is no longer interested in the role. Not to get too romantic about it, but what relationship -- other than the one you have with a team -- can survive the constant letdowns? We willingly subject ourselves to the rollercoaster highs and lows because we're going through it with our chosen family of fellow sufferers. It's a wonderful, welcoming shortcut to relationships that can last lifetimes.

B

The Castle (1999)

Darryl Kerrigan and his family are the embodiment of contentedness. They cannot believe their good fortune: they own a home adjacent to the airport, their daughter has a degree in cosmetology and a new husband, two of their three sons aren't in jail, and the son who is in jail simply fell in with the wrong crowd but has turned his life around. They're inspirationally besotted with each other and delight in their daily routines.

There's a bump in their easy road, though: the airport is expanding and the law says they can compulsorily acquire the Kerrigans' neighborhood to do so. Darryl is sure that he will be able to reason with the judge on behalf of his family and neighbors but, for the first time, he finds that his good fortune could be at an end.

Such a wonderful, life-affirming story. We saw this more than 20 years ago and I'm so very happy to discover that it holds up beautifully. What a joy.

A

One Special Night (1999)

When a snowstorm threatens on Thanksgiving, a widow gives a lift to a man who was visiting his wife in a nursing home. Soon they're stuck in the snow and they break into a cabin as their only option. There's lots of (forced) bickering and more than a little misogyny on display, but it's also fairly good-natured and, by the end of their stay, they've made plans to meet up.

Inoffensive for the most part, but also very by-the-numbers.

C

Edge of Seventeen (1999)

In 1984, best friends Eric and Maggie get summer jobs together where a couple of their coworkers are gay. This prompts an awakening in Eric, who realizes that he, too, is gay. Since I graduated in 1985, I know that this is a very real depiction of how it felt to be a teen back then. They got everything right: from the cringeyness of not quite fitting in and wanting more from crushes than they want to give you, to the fear of disappointing your parents. 

But yikes. I did not have a good time with this film at all. I know I'm old now, but I couldn't get it out of my head that Eric is A KID. It's not OK for his boss to tease those under her about their sexual exploits, nor is it OK for Eric to be taken under the wings of several regulars in their 30s and 40s at the local gay bar. Fine, be gay, but providing a safe haven for gay kids and accepting them for who they are is a whole lot different than what was going on here. Maybe I just don't get it? I don't know.

C

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

It feels like every time I see a Kubrick film I get the idea that he’s a HACK and how has no one ever noticed this in the history of cinema?? The Shining, Barry Lyndon, A Clockwork Orange, 2001, most of Full Metal Jacket and now this atrocity! ...But then I check out his IMDb page and am reminded that he was also responsible for Paths of Glory (my #2 all-time favorite movie/#1 favorite drama) and The Killing and Dr. Strangelove, and my theory falls apart. But still. What happened? He went from competent, lean storytelling to, well, I can’t even figure out what he was going for here so I probably shouldn’t speculate.

This film is a complete mess -- just more than 2½ hours of nothing much. In a nutshell: Dr. Tom Cruise runs into an old friend who tells him about a floating sex party that the doctor is desperate to attend, but once there everyone somehow realizes he doesn’t belong (though the explanations don’t fit with the early warnings he received) and he’s in trouble and ordered to strip until a woman comes to his defense by taking his place. After the party he’s being followed and is generally scared and finally comes clean with his wife who, after being hurt, says they should fuck. The end.

Other than the presence of an abundance of perfect tits, there’s really nothing to recommend this film. Though, actually, Kubrick even screwed up the boobs as there were soooo many that they became about as sexy as elbows. This is garbage.

F

Show Me Love (1999)

Fourteen-year-old Agnes isn’t popular and is rumored to be a lesbian, which happens to be true. After Elin (her crush) kisses Agnes to win a bet, things get very complicated for them both.

I loved the feel of this film. It was made in 1998, long before near-universal acceptance of homosexuality was in sight, so their angst is rooted in reality rather than just over-dramatic teens blowing things out of proportion. Agnes’ ostracization was painful and Elin’s fear -- of her feelings, of what everyone will think -- was palpable.

A surprisingly low-key and effective love story.

B+

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1999)

We were browsing Netflix and my son said "is that any good?" which made me command that we watch it immediately -- I'd rated it an "A-" the first time I saw it back in 2000.

Well, it doesn't quite hold up. There are several clever elements, but it just felt dated/mannered/slow-moving and as though London is the smallest place on the planet with the same 25 people constantly barging into one another’s affairs.

Nathan fell asleep.

C+

Payback (1999)

I think this was trying for the tough but twinkly vibe of Midnight Run -- down to the soundtrack -- but it's just all wrong.  I think the trouble can be traced to the the minute they cast Mel Gibson. If they’d’ve given Bruce Willis a call, this might have been worth watching.

D+

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

A simple assumption (he's borrowed a Princeton jacket and, so, is mistaken for a Princeton student) gives the lower-class Tom Ripley the opportunity to visit -- and quickly join -- the world of privilege.  He finds himself in love with the excess, freedom, and people who belong there and unwilling to give it up even when his luck runs out.  I saw this when it was in theaters, but I'd forgotten all but some vivid scenes, so I was glad to see this come up as a movie club pick.

In all, this is an effective film.  The problem is that what should have been the denouement stretches out interminably.  Every five minutes of the last 30-40 minutes, there was a decent stopping place for the movie but, instead, it chose to just keep going.  Solid story and strong acting all around, but it just really needed someone to shout “enough.”

B

The Dinner Game (1999)

I’ve seen Dinner for Schmucks, the American remake of this original French farce and, since I HATED that, there was no way I could help but find the original to be at least comparatively good.  Really, though, I think that this movie might simply be good on its own merits.

The basic premise is that a group of men hold a weekly dinner to which each invites the most idiotic guy they can find.  Somehow, I liked everyone in the film -- there was just a congenial vibe to the whole proceeding.  I even found myself liking the guy who was supposed to be a jerk because he 1) invited the “idiot” to dinner and 2) stole a man’s wife.  Maybe it was because I felt the mess he found himself in wasn't commensurate with his sins...or perhaps it was because he was best friends with the guy he pinched the wife from, so how bad could he be?  I don't know.

Fun and fast.  Didn’t overstay its welcome.

B

L.A. Without a Map (1999)

I love David Tennant, but this was just an embarrassment. He’s charming as ever, but the story and the leading lady really made this a slog. 

Tennant's a funeral director in the UK and his love interest is an L.A. actress-wannabe on vacation who has conversations with her dead father. They spend a whirlwind day of fun/falling-in-love and she leaves. He decides to track her down and surprise her in California. Boy, she's surprised alright. She’s also not worth chasing because she's kind of empty and boring. Nevertheless, he hangs in there and makes a weird friend in Vincent Gallo, gets a job as a poolboy, rents a sty of a house, and eventually gets her to marry him just days before she decides he’s too clingy. Ugh.

D

Election (1999)

Third viewing -- I thought it was time my sick-and-unable-to-protest-much older son saw it.

Still so strong and smart.  Seeing it again, though, I could admit that Reese Witherspoon might be overdoing it just a tad.

A-

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Yes, again.

Some time ago, I made the mistake of telling my younger son, in a misguided effort to convince him to watch this with me, that it was the only movie that scared me so bad in a theater that I actually considered leaving. Well, that led to six or seven years of fearful avoidance on his part...the exact opposite of what I was going for.

He finally relented, however, and his review was "I probably like that more than 'Unbreakable'" -- which is to say "a lot."

A+ (still)

Magnolia (1999)

I loved this movie so much when it first came out. I thought about for, literally, months afterward -- it was just so moving and powerful and affecting. It also introduced me to Aimee Mann, who is a genius.

So why did it feel so obvious this time around? I was cringing at the Tom Cruise scenes, which felt forced, and the William H. Macy scenes, which seemed ridiculous. Everything felt artificial this time around...what's changed?

I wish I'd left it alone. I liked the movie I remembered...

B- (down from an "A+")

Arlington Road (1999)

Once again, a film that I thought was good the first time around seems obvious and stale the second.

Maybe it's because when I saw this back in 1999 it seemed so impossible, which made the story seem inspired: "Terrorists in our own neighborhoods? Whoa...the world's getting scary." I remember that Gary and I discussed this for a good hour afterward, our entire dinner conversation centered around how deep the plotters' plans went.

Now that trusting America's been blindsided, however, the film seems pretty tame. It's just a standard jumpy thriller now with some pretty crazy lapses in judgment by the lead and some "no-way" coincidences. Oh well.

C

Freak City (1999)

Ruth, a young woman in a wheelchair due to Multiple Sclerosis, loses her grandmother/caretaker and gets shoved into a nursing home by her aunt.

This is one weird home -- there's a guy with no other apparent problem other than blindness, some only slightly mentally impaired inhabitants, senile seniors, a woman who has lost the ability to apply correct words to things (played by Natalie Cole, so you know she'll be able to eventually sing at least), etc. I really didn't get it. Are there really places like this? Where group therapy sessions assume that a paralytic will have the same issues as a retarded woman?

Ruth basically shakes things up by encouraging the other residents, by example, not to resign themselves to wasting away inside the walls of "Freak City." Despite the presence of Peter Sarsgaard, I was not impressed. If you're in the mood for an honest look at people dealing with disabilities, watch The Waterdance.

D

The Wood (1999)

The movie opens during the frenzied preparations for a wedding later in the day -- the only hitch is that the groom (Taye Diggs, mmm...) is nowehere to be found. His two buddies are dispatched to track him down and the rest of the movie flip-flops between the present and the early years of the trio's friendship, which started during middle school.

The flashback scenes are completely winning. The teens are all natural actors and the coming of age story felt both familiar (from personal experience) and fresh. If only we could've stayed there. The grown-up versions of the boys -- the groom especially -- were boring ciphers. And we weren't given nearly enough information about his bride-to-be to care whether or not he could be reeled back in.

And is there anything more cringe-inducing than an actor pretending to be drunk badly? Diggs may look fine, but his silly stumbling attempt to convince us he's intoxicated was just embarrassing.

C+

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Yes! A double-feature of 1999 films I score "A+"!

This is my fourth or fifth viewing of this one -- and it's worth it every time. The first time I saw it, I was at the theater with one of my friends. We knew nothing about it going in. Halfway through (during the "peeing in the middle of the night" scene) I leaned over to her, trembling, and said "I hate this movie!" It was the first film in a long time to frighten me so badly. Horror movies don't scare me too much as they're usually so fantastic or set in such impossible circumstances. This, however, seemed so ordinary but with an inexplicable undercurrent of dread. Well, inexplicable for the first half or so.

I was worried that this could be a movie like "Jagged Edge" -- you know, one of those "once you know the ending, you can't truly enjoy it again" stories. Not so. The acting is so pure, the story so terrific, that I can't imagine I'll ever tire of it. The only really bad thing about it is that it's a reminder of how incredible Shyamalan was when he was new to Hollywood. I hope he gets his mojo back soon.

A+

Fight Club (1999)

I've seen it several times before -- but, every once in a while, I've just got to watch it again.

This movie just pops in a way that very few do. It's inventive and just shocks me with originality every single time I watch it. Makes most movies look like they're sleepwalking in comparison.

A+

After Life (1999)

I waited for years to see this…and it's pretty good, but certainly not worth pining over the way I did. In this metaphysical way-station before eternity, I'd think the technology would be a bit more magical…something better than props and sound stages! A great concept beautifully acted -- but I really wanted more.

B-