Since the development of sliced bread, three innovations have been regarded as the greatest inventions of our era: Expo markers, Febreze, and mockumentaries.

Mockumentaries are satirical “mock documentaries” that play off stylistic elements of documentaries in a fictional context. Sources credit a short April Fool’s piece called “Swiss Spaghetti Harvest” as the first mockumentary. Woody Allen was a pioneer as well, exploring the form with such features as “Take the Money and Run” and “Sweet and Lowdown.” Of course, Christopher Guest is renowned as the master of mockumentaries. Interestingly enough, the mockumentary is one of the types of cinema that has been perfected and defined by both American and British filmmakers.

One popular route filmmakers have taken is combining rockumentaries with mockumentaries. This subgenre began with such films as “The Rutles” and “This Is Spinal Tap.” Much of the dialogue is improvised, a key reason for the characteristically quick and natural charm of these movies; yet the dialogue in musical mockumentaries only functions to build up to the climactic point and most anticipated parts of the movies, which are the songs. Musical mockumentaries typically have a repertoire of whole or partial parody songs that mimic (usually in a deadpan or otherwise serious manner) typical conventions of the musical genre they are spoofing. In Christopher Guest’s “A Mighty Wind,” three groups of folk singers pull from all the classic ingredients of folk music to create over a dozen fake folk songs. What makes these songs humorous is not usually the lyrics but the mannerisms of the performers and the perfection with which they have written carbon copies of so many familiar old folk songs. The more little tics the song has that echo the real songs of the genre the better. The lyrics are funny in how over-the-top they are, but they are not so outrageous as to take away from the deadpan feel of the film, so audiences are in a certain respect able to take them seriously as legit pieces of music.

This is not the case with all rock mockumentaries though. In films such as “CB4” and semi-mockumentary “Walk Hard,” the lyrics have an equally important function as the style of the songs. The result is that the humor is more obvious (though there is still much subtlety in form as well), making the film more laugh-out-loud funny. These films rely a little more on jokes than satire, though satire still drives each film as a whole.

YouTube it-Gene Kelly

Wow... struggling to find a blogworthy topic I decided to hop onto youtube and just throw some of my favorite topics we've covered so far into the mix. Gene Kelly being at the top of my list for his stellar dance moves was searched first. I was surprised that the singing in the rain dance sequence did not come up first, but actually third, with Gene Kelly actually only being featured in  4 of the top 20 videos with the tag "gene kelly". Weird, i thought at first, but than i realized how idolized and influential Kelly's Dance moves had become.  Just a few videos I thought everyone would enjoy.

American Idol? Close, but Britain's Got Talent star doubled Kelly's singin in the Rain views with his on stage performance, that I wasn't expecting much from....until i watched it. This young British boy (after being turned away last year of course) does a dance remix to Singin' in the Rain, in which during one part he actually has fake rain pouring on him on the stage!!! So crazy, check it out here: George Sampson

A bit further down, is the song that this kid George Sampson danced to, which is actually called Singin' in the Rain, it is a remix by Mint Royale. There really is not much to say about it, other than it's kind of a mockery of the Gene Kelly original, the dance moves are weak and really don't fit the classic Gene Kelly style, and he is also battling dancing robots...enough said about that. Poor re-make of the classic, but seems to be quite popular overseas. Check it out here: Mint Royale

The next most viewed, is an Usher interview and dance remake of the classic. Usher who is pretty well regarded in today's music world, re-does both the voice and dance moves of Kelly. I was a bit skeptical at first, but Usher seems to get more comfortable as it goes on and it actually turns out to be not too bad. But in reality, it's just not the same, watch it below and let me know what you guys think!

Usher

Ace in the Hole

Having seen the Billy Wilder classic Some Like it Hot, I thought I’d direct your attention to another of his great comedies: Ace in the Hole. Though not as acclaimed or well known as other classic Wilder comedies like Some Like it Hot or The Apartment, Ace in the Hole is nevertheless a brilliant, entertaining comedy, and for those who like satire, you won’t find it more biting that this.



The plot concerns a reporter, Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas), who is stuck in the dead town of Albequerque when he happens upon a fantastic story – a man trapped in a cave. Knowing he can exploit this for his own personal gain, Tatum arranges the rescue to prolong the amount of time the man is trapped, and all the while he’s the only man he allows into the cave to talk to the man, allowing for over a week of exclusives from inside the cave, while the story starts to draw more and more attention.

As with Network, which was still twenty-five years away, Ace in the Hole anticipates much of what we’ve come to accept as common practice in American media journalism, and it’s a frightening insight, but thanks to Wilder’s deft touch, it never ceases to be hilarious.

Ace in the Hole is available in a lovely Criterion Collection disc.

wait, who are you talking about?

So I was looking around for something to blog about concerning musicals and I came across this guy Harry Warren and the link looked totally boring so I almost didn't click it. But it turns out that this guy is one of the most prolific and celebrated composers ever- but no one seems to know who he is...

TCM estimates that he wrote 500 songs for more than 100 movies. And the official Harry Warren site says that at this point his songs are in over 270 films, but imdb's got something like 889 credits under his name.

He had 42 songs place in the top ten on the radio program Your Hit Parade. Which I thought was funny because I've got a crapload of Your Hit Parade songs on my ipod and I think half of them are actually his.
He was nominated for 11 oscars, he won three.
He worked with tons of famous songwriters like Ira Gershwin, Billy Rose, Al Dublin and my personal favorite Johnny Mercer.
TANGENT:
if you're not familiar with Johnny Mercer, he's got a great voice, his songs are classic and he's totally cool- I'm sure you guys all know the accentuate the positive song- that was him. anyway, mercer rocks.
BACK ON TOPIC:
Warren's real name is actually Salvatore Guaragna- he's italian (yeah, i didn't see that coming either) On italianpride.com they list Harry Warren's accomplishments as reason number 76 of 101 to be proud of being italian. And I don't even have to tell you guys that italianpride.com is the foremost authority on exactly why italians are the sh*t.

This website has a giant listing of movies and TV shows that feature one or more songs by Warren, and it was totally overwhelming choosing any to list here. Just as an example 42nd street is on this list and I'm sure all of you have seen the 1976 TV special on Olivia Newton-John- that's on the list too.

I also found this really cool quote from Warren...
"I've always written music the way I felt it.  I write for the public because I feel like the public, the way they would write if they could.  You don't have to know anything about music to understand what I write.  Mine are simple melodies.  In music there are certain chords that are tender and poignant – it's the universal language."  HARRY WARREN (December 24, 1893 - September 22, 1981)
pretty sweet, right?

When life gives you lemons... watch Jack Lemmon

I think we can all agree on one point: Ving Rhames knows everything. He knows how to wear hats... He knows how to make a cool imposing side kick in every single movie he's in... He knows to give props to Jack Lemmon. 

Though mercifully teased as a child due to his name, Jack U. Lemmon became an icon of cinema through collaborations with Billy Wilder and Walter Matthau. As an impetuous youth my Father was constantly telling me about the great films that Lemmon was a part of. Being young, and uninterested in anything that wasn't shiny and moving, I didn't give Lemmon much credit. Even watching him in class it makes me wonder if a seemingly simple guy like Lemmon could be a star today.

He's not great looking, his voice is strangely distinct. Wilder says that Lemmon was a ham. Jack Warner of the Warner Brothers wanted him to change his name. Lemmon kept his name and went on to star in numerous succesful comedies as well as dramas, picking up awards and accolades along the way. 

He also inspired one of the greatest Simpson's characters of all time: the constantly struggling, sweating, tie-pulling Gil Gunderson. It seems that Lemmon was blessed. The comedy gods smiled upon him, bestowing Wilder and Matthau upon him. He had an ice cream at Baskin Robbins named after him... and after all there's only 31 flavors.

So how did he do it? What was the Jack Lemmon secret? In my humble estimation it has something to do not only with wit and comic timing, but the gentle ease that Lemmon brings to his performances. There is something uninhibited and effortless about Lemmon's comedy. I read, while completing my paper on Harold Lloyd, that Lloyd and Lemmon had been friends. Lemmon asked Lloyd for the secret of film comedy, and Lloyd replied, "Whatever you think you have to do... do less." It seems like Lemmon took that note to heart. His performances, while riveting, are easy going. He doesn't force it, he lets it come to him and he keeps it simple. There is a link between Lloyd and Lemmon. They are both very normal. But they both spin their seeming normalcy into hilarity.

Jack Lemmon has since left us, but like the man who directed him in so many films (Wilder) he managed to leave us with one final joke... on his tombstone. 

 

Oklahoma! The movie not the play

Before Cinderella The musical, Roger and Hammerstine created a revolutionary musical play in 1943 called Oklahoma! It was known for its integration of song and storyline and its simplicitty in its set design. Also, It was the first Broadway musical in which every song had a direct relation to the plot. In 1955, the play was then made into a movie directed by Fred Zinnemann. The songs and the storyline stayed the same however the simplicity is sacrificed by the use of Technicolor, Todd-AO, and Stereophonic Sound. The movie was "the first Todd-AO production and the first be shot twice. Once to produce the normal version 24 fsp. The other one in 30 fps to be able to have a roadshow version. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048445/trivia)

The movie, like all romantic comdeys, talks about a a young girl, who is actually a farm girl who has to decide which suiters she want to be her escort to an event. The is Laury Willams played by Shirley Jones, and the men fighting for her are Curly Mclain, who she likes, played by Gordan MacRea, and Jud Fry, played by Rod Steiger. The story is set against the backdrop of the land rush days in Oklahoma, and begins with a song Oh, What a Beautiful Morning. Whats makes this movie a classic and yet amazing is the music and the da9nce sequences. It was one of the notable movies that has amazing chirography and songwriting. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/36109/Oklahoma-/overview

Here are some interesting facts I found on IMDB that I thought were interesting:

• This was Fred Zinnemann's first musical and yet it was an outstanding success.

• The musical that this film is based on was originally entitled "Away We Go!" The title was changed to "Oklahoma!" after the popularity of that song with the plays initial audience.

• I found this point to be very interesting. It had been said that Frank Sinatra was offered the role but when he found out that every scene of the movie was to be shot twice he declined; he is known to film his scenes in a any motion picture only once.

• James Mitchell and Bambi Linn were dubs for the dancing parts of Curly and Laury in the Dream Baller. However, Rod Steiger did his own dancing, because they couldn't find him a double that looked like him from the back.

If you guys want to see the opening scene of Oklahoma here it is: OH What a a wonderful Morning.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RwiFqjyBJ2o&feature=related

Fourty years after it was produced, it is still obvious that Some Like It Hot depicts the theme of ambiguous sexuality, but this is not all. The original title already sounds ambiguous because of the undefined “It” eventhough it can be related to Shell Jr. telling Sugar when she says she plays “hot” Jazz that “some like it - the music - hot, but I prefer classical music.” Still, anyone can see through the sexual connotation of “hot”. Let’s not forget about the etymology of “Jazz” that reminds of sexual exitation, and that, as the movie tells itself, sexuality (sometimes prostitution) and alcohol are linked in the image.

All this leads to an urge to hide: costumes, transvestites and dissumulation become the theme of the film. Only the first scene of the movie tells the audience a lot about the rest: the funeral car is followed by the police; we already can see the lie appearing, which also reaveals after the firing the liquid pouring out of the coffin, and then the alcohol. Shortly after, the funeral house which the police officer enters turns out to be a cabaret which is the exact opposite as far as the sound is concerned (silence/music) as well as the image (loneliness/crowd, calm/movement, etc.). The dissimulation somehow reveal a certain chain: death (the coffin, ...) hides the alcohol, which leads to death again (the firing sequences) and so on for the rest of the film.

This is the reason why when dissimulation takes place, a conflict happens: the fake pallbearers disguise themselves to hide from the police, the policemen act as clients against the gangsters... But this fight also takes place under the shape of seduction: the second significant costume, Joe being Shell Jr. enables him to seduct Sugar. Everyone gets the truth of the dissimulation: becoming a tranvestite is breaking a code to achieve something more easily. Joe disguised as a millionaire acts as Spats Colombo who covers up his cabaret as if it was a funeral house: he only shows the socially acceptable facade. Trafficing and seducting are only two different faces of changing the course of implicit social codes, which assumes a knowledges of these codes: this is Joe’s case as he gathered Sugar secrets.



For a long time, moral censorship forbid every kind of homosexuality references in movies during American classical cinema. Transvestites are never really serious yet and this is comfirmed in Some Like It Hot. However, it does not prevent B. Wilder from creating very special and troubling effects introducing men acting as women: for instance, Laurel and Hardy remind us of the same situation, and according to B. Wilder, Joséphine and Daphnée are only perpetuating this example. The effect the create does not lie on a parody, but on an ambiguous sexuality. Indeed, these characters are starting love relationships with the characters of the same sex.