Brandon Comments:
For the past week I’ve been racking my brain trying to remember a very similar Walter Matthau film like ‘Hopscotch.’ I thought, maybe it was a sequel; maybe it was a prequel. It was very similar to ‘Hopscotch,’ with the CIA and FBI, it had a fireworks-used-as-gunshots scene, and it was shot on location in parts of Europe. I even remembered an identical scene of Matthau typing on an old typewriter in an enclosed patio of a Southern home. I scanned IMDB for all of Matthau’s films and researched every single one that was similar to this one, trying to find some hope of my memory still being intact. And then I discovered what that other Matthau film was: it was the same fucking film, only viewed after six or eight years of debauchery and libation use. I had blended scenes from several different films into one new imagined film, also starring Walter Matthau. Yes, I have been high for years. I realize this now.
Tooda, great Selection. A perfect inclusion to our recent surveillance jam. Three very different films from three very different time periods, directors and styles – yet all are connected. The way a jam should be (until Nubs fucks it up with a vampire film).
Additionally, I guess I never looked at Walter Matthau as a leading man up until seeing (or re-seeing) ‘Hopscotch.’ He always seemed to be the perfect “buddy” in any movie…in every movie. But Matthau really shines in this film, and he’s believable, likeable, and even possesses an “action character” sense to him. Aside from being cinematically adored by a gorgeous female costar probably 20 years his junior, I really couldn’t find much wrong with this film. The writing and story were top-notch, the comedy was pitch-perfect, and the characters were superb.
I am so glad that Mr. Matthau has finally joined the ranks of our MovieNight catalog of screen actors. He is now forever resting with good company, alongside such extraordinary performers as Nick Nolte, Roy Scheider and that other pretty good guy, Orson Welles.
And lastly, Tooda, along with surveillance and espionage, 'Hopscotch' has yet another connection to ‘A Scanner Darkly.’ The cartoonish effect of ‘A Scanner Darkly’ was recently used in a Charles Schwab stock investment commercial. And ‘Hopscotch’ costarred Sam Waterston, who has been the spokesperson for TD Waterhouse/Ameritrade Online Investing for years (Schwab's competitor). OK, not really that cool of a connection, but…but…but Nubs showed a shitty vampire film once.
Nubs Comments:
I was both nervous and hopeful for this pick after Tooda’s preamble. Talk about over-selling, “It has drinking and smoking in it”. Yeah, what movie doesn’t? “And cards”. Well gin rummy is not really an exciting deal breaker in our under 50 Crew. Despite all his nervous energy, Tooda brought the perfect little pick for our unfortunate extended stint indoors. A clever spy tale with our favorite actors that allowed us to escape to many exotic parts of the world is just what the meteorologist/SELECTOR ordered.
None of our large Crew had seen this before and for a non-foreign flick made within the last 20 years, that can sometimes be a bad sign. However, like ‘Black Sunday’ it can sometimes be a gem that can be pulled out and polished off nicely for a Wednesday. Walter is charming and I’m glad he can finally join our club and his buddy Jack Lemmon. As a classical music fan with not a great deal of knowledge, I loved the score.
If I have one beef(and I usually have more) it is with the direction. The movie definitely dragged somewhere around where our SELECTOR nodded off and his rude guests, Wiener and myself, tried to take pictures of the nocturnal beauty. I would point out Buffy tried to stop us. Anyway, the movie feels a little one-note, as the director doesn’t do a great job of framing the climax or more important moments with the rest of the story. We simply go along through this complex tale of cat and mouse without too much idea of where it might be building. From Salzburg to D.C. to Savannah to London and back we see very little change in our cool as a cucumber hero and his bowl-cut femme partner. By the same accord, we see very little change in our Agency antagonists as they are constantly duped. I figure I got to point out this out since no one else writes reviews except Wildcard and our selector. Though you never know with Wildcard hence his nickname.
Now that criticism is noted I want to thank Tooda for hosting, bringing this fun gem, and for being willing to order me a veggie pizza over his meat-lovers preference. I hope my early departure was not an indication of any under-appreciation. I hope all the rest of the Crew made it late enough to drink, smoke, play gin rummy and chew on Tooda’s sausage…pizza, sausage pizza.
SELECTOR Comments:
I am so delighted I got to pop the great Walter Matthau’s Movienight Cherry! That being said, as I slept through the back third of the film I will keep this review brief...
With the passing of Horton Foote, I thought I might be bound to roll ‘To Kill A Mockingbird.’ Luckily, Scout was here and her presence served as silent tribute to the late playwright.
My dear friend Sasha Kahn introduced me to this film a few years back. She had heard of Movienight and thought this would be a good Pick. At the time, I didn’t think it would fly. As our Canon had grown though, I find these little gems to be just the right film if timed well. I was sad Netti wasn’t with us the past two weeks, because ‘The Lives of Others’ has spawned two very unexpected films to get us through our two week long exile to the great Indoors.
I will leave commentary about the film to those who stayed awake throughout the presentation, but I’d like to thank Buffy for protesting the attempt to photograph me sleeping through the film’s final act. I will note though that we have here a Cold War espionage thriller whose leading man never fires a gun, and sleeps with a woman his own age - and I prefer Matthau’s turn here to any of Roger Moore’s Bond films.
Onwards.
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