Oz: The Great, The Powerful...The Pimp

"[It] ain't easy, but somebody's gotta do it"

Sam Raimi's Wizard of Oz origin story may be about many things--the power of friendship, non-violent conflict resolution, the triumph of good over evil--but it's mostly about James Franco's Oscar Diggs, the eponymous Wizard, and his ability to charm every remotely attractive woman in the land of Oz.

First and foremost, Oz: The Great and Powerful is solidly entertaining, balancing just the right amount of razzle dazzle, heart, and humor to almost live up to the legacy of the 1939 original. From the opening frames, black and white with a 1.33:1 ratio, to the first panoramic views of pre-Dorothy Oz, widescreen and blinding color,  Raimi does great things with the story of the once and future Wizard. Diggs is not a man who at all seems destined for greatness, no matter how much he wants it; he is, instead, a louse, a charlatan, and a scoundrel, traits that all, not so incidentally, align with the older Wizard. The new wrinkle to this character, one that I'm sure Franco was all to eager to play up, is the womanizer angle.

Despite all the marketing highlighting the three female leads (Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams), it's almost a surprise that Diggs is such a ladies man, no less in a Disney blockbuster clearly targeted at females of all ages. This is not to say that Oz is a feminist nightmare or a misogynists dream; it's just such a killer, and frankly unexpected, angle that it becomes positively refreshing. How often, these days, do we get leads in tentpoles that are demonstrably, charmingly flawed, with the notable exception of Tony Stark (incidentally played by Robert Downey Jr. who was thisclose to playing Diggs). Franco does a superb job of playing Diggs, a sideshow magician and proto-Copperfield/Blaine/Angel, as the type conman who believes enough of his crap to be dangerous. He's also a bit of an ineffectual dolt, an angle that allows the female leads to dominate the film in ways that females rarely do in blockbusters.

Yet, for all the girl power on display, Oz is primarily a film about a man so enamored with his own myth that he practically wills it into actuality. On top of that, Diggs is a man whose mythmaking is fueled with an insatiable appetite for the ladies that he inadvertently--I hope--creates the engine of his "doom". This is played out with Mila Kunis' naive Theodora, a character who learns some very hard lessons about the callousness of charming men, a lesson that will be new to kids, the few who care, but painfully obvious and kind of humorous, in a skeevy way, to anyone over the age 16. The writing is on the wall as soon as Oscar and Theodora "dance" under the stars, a scene that kicks off the amazingly brash and consistent sexual innuendo that runs through the film in much the way double entendres were par for the course in classics like Breakfast at Tiffany's. With that masterstroke, Raimi does three things: he makes the female characters more vital to the narrative than they would be in a similar genre flick; he honors the charming, lighthearted, screwball style that was infectious to Golden Age cinema; and, he grabs the attention of adults in the audience who may have erroneously dismissed this fairly fantastic flick as kid's stuff.

Indeed, Oz the Great and Powerful is far from kid's stuff--the chuckles from the adults at every dirty-ish line that slides in beneath the radar are evidence of that--but it is still a fascinating and wondrous tale that hearkens back to an optimistic era where violence was not the sole source of conflict resolution in filmed narratives. It also recalls a time when Hollywood glamour meant something more than red carpet walks on Oscar night. Oz drips with the style and sensibilities of a bygone era, and it is better for it. i wish I could say I was surprised that Raimi pulled this off with such aplomb, but I'm not. He has shown audiences, since Evil Dead, that he has a deft grasp of genre and a true respect for the trappings of genre as well as a healthy respect for the classic notion of making films enjoyable and heartfelt, see Spider-Man 2, without delving into condescension and cynicism, something his contemporary, Tim Burton, could stand to remember. In fact, Burton and his much-maligned uber-blockbuster, Alice in Wonderland, will probably be on your mind as you leave the theater after seeing Oz because you'll be wondering will we see more of Raimi's Oz or Burton's Wonderland. Hopefully, we'll see more of the former and no more of the latter.

Review - Soul Surfer

Grade: B+

The Good: Subtle and humanistic interpretation of pro surfer Bethany Hamilton’s inspiring true story, anchored by superb performances and some genuinely thrilling surfing sequences.

The Bad: Treads a lot of familiar ground found in the most memorable underdog sports stories of the past 30-40 years.

Let me get this out of the way.

Soul Surfer is not 127 Hours for families.

While not as visceral or stylish as the James Franco starrer, Soul Surfer is consistently moving and heartwarming without pandering or tear-baiting. However, unless you’re soulless, there’s no way you’ll leave the theater without trying to swallow a cry bump.

More the descendant of underdog sports fables like Rudy and Rocky than a conveniently timed spin on the inspirational amputee ‘genre’, Soul Surfer tells the true story of pro surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her left arm at 13 after a freak shark attack in 2003. A rising teen surf star, Bethany (AnnaSophia Robb) was poised to ascend to the top of competitive surfing before the attack. The film, based on Hamilton’s 2004 autobiography Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board, tracks her challenging recovery and subsequent journey back to competitive dominance. With the help of her tight-knit family—led ably by Helen Hunt as Bethany’s mother, Cheri, in one her strongest roles since As Good as it Gets and Dennis Quaid, reliably gruff as patriarch Tom, who is also battling a physical challenge that keeps him off the waves—and the community of Lihue, Hawaii—including Kevin Sorbo as Holt Blanchard, father of Bethany’s best friend and fellow pro surfer, Alana Blanchard (Lorraine Nicholson),and the man who helped save Bethany after the attack—Bethany retrains herself to not only live with her new condition, but to compete.

Key to Bethany’s journey is faith. Former American Idol winner Carrie Underwood plays an understated role as the Youth Group director at Bethany’s church, Sarah Hill, providing a spiritual counterpoint to Bethany’s emerging crisis of faith. It is Underwood’s character who plays a significant role in guiding Bethany to an event that renews her faith and her desire to surf, eventually culminating in a touching, rousing conclusion that only a film like this could earn.

Despite the power of its conclusion, Soul Surfer is more concerned with Bethany’s journey. A journey that is elevated by great performances all around. It’s hard to say an actor/actress stole the show when it’s their show, but AnnaSophia Robb does a phenomenal job as Bethany. Robb brings great composure and subtlety to her role, revealing the preternatural calm and resolve that defines Bethany, even before the attack. A true sign of not only great acting, but great material, is how well an actor/character earns their cathartic moments. When Bethany finally reveals how the weight of her injury has affected her, Robb plays it with just the right amount of reserve and release to avoid pandering melodrama. Hunt and Quaid provide more than ample support as Bethany’s parents with both showing the pain and pride of parents who must endure watching their child suffer and rejoice as that child shows a quality that exceeds their expectations. Hunt, in particular, shines, playing Bethany’s mother as a woman torn by personal grief and the need to provide strength for her family. Soul Surfer’s other main draw, Carrie Underwood, does an adequate job as Bethany’s ‘spiritual guide’. Her role is limited to essentially being a conduit for Bethany’s renewal of spirit makes allowances for occasions where the character is revealed as underdeveloped and Underwood comes across as wooden.

Not only did director Sean McNamara coax some great performances out of his actors, he managed to craft some stunning wave riding sequences that evoke the serenity, and thrill of surfing. The scenes of Bethany competing or just riding casually with family or friends may not be as fresh as the day Endless Summer was released—a poster of which adorns Bethany’s bedroom walls, as it should—but they are no less engaging or weighty. There are some neat insights into the art of surfing as shown through Bethany’s attempts to duck dive and ride the curl that are sure to catch the interest of those uninitiated in the ways of surf. McNamara balances these more active scenes with dramatic moments that are never showy, but are just quiet and bighearted enough to be genuinely affecting.

Being more of an underdog sports movie, Soul Surfer is, of course, victim to the clichés of the genre. Anyone who has seen a popular sports fable like Rudy, Rocky, or—more recently—The Fighter will know exactly where this film is going. To jaded filmgoers that, and some of the film’s leanings on faith and spirituality, could be a detriment. For those who are okay with a film that treads familiar ground, only with a solid helping of heart and subtlety, they will find a film that is as powerful as the best in the genre. And, yes, by the end, you will probably be crying and cheering.