BAD COMPANY
I’m not good around movies. I frequently go negative right afterward. I can’t stand being in a dark room for two hours watching mostly junk. What percentage of movies are good? Not that many. I get dragged along to movies because I’m a social animal.
I went to Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon. I had read an interview with the “legend” in the Forward; I liked the word “Supermensch” in the title; and a friend said the movie was good. Lastly, and most importantly, my wife wanted to go.
Shep Gordon is a booking agent/manager, who managed Alice Cooper, among others. Shep did a lot of drugs and messed around with a lot of women. He was loyal to his clients — for sure the ones interviewed in the movie. Gordon comes off as a very loyal sybarite. In Hollywood that apparently qualifies as a “supermensch.”
Why not more about Shep’s mother, who liked the family dog more than Shep? What about Shep’s brother? He isn’t in the movie. Shep had a few marriages; I lost count. Gordon hung out with just famous people. (Not entirely true; there were three or four non-famous people in the movie.) He liked round tables, as compared to square tables, for his dinner parties. Round tables are more conducive to good conversation. That was interesting.
I walked out when Gordon had a heart attack. Maybe it wasn’t a heart attack. He was in a hospital bed with tubes in him. I didn’t hang around for the diagnosis. Heartless. Me or him?
In the Cedar-Lee Theatre lobby afterward, I was called a curmudgeon and cynic. I went on Rotten Tomatoes the next day: one-in-four reviews said the movie was crap. So I was redeemed. Right? One in four. I was redeemed.
I wonder what Searching for Sugar Man got on Rotten Tomatoes. I didn’t like that movie either. [Ouch. Almost all positive reviews.] I thought Sugar Man was too much about the music business and not enough about the guy . . . “We were big in South Africa but not Detroit” stuff. I had a friend who was fairly big in Japan in the 1960s, but not in America. So was Joan Jett. I remember this stuff but don’t want to.
I need a 98-percent-or-better on Rotten Tomatoes to go to the movies. Ninety-eight is my sweet spot. Sugar Man was 95; Supermensch, 75.
I’m going to check out Anvil! The Story of Anvil on Rotten Tomatoes . . .
98. Yes. Anvil! was inspirational; a bunch of Canadian guys with lousy day jobs got their old band back together and toured. Check it out. And don’t kvetch to me if you don’t like it.
—
Ann Wightman, salutatorian,
Brush High ’68
I wrote this one for Cleveland.com last week: Class Reunions Shouldn’t Have to Be Every 10 Years.
4 comments
“Bad Company” — now there’s a superb film with Barry Brown and Jeff Bridges. Barry Brown — there’s a tragic story.
We see a great many movies — new, not so new, and vintage. Last night we saw at CMA “The Killers” – the 1946 version of the Hemingway-written film noir. Recently we saw a DVD of “Beyond the Candelabra” about Liberace and one of his paramours. We’ll likely see a film on the big screen Sat. night.
By Rotten Tomatoes ratings, I take it you’re referring only to the film critics’ reviews – right? – since, of course, they have the “public” reviews as well. Does anything really get a 98% or are you just joshin’?
Since you walked out on the Dobama play the four of us were watching together the day we met (ca. 1977), maybe there’s a long, sordid history here….
To Ken G.:
Yes, I’m referring to the critics’ rating. Anvil! got 98.
I wonder what Groundhog Day got. Look it up and report back to me! Should be 98+.
How come your opening title says “Coimpany” and the title of the full version has it spelled correctly? That’s like on a recent item for sale I had on eBay….
“Groundhog Day” got a “97.” Lillian loved it, I hated it.
The most recent film I saw was Lawrence of Arabia (on Turner Classic Movies). it’s good, Peter O’Toole’s finest three hours. Before that it was – on East Asheville Library Branch DVD it was Some Like it Hot – Marilyn, what can you say.
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