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Techtite's DVD Reviews! |
"...Vivi's estranged daughter, Sidda (Sandra Bullock) is a famous New York playwright. Yeah, I know what you're thinking: if she's such a great playwright, why couldn't she help with this script? Jokes like that are old, though the plot devices used in this film are even older." --from the review ----------------- Feel free to contribute. As always, review submissions are accepted! ------------------
------------- Sidebar :: ------------- Is Kenneth Turan On Crack, or is he just making a career-long joke? Believe it or not, Kenneth Turan is perhaps one of the sole main critics who did not like Titanic. On the other hand, he liked this film. Dare one ask why? Is he so weakened as a critic due to all the backlash he received in his Titanic days, that he just gives every chick flick a cruise- controlled thumbs-up? Let's just say, it seems very odd that ANY critic would give thumbs up to this film yet not Titanic. You can hate both, true, and you can love both, though to bash a blockbuster yet praise a farce is going too far. Of course, that's just my own two cents on the matter... |
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Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Click picture to order this DVD (widescreen version) Also available in fullscreen version. Click Here to order. A Techtite ReviewThe Film: Remember when Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton's exceptional (and funny) performances led to women nationwide creating their own First Wives Club...? Well, ever since then, it seems every other chick flick thinks all the formula needs is a "club" girls can create, and it's a blockbuster waiting to be born. The name of this latest club suggestion? "The Ya-Ya Sisterhood." It sounds a lot like that "Potsie Club" episode on Happy Days. It also sounds force-fed. In fact; it is. In other words, this just ain't gonna fly, girlfriends. Sorry. Regardless, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood wants you to believe there's something grand involved in said Ya-Ya Sisters. Apparently --oh!-- it involves secrets! These secrets are also, apparently, "divine." Sadly, nothing is divine about the typical "you'll laugh until you cry" schmaltz that such "dramedies" --half drama, half comedy-- are known for. Sure, there are some minor similarities to similar chick-flicks as Steel Magnolias and Beaches, and yet those dramas had the wisdom of knowing when not to poke fun at serious subject matter. By glaring contrast, this ya-ya sisterhood handles such tearful issues as alcoholism and child abuse in a gratingly superficial manner. The plotline is based on a popular book of the same name. Lead character Vivi is shown in three stages of life: childhood (Caitlin Wachs), her 30-something years (Ashley Judd), and her 60-something years (Ellen Burstyn). These years also include her "sisterhood" chums, Caro, Teensy, and Necie. I can imagine your reaction to these names! Is this Earth, or the planet Klingon? Anyway, we see the Ya-Yas as young girls, where in the woods they --how unique!-- draw drops of their own blood, to seal their "bond." Jump ahead 50 years, when Vivi's estranged daughter, Sidda (Sandra Bullock) is a famous New York playwright. Yeah, I know what you're thinking: if she's such a great playwright, why couldn't she help with this script? Jokes like that are old, though the plot devices used in this film are even older. Sidda tells an interviewer she had a rough childhood, mostly because of mom. Well, after naming her daughter "Sidda," I agree. So mum reads the article, and suddenly she's going through the "I no longer have a daughter" spiel. The ya-yas convene, and we finally see the purpose of this sisterhood: to offer Viva bread for her whine. The Ya-Yas decide to snatch Sidda, return her to Louisiana, and force her to learn more about mom's past. Here's the place where I start to lose interest in this film: a woman gets married, has a successful daughter, and has kept at least three good friends since childhood, yet feels the need to whine that her life isn't perfect. Boo...hoo. Are there men in this story? Yes and no. Sidda has a fiancée named Conner (Angus MacFadyen), and Vivi has Shep (James Garner), yet these are men only in the most female chauvinist pig usage of the word. These men aren't ya-yas; they're yo-yos, important only for the occasional knowing smile to their women. Note how much "Shep" sounds a lot like "Schlep." I don't think the script is inspired enough for this to be mere coincidence. Here's a free chick flick tip: give us guys somebody to root for on screen; either a hero, or at least, a love-to-hate-him villain. These guys are little more than those bobbing-head toys on the dashboard of a local taxi. Not that the performers are poorly chosen; the only crewperson who earned his/her paycheck is the casting director. This particularly includes 30-something Vivi, played by the Queen of Troubled-Women Roles, Ashley Judd. Likewise for the older ya-yas: Ellen Burstyn, Shirley Knight, Maggie Smith and Fionnula Flanagan. Then, of course, there's Sandra Bullock in the role of Sidda. Some critics have even raised their rating of this film, apparently (to read their reasoning) due to the seasoned talent, alone. Yes, indeed; it's an impressive cast. However, "thumbs-up"...? No; that would be a thumbs up for the film, which really isn't that good. Of course, it takes no divine sisters to recognize a novice performance; in this case, by Callie Khouri, as director. Why hire her? Well, she was the writer for Thelma & Louise. You know; the free-spirited feminist fairy tale about women on the road, only to end...that...BADLY? I'd say the past 11 years of her life, women have been wrestling with the notion of either patting her on the back for a classic chick flick story, or kicking her in the shins, for one of the worst movie endings in history. This film isn't likely to sway them towards that pat on the back. The DVD: Well, yeah, this is a nicely built DVD, though one wonders if the film itself garners this much attention to its added details on-disc. Most of the cast would seem to agree, since aside from director/screenwriter Carrie Khouri, only Ashley Judd is on hand for the audio commentary. I know it's rude to be so blunt, though it's not like any of the actresses in this film have more busy schedules than Ashley these days. If she found the time to record an audio commentary, so should Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, and all the other ya-yas. In addition to the commentary by Khori and the singular ya-ya, there's a separate crew commentary with Khouri, producers Bonnie Bruckheimer and Hunt Lowry, executive producer Lisa Stewart, editor Andrew Marcus and composer T-Bone Burnett. I don't know what to say about these audio commentaries because to be honest, I didn't like the film. I suppose their anecdotes and so forth would amuse those who similarly liked the film, so I'll just mention they're there, and move on. Yes, there's the obligatory theatrical trailer and music video ("Sitting in the Window of My Room by Alison Krauss), though there are also a few deleted scenes. Are they worth the DVD rental to see them? If you bothered to rent the movie, probably, though in the huge scheme of things I get more and more apathetic about this film as I am forced to see more of it. I'd bother to type every deleted scene's contents; I just prefer not to, since I dare wonder if a single online reader has read this far in this review, in the first place. No joke; if you've read this far, click here, send an online letter, and share your thoughts. To be fair, some of the bonuses are unique and inspired. Like the typical on-DVD photo slide show being offered in the form of a "scrapbook." There's also a page-to-screen journey which should amuse fans of the novel. However, those of us with no love for the novel should probably steer clear.
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