After years of memorable supporting roles in just about every film genre, commencing with her portrayal of the lesbian dog trainer in Christopher Guest's improv comedy Best In Show, how lovely is it that out actor Jane Lynch is suddenly, finally at the epicenter of the cultural buzz thanks to her portrayal of Glee's archvillain, Sue Sylvester? And hand it to savvy out series creator-writer-director-producer Ryan Murphy to fuel the gay buzz focused on the show with an all Madonna-themed episode this week, topped off by a spot on parody of the Material Girl's "Vogue" featuring Lynch and cast in full-on diva mode.
Lynch's character—surely the most unapologetic narcissist since Madonna's appearance in her own self-financed documentary Truth or Dare is a cogent reminder that audiences, straight and gay alike, love their divas. The movies this week—both in theatres and on DVD—offer their share of actresses who, in their time and place, more than qualified for the once disdained and troublesome, but now-coveted title.
Jennifer Lopez, the movie's first breakthrough Latina diva since Rita Moreno, is attempting to re-ignite her once red-hot film career with The Back-Up Plan, a romantic comedy helmed by out director Alan Poul that so closely resembles her past hits in the genre—The Wedding Planner, et al.—that it seems to have been filmed and hermetically sealed years ago. As in most J.Lo comedies, her character is an emotionally damaged workaholic loner—and this one wants a baby and is being artificially inseminated to get her wish. But she doesn't count on falling for hottie Alex O'Loughlin ( the TV hunk who is often seen shirtless ) just as she discovers that she's pregnant with twins.
"Hilarity" ensues as the smitten duo attempt to deal with their complicated situation. Stale and humorous rather than funny and comforting like the phony Hallmark movies it resembles, the most telling thing about The Back-Up Plan is what it reveals about the diva-like power its star apparently still wields. It's Diana Ross determined to make the public love her in The Wiz, come hell or high water, all over again. Admittedly, there's a much more benign result in store for those who still want a dose of J.Lo on the big screen.
Catherine Deneuve, the ultimate French diva—which in her case has come to mean that she's willing to downplay her unforgettable beauty in service to projects that challenge her as an actor—plays a supporting role in out director Andre Techine's beautifully observed character drama The Girl on the Train. Deneuve, who was fascinating as the complicated matriarch of a wealthy French family in A Christmas Tale, plays a much plainer character this time around, a widow who runs a children's day care in the suburbs of Paris. She frets over her only daughter, Jeanne ( Emile Dequenne ) , the seemingly benign but ultimately enigmatic title character. The passive Jeanne falls for a swaggering bad boy who leads her into trouble and, then—for reasons that slowly become clear as the film deepens—pretends to have been the victim of an anti-Semitic attack. Techine ( who co-wrote the script with Odile Barski ) once again displays a masterful control of all aspects of his movie, a typically rich character study in which the pieces slowly fall into place, and he elicits uniformly excellent performances from his cast.
For a final dose of divas in action this week I heartily recommend two DVD sets. Warner Archives, the DVD on-demand service, has just released Classics Starring Joan Crawford, a five-disc set that offers the star in a nice cross-section of her MGM career—Paid, This Modern Age and No More Ladies give us Crawford in early ascent playing the tough shopgirl who makes good, while Above Suspicion and, especially, Susan and God find Joan in full on glamour mode in her waning days at MGM. The quality of these five movies varies widely but the star of them is never for a second in doubt.
The same can be said for Barbara Stanwyck, represented in The Barbara Stanwyck Collection, out from Universal, which features the movie's most versatile actress ( a title she retains to this day ) in six new to DVD films from the '30s, '40s and '50s. Stanwyck could play anything from the tawdriest tramp to the airiest airhead, and she shines in these lesser-known vehicles which include the rarely seen Douglas Sirk-directed melodramas All I Desire ( 1953 ) and There's Always Tomorrow ( 1956, her fourth teaming with Fred MacMurray ) . William Wellman's overlooked western classic, 1942's The Great Man's Lady ( a Stanwyck favorite ) , Internes Can't Take Money ( the first Dr. Kildare picture ) , the fluffy comedy The Bride Wore Boots and the terse character drama The Lady Gambles round out the set.
Film note:
—The 26th Annual Chicago Latino Film Festival continues with a wide assortment of cinematic offerings from Mexico, South America, Portugal and Spain. The queer themed Undertow ( Contracorriente ) from Peru is a standout entry in this week's line-up. The film follows a hunky fisherman in a tiny village awaiting the birth of his first child with his anxious wife while carrying on a simultaneous affair with a male painter who sketches him in the nude. When the artist mysteriously drowns the fisherman is literally haunted by him and finds himself forced to confront his true feelings—just as the sketches are found by his gossipy, homophobic neighbors. A cross between a gay variation on Truly, Madly Deeply and any number of "on the down low" queer-themed indies, Undertow is a complicated, sexy relationship drama beautifully filmed and acted by its fetching cast. The film plays April 27 and 29 at 6 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., respectively, at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema, 2828 N. Clark ) .
This is also a heads-up that the fest's closing-night selection, the gay-themed La Mission, starring Benjamin Bratt ( and written, directed and co-produced by his older brother, Peter ) , will be playing its only Chicago date Thursday, April 29, at 6 p.m. at AMC River East, 322 E. Illinois. The Bratt brothers are expected to attend the screening. I'll review the film in next week's issue. Complete information on the festival is available by calling 312-431-1330 or visiting www.latinoculturalcenter.org
Check out my archived reviews at www.windycitytimes.com or www.knightatthemovies.com . Readers can leave feedback at the latter Web site.
