The Temptations Tells the Sad But Exhilarating Tale of Motown Legends

One of my favorite movies is That Thing You Do!, the mid-90s Tom Hanks-directed movie about the meteoric rise and fall of a fictional Erie-based band in the 1960s. My friends Libbie and Dan share my hometown pride in that feel-good flick, but when it comes to stories about the ups and downs of life in the music business, there’s a movie they like even better, a movie we sat down to rewatch together when Dan returned to Erie recently for a visit.

The Temptations, a 1998 made-for-TV biopic, chronicles the progression of the Motown giant from its earliest incarnation, a high school doo-wop group led by the ambitious Otis Williams (Charles Malik Whitfield). The two-and-a-half-hour-long movie, directed by Allan Arkush with and written by Robert Johnson and Kevin Arkadie, covers a span of about 35 years, so it’s as drawn-out as That Thing You Do! is lightning-quick. The Temptations is not a summertime dream for Otis and the young men who join him; it’s the backbone of their lives.

The central character of the film is Otis, who serves as narrator and is both the group’s first member and its last. The early part of the movie captures the excitement of youthful singers finding each other, perfecting their sound, impressing the right people, getting into the studios and embarking on tours. At first it’s a little hard to latch onto particular characters, since Otis is more committed to this idea than most of the people he hooks up with, and groupmates, along with group names, come and go. But gradually, the Temptations truly take shape, and we get to know the rest of them, with all their gifts and foibles.

Paul Williams (no relation to Otis) sang lead on many of the early records, and Christian Payton pours a lot of passion into his performances, as well as later scenes depicting the sad derailment of his life due to alcohol. Terron Brooks also does an impressive job as high-voiced Eddie Kendricks, Paul’s closest friend in the group. He doesn’t stand out quite as much to me, but through him, we really see the toll of the group’s eventual fracturing.

Probably the standout performance is Leon Robinson as David Ruffin, the hot-headed singer who elbows his way into the group and tries to take over. David is an erratic character, a brilliant performer with a dangerous temper and an impossible ego. At times, I caught myself feeling sorry for him as he let his poor choices lead him into a downward spiral. Other times, I objected to his abhorrent behavior. And then there’s his big scene, the blowout that occurs when Otis decides he’s had enough of David skipping rehearsals and acting superior and confronts him on it. It’s a tense moment, and yet David is so explosively expressive and just plain in love with himself that I get the giggles just thinking about it. “There is only one David Ruffin,” he retorts, “and without him, the Temps ain’t nothin’ but a group in search of a David Ruffin.”

While David’s volatility makes him fascinating to watch, I’m most drawn to Melvin Franklin (D. B. Woodside), the quiet, even-keeled bass singer whose voice wows teenaged Otis when he hears him singing on a street corner. Otis is the manager and the driving force behind most of the group’s major changes, but in many ways it’s his best friend, who’s been with the Temptations longer than anyone besides Otis himself, who serves as the glue. Otis butts heads with most of the other members from time to time, but Melvin has a way of smoothing things over. A man of few words with an expansive smile but sad eyes, Melvin struggles with physical ailments but rarely complains, and he generally comes across as the most selfless of the Temptations.

Melvin’s strong-willed, protective mother, Mama Rose (Jenifer Lewis), is among the most memorable side characters, particularly in her initial meeting with Otis, which is funny and sweet and marks the beginning of a beautiful friendship. As Otis’s supportive mother Haze, Tina Lifford makes a different kind of impact later in one of the film’s most poignant scenes. On the music end of things, Obba Babatunde makes a slick but enthusiastic Berry Gordy, head of Motown, while Erik Michael Tristan brings a soulful vibe to Smokey Robinson, who wrote several Temptations hits.

One of the hits Smokey penned was My Girl, and for sheer joy, few moments in the film can compare with the scene in which he presents it to them for the first time. “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day. / When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May…” Watching the smiles spread across their faces as they listen is exhilarating; it’s clear that they realize this song is something special. The recreations of musical performances are excellent, with different songs punctuating events in the life of the group. If you’ve enjoyed the music of the Temptations, you should get a kick out of the songs presented here, which include, among others, The Way You Do The Things You Do, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg, I Wish It Would Rain, Ball Of Confusion, Just My Imagination and Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.

This is a long movie, and it’s filled with heartache as the group’s members fall out with each other and succumb to addictions and illnesses. Nonetheless, it’s a fascinating tale offering background on perhaps the greatest group to come out of Motown. If you’ve ever caught yourself singing along with their harmonious hits, I ain’t too proud to beg you to give The Temptations a try.

Thomas Kinkade Finds Himself as an Artist in The Christmas Cottage

My brother Nathan is a senior in college majoring in Painting. He loves a lot of artists, but Thomas Kinkade, whose warm and fuzzy, light-infused landscape paintings are a staple at the calendar kiosk where I work this time of year, is not one of them. Still, I think that he would appreciate The Christmas Cottage, the 2008 film that loosely chronicles one memorable Christmas in the life of a college-aged Kinkade.

In this feel-good movie written by Ken LaZebnik and directed by Michael Campus, Jared Padalecki plays Thomas, who has returned to his tiny hometown for Christmas break and is shocked to discover that his mother (Marcia Gay Harden) is so far in debt that she is about to lose her cottage. Though Thomas feels like a fish out of water, with a slight air of superiority when it comes to most of the townsfolk, he delves into an art project that he feels is beneath him in hopes that it will help pay his mother’s bill. What he needs to do is create a Christmassy mural to advertise for a local businessman. When he confesses his malaise to his mentor, neighbor Glenn Wessels (Peter O’Toole), this aged artist at the tail end of an illustrious career advises him to put forth his very best effort and use the job as an opportunity to honor his town and its residents.

We see the mural as a work in progress throughout the movie, and gradually, it gains more and more personality as Thomas decides to fill it with specific people who have meant a lot to him and to the town. As he paints, he struggles with the idea of finding his own distinct style. It isn’t until the last minute that he is inspired to add the light pouring through all the windows, that touch that has become his trademark. Thomas’s relationship with Glenn is the heart of the story, and O’Toole gives a heart-rending performance as a very talented man losing control of his faculties – both his mind and his all-important hands. Despite the hints of dementia creeping in, Glenn still is a great source of wisdom for his troubled young neighbor.

While painting is the main focus of the movie, there are several subplots. In the silliest, Thomas’s congenial brother Pat (Aaron Ashmore, who plays the adorable Jimmy Olsen on Smallville) takes a job for a man embroiled in a bitter battle with his neighbor over who has the best Christmas display. Mrs. Kinkade has her hands full trying to corral a chaotic assembly of townspeople for a nice Christmas pageant. Most notably, the family is thrown into a tizzy when Thomas and Pat’s long-absent father (Richard Burgi) shows up again, broke, sardonic and unrepentant for his lack of involvement in their life.

The Christmas Cottage probably isn’t one of those Christmas movies I’m going to watch repeatedly, but I’d certainly have no objection to watching it again with my brother to see what he thinks of it. It definitely feels like a Hallmark movie, though it isn’t really. As I tend to enjoy those sappy made-for-TV efforts, though, that doesn’t bother me. If you’re intrigued by Thomas Kinkade or art in general, it’s worth making a stop at The Christmas Cottage.

Mark Bittner, Bird Man of San Francisco, Stars in The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

Because January 21 is Squirrel Appreciation Day, I had squirrels on my mind all day yesterday, but I wrapped up my evening with The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, a documentary about more colorful creatures, at least in terms of plumage. It’s an odd sight to see parrots soaring over the streets of San Francisco as though they belong there; I just don’t think of wild birds in America boasting that kind of spectacular color. These are immigrants for the most part, but they feel welcome in the California sunshine, and that is due, in no small measure, to the efforts of Mark Bittner, the man who oversaw their care and feeding for several years.

Mark, an articulate, eccentric man who, at the time of this film, hadn’t paid rent in more than a decade, thrives on the generosity of his friends and neighbors, and in turn, he passes the goodwill on to his feathered companions. He gets to know the unique markings and other distinguishing characteristics of each bird; they become like family, even though he insists that they are not “his” birds. Few of them ever see the inside of a cage. His aim is to keep them free, and he imprisons them only for the purposes of rehabilitation - though he does amusingly recount his experience with Mingus, a parrot who, atypically, seems to crave captivity.

Judy Irving, a filmmaker and neighbor of Mark’s, found his story intriguing enough that she decided to document some of his experiences. Hence, we get a lot of up-close and personal shots of the parrots as Mark gives us their life stories as he sees them. “Boy, he sure does a lot of anthropomorphizing!” my dad commented, and perhaps that’s true; he’s constantly telling us what the birds are thinking and feeling, with such certainty that one might wonder whether he thinks he has a direct pipeline to their minds. Still, most of his assumptions struck me as fairly reasonable, considering the circumstances he describes.

The footage of the birds is quite lovely, and it’s interesting to hear Mark talk about them and try to help us see them as individuals. Unfortunately, I still found it pretty tough to tell the birds apart. He’s had years to get to know these creatures; it’s a little harder for us to manage in an hour and a half, and with only the benefit of sight. Additionally, there’s little narrative structure to the movie. Certain parrots have some semblance of a story arc, and there is a major conflict toward the end, but it seems to come out of nowhere, much too suddenly to feel like a major plot element. Rather, the film feels largely plotless. Which is, I suppose, somewhat typical of documentaries, but I think Irving could have done a better job of weaving her film together in a more linear and compelling fashion.

There are those who won’t like this movie because of its acceptance of the presence of an invasive species amongst indigenous wildlife. Others will protest Mark’s lack of traditional employment, while still others will simply wish for better editing. While I don’t object to the main ideals presented in the movie, I confess my attention wandered. Rarely did I find my eyes glued to the screen. These are beautiful birds, and if a flock of parrots decided to settle here in Erie, Pennsylvania, I would certainly want to go see them. But the movie doesn’t use them to their full advantage.

I do recommend The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill to anyone who loves birds. The primary focus is on the parrots, which are fascinating in themselves, but there are side trips dealing with lorikeets, quails and all sorts of other birds, some domesticated, most wild. Chances are you’ll learn something and that you’ll find yourself falling in love with these bright green birds as well. But I think the movie could use a more detached narrator to give it a bit more structure. Have a look at this unique slice of life; just don’t expect another March of the Penguins.

Frost / Nixon Is At Its Best When the Leads Play Hardball

Last year, I was so ready for the Oscars, I managed to see every contender for Best Picture, not to mention quite a few nominees in other categories. This year, I was much more lax. One of the movies that fell by the wayside was Frost / Nixon, which piqued my curiosity, but not enough to make it essential viewing. I amended this oversight today.

Frost / Nixon, originally a stage play with the same two stars, was written by Peter Morgan, and the film is directed by Ron Howard, who has helmed some of my favorite movies, including the underrated Far and Away. Michael Sheen, who portrays intrepid interviewer David Frost, won me over as Tony Blair in 2006’s The Queen; he seems to have a knack for playing real-life wet-behind-the-ears personages. And I’d seen enough of Frank Langella as disgraced President Richard Nixon to be impressed with the way he embodies such an iconic role.

More than anything, this movie boils down to the two of them, together or apart, carefully plotting out what they will say to each other as teams of advisors hover fretfully. Their tactical maneuvers put me in mind of a boxing match, with Frost the Rocky-like underdog trying to find his adversary’s weak spot. I’ve always thought of Nixon, especially during this time period, as an unscrupulous, defeated figure, but throughout most of the movie he comes across as confident, courteous, charismatic and witty.

As I watched his interaction with Frost, I also found myself thinking of V, the sci-fi series that recently began airing on ABC. In both cases, the journalist is called upon to refrain from asking uncomfortable questions. The task falls to Frost to figure out how to prompt illuminating answers without enraging his subject. As when he played Blair, Sheen shows us a man who seems in over his head, suddenly thrust into a spotlight much too big for him. There’s less verbal ping-pong than the previews led me to believe, since all of the juiciest bits occur during the last portion of their interview, which stretched over several days.

Hence, the movie has a slow build to it that may try the patience of some. It’s interesting to get a peek into all of the background work that goes into an interview like this - weeks of research, millions of dollars in expenditures. But during most of their encounters, the two men are quite cordial to each other; it’s a good hour and a half before the sparring starts in earnest. Even when it’s all over with, there’s a definite sense of mutual respect.

Among the supporting cast, the clear standout is Kevin Bacon as Jack Brennan, Nixon’s deeply devoted, extremely conservative wingman. He proves an even greater stumbling block to Frost than Nixon himself, as he exercises constant vigilance in his attempts to protect the former President’s good name. On the other side of the fence is Bob Zelnick, Frost’s right-hand man. Portrayed by Oliver Platt, he’s a bundle of jokey energy, always trying to lessen the tension with a laugh but quite obviously concerned that this project could kill his career.

Rebecca Hall turns in a nice performance as Caroline Cushing, the sweet Englishwoman who quickly falls into Frost’s inner circle. Unfortunately, as a fan of Diane Sawyer (played by Kate Jennings Grant), I was disappointed in how little this ace reporter was given to do. It almost made me wonder why she was even included as a character.












If you have an interest in the role of the media in shaping society’s opinions, Frost / Nixon is a fascinating film to watch. While bits of it are a tad dry and dozy, the movie as a whole is an intriguing peek at an important slice of recent history, anchored by two outstanding performances.

A Beautiful Movie

Although I usually do not get too excited about awards shows, I looked forward to this year’s Oscars because The Fellowship of the Ring had been nominated so many times. Although the film I was rooting for won four Oscars, it was superceded in many categories by one of two movies: Moulin Rouge and A Beautiful Mind. When the latter took the Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director, I became determined to see it. Now that I have watched it, I still don’t know that I would say it deserved the statue more than Fellowship – I’m rather biased in that area – but it certainly was worth watching.

Based on the life of Dr. John Nash (Russell Crowe), a brilliant but tortured mathematician, Mind chronicles his career from graduate student to Nobel Prize recipient. From the beginning, it is clear that Nash may have a way with numbers, but his people skills are sorely lacking. His first meeting with his peers reveals his awkwardness, which is borne primarily of arrogance. Nash believes himself to be superior to nearly everyone he meets. He sees classes as a waste of time and runs himself ragged trying to come up with a truly original thought.

He is so intent on his work that he would probably destroy himself if not for his “prodigal roommate,” Charles (Paul Bettany). Charles is Nash’s antithesis, a British English major whose effusive personality and party animal tendencies bring Nash out of his shell. Still, Nash sees the world in mathematic terms, and it is during an evening on the town that he finally comes up with the original thought he has been searching for.

Flash forward five years, and Nash finds himself in the undesirable position of sharing his knowledge with “eager young minds.” One particular student decides to unravel the mystery surrounding this eclectic professor. Unintimidated by his standoffish demeanor, Alicia (Jennifer Connolly) sets out on a mission to connect with him. Meanwhile, a trip to the Pentagon leads Nash to become enmeshed in a project far more intrusive than it at first appears. His top secret code-breaking for William Parcher (Ed Harris) of the CIA gradually wears on his psyche, and as his married life with Alicia begins, he becomes caught in a downward spiral culminating in an earth-shattering revelation.

The remainder of the film deals with his upward climb towards normalcy and his unending struggle to do something of significance. Fairly depressing throughout, it still ends on a note of hope. Although the movie deviates significantly from the true story, it gives a suitable sense of the burden Nash has carried throughout his life. Connolly deserved the award she received for her role, and Crowe certainly did a good job, though at times I found his speech almost too mumbly to be intelligible. My favorite character is Charles, who brings much-needed levity and warmth to a number of scenes and balances Nash’s rigidity. When the circumstances of Nash’s life change drastically, he is also involved in what, for me, is the movie’s saddest scene. Ed Harris is appropriately enigmatic as the increasingly sinister Parcher, and Christopher Plummer turns in a fine performance as the psychiatrist Nash never asked for.

I found myself seeing Craig Toomey of Steven King’s The Langoliers in Nash, an arrogant man haunted by his desperation to make something of himself. The film also reminded me of The Sixth Sense in that it delivered a 180-degree twist that I did not anticipate despite thinking I knew what to expect. Finally, the chronicling of this professor’s life from his early twenties to his seventies was reminiscent of Mr. Holland’s Opus.

I did not particularly care for the movie’s Oscar-nominated soundtrack – though I generally like Charlotte Church, this was a bit too much opera for me – and, as I stated earlier, Crowe’s speech was difficult to decipher at times. All in all, however, I found it a very well-crafted movie which was worthy of the acclaim it received.

Inspiring Story for Anyone with a Seemingly Impossible Dream

To be perfectly honest, when my brother rented Men of Honor last week I was pretty sure that I wouldn't like it; I thought it would be a war movie with plenty of bloody action to keep my brother enthralled. As it turned out, I was entirely mistaken. This amazing true story of a young African American who went against all odds to become the first U. S. Navy diver was a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience from beginning to end.

We get our first glimpse of the protagonist, Carl Brashear, when he is a young boy swimming to the bottom of the swimming hole near his home. Soon after, we watch as he refuses to go to school, instead opting to stay home and help his father finish plowing the field. Flash forward, and Carl (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) is a young man of about seventeen on his way to enlist in the Navy. He is successful in his endeavor but discouraged when he winds up as a ship's cook. Ever defiant, Carl literally takes the plunge -- off of the ship's main deck -- when the white enlistees are enjoying themselves in the water. Because of his speed in the water, the observing officer allows him to be a Search and Rescue Swimmer.

This is a major step up, but when Carl watches Master Diver Billy Sunday (Robert DeNiro) dive off the deck to save someone, he goes straight to his commanding officer and tells him that he intends to enter the Navy Diving School. Meanwhile, Sunday faces disciplinary action because of his insubordination when he insisted on making that dive and his irate response to the doctor's statement that he would never dive again. Fate brings Carl and Sunday together again two years later, when Carl receives his admittance into the Diving School.

Right from the start, Carl faces major obstacles to his education. No one brings him into the camp all day, and when Sunday returns at sundown he is still determined to get rid of this new recruit. It isn't going to happen. He finally admits Carl, but only one person in the entire camp is content to share a bunk-house with him. This nervous but friendly young man soon pays for his kindness to Carl in an exercise that results in his being kicked out of the school.

Every day, both Sunday and Carl's fellow students conspire to make him miserable, but Carl is determined. His dedication eventually wins him the admiration of his mates and his instructor, and his intellectual insufficiency is amended when he seeks tutoring from a young librarian who eventually becomes his girlfriend. But just as graduation seems a certainty, the camp's demented leader, Pappy (Hal Holbrook), becomes more determined to keep his school from graduating an African American. When Sunday's warnings to Carl are ignored, his final project is sabotaged, resulting in his remaining underwater for nearly ten hours, insisting upon assembling his project even though the required pieces are scattered across the the ocean floor. He is half-frozen when he comes up, but he is also a diver, despite Pappy's displeasure.

As the years go by, Carl grows ever closer to his goal of Master Diver, while Sunday faces disciplinary action again and again for his hot temper. In fact, Sunday's life is in shambles. We see him convalescing in a hospital after a nasty brawl, and on the television is Carl, who is diving to recover a bomb. After a close shave, Carl makes it back up, but before the day is over a freak accident comes along that may rob him of his dream forever...

Don't miss this incredible account of one man whose determination overcame every obstacle, and another who learned what honor truly was by watching this determined new recruit. DeNiro and Gooding in particular put in impressive performances here.

If you happen to have a DVD player, there are lots of extra features on the DVD version. These include a "making of segment", an interview with the real Carl Brushear, and about a dozen deleted scenes, the most powerful of which, in my opinion, is a scene in which the school's dogs have a race and Carl's team's dog wins. As Carl parades the pug around in victory, Pappy, who is watching from his tower up above, demands that one of the other recruits wash his dog with lye. This painful scene is yet another powerful example of the rampant racism that Carl faced during his education.

Although the language and some of the subject matter is not suited for young children, I would recommend Men of Honor to teenagers and adults without hesitation. Rent it and be inspired.