|
|
|
July 28, 2005
Eigth Days a Week
FILM
I don’t think I know any guy who watched the old television show, Bewitched, and didn’t have a crush on Elizabeth Montgomery at some point in time. Montgomery played Samantha, the witch married to a mortal, Darrin and the way she wriggled her nose to work her magic was, well, magical.
Now comes the inevitable movie remake of the show. But instead of going for a straightforward remake/update, writer/director Nora Ephron opts for a show-within-a-show approach.
The movie Bewitched is about the television revival of the original show to star washed up movie star, Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell) as Darrin and an unknown actress, Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman) in the role of Samantha, who is cast in the plum role because of her ability to wiggle her nose just like Elizabeth Montgomery. But unknown to Jack or the producers of the show, Isabel is actually a witch and she’s looking to give up witchcraft and fall in love, in that order.
Kidman is terrific as Isabel/ Samantha, bringing a softness and charming naïvete and breathlessness to her role. And she wiggles her nose quite well too (though Montgomery remains the champ). It’s obvious that she’s having fun.
And so is Will Ferrell –– but he always does because he brings such fearlessness to his comedy. However, unfortunately, the movie works only in bits and pieces as an ode to the old television show as well as a Hollywood satire but hardly at all as a romantic comedy.
And that’s a pity coming from Ephron, the person who wrote When Harry Met Sally and wrote and directed Sleepless In Seattle. In the ultimate analysis, Ephron’s ended up with a harmless time passer but she would have been much better off just straight-up updating the original concept.— Khusro Mumtaz
OR
Film critic turned filmmaker Khalid Mohammad’s third movie, Silsiilay, tells three separate stories of three separate women whose lives cross very, very briefly and entirely inconsequentially.
The common theme though is the search for love and a discovery of the self. Bhumika Chawla plays Zia, a major Mumbai film star who is going through a difficult break-up with her businessman boyfriend, Neil (Rahul Bose). Riya Sen is Anushka, a girl from a small town, working as a secretary in Mumbai but unaware of her love-struck colleague, Tarun (Jimmy Shergil), and madly in love with Nikhil (Ashmit Patel), a rich playboy.
Finally, Tabu is Rehana, second wife to a Mumbai contractor, Anwar (Kay Kay Menon) who is having an affair with an airline stewardess, Preeti (Celina Jaitley) while her step-son (newcomer Karan) worships her silently.
Khalid Mohammad’s favourite subject is women and here he wants to explore how these women achieve a certain independence and discover a new sense of self and self-respect for themselves in the course of seeking love.
The final statement seems to be that women don’t really need men to define themselves. I have no problem with that message and there are other good things about the movie as well but the final product doesn’t make for a completely successful film.
The acting is generally decent. Tabu, one of the finest actresses in the history of Mollywood, brings a depth to her role which probably wasn’t there in the script, and Bhumika Chawla goes glam for the first time on-screen (semi)successfully.
However, Riya Sen (who is quite cute) still doesn’t have the acting chops to pull off substantial roles and just isn’t a very convincing innocent –– though, to be fair to her, her role (and her story) is probably the least interesting of the three.
The rest of the cast, apart from Ashmit Patel, proves itself quite capable with Jaitley finally showing signs of some (albeit still quite limited) acting ability. I liked the songs, too, which are hummable. But the stories and the situations aren’t really saying anything that new.
The movie also needed to be more tightly edited (for instance, the final ten minutes could have been totally chopped off) and Shahrukh Khan’s cameo as the narrator is completely unnecessary.
The demands of the box-office may have necessitated his presence but it undermines the integrity of the movie. The salaciousness of some of the scenes is also totally gratuitous and probably a nod to commercial interests.
Here, and in his previous movies, Khalid Mohammad has shown enough to suggest that he may yet make a great movie. But to accomplish that he’ll have to throw off the shackles of commerciality and follow his heart which, I suspect, lies in cinema with more artistic concerns.
— K.M
SINGLE
Catherine Bach of The Dukes of Hazzard is well remembered for her beauty and her legendary “Daisy Duke” shorts. Now blonde nymphet and newly-wed Jessica Simpson is filling Bach’s shorts –– I mean her shoes –– by playing Daisy Duke in the current film based on the television series. In conjunction with that theatrical release, Simpson has covered the classic Nancy Sinatra song These Boots Are Made For Walking.
The classic track is fail-proof and Simpson does a fair job, although she does not add anything –– musically that is –– to the single. She does however take out the I Will Survive feminist feel of the tune and turn it into a seductive song.
You can actually hear her pouting rather than spouting and in the video she is even more provocative and siren-like than the Pussycat Dolls!
The background guitar and the infectious chorus ensure the song is fun to listen to, but Simpson’s over-the-top video has to make you wonder why the beautiful blonde who seems to have it all, is trying so hard. Her posing and itsy-bitsy wardrobe choices do seem to be begging for controversy.
Rumours continue to abound that Simpson and her husband Nick Lachey are more off again than on, these days. Perhaps Simpson is bored of her domestic bliss and is considering taking her Daisy Duke shorts and boots for a walk.—T. U. Dawood
ALBUM
When eighteen-year-old Ciara Princess Harris, known to most simply as Ciara, came up with her debut CD, Goodies last Fall, she slowly started making waves. First it was just among urban hip-hop fans in the US, while the music scene in Pakistan and the rest of the world didn’t really take much notice.
However, after her album resulted in hit after hit, the girl who was voted “Most Likely To Become Famous” in high school slowly started being featured on songs by leading artists ranging from Ludacris to Bow Wow, and most recently Missy Elliot.
However, unlike R&B Pop Princess Ashanti, who assumed her throne relatively quickly and proceeded to rule the music scene a couple of years back (she even had a singing cameo in the film Bride and Prejudice), Ciara’s rise has been more subtle and it’s only recently she’s become popular here in Pakistan.
Today, Ciara’s songs have become must-play on the international music channels and key tracks on Goodies are favoured by Pakistani DJs. The CD is filled with smash singles including the title track (featuring Petey Pablo), the chart-topper One, Two Step (featuring Missy Elliot) and the steamy Hotline.
With the artist’s seductive whispers at the forefront, Lil Jon’s pumping beats in the background and plenty of catchy hooks to keep you pressing the “replay” button, Goodies is definitely one sweet CD.—T. U. D
MUSIC
All Pakistan Music Conference, Karachi is organizing its Baethak with classical singer Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan and sitar player Sajid Hussain on July 30, at the PIIA auditorium, Aiwan-e-Sadr Road, at 8:30 pm.—A.S.
DRAMA
The Arts Council Drama Committee is presenting a play Pakkay Dhagay on July 30, at 9 pm in the Arts Council open air theatre. The play has been directed by Hazara Theatre Group.
|
|
|
|
