Andrew Schwartz Beverly (Drew Barrymore)
looking uncomfortable on her wedding day in the newly released
movie, "Riding in Cars With Boys."
“Riding in Cars With Boys” Starring Drew
Barrymore, Brittany Murphy, Steve Zahn and Adam Garcia Directed by
Penny Marshall
During the course of a woman’s life, many a man will come
and go. Some will be but a fleeting memory, others will make a more
lasting impression, but none will affect, shape and inspire them
quite like their fathers, their husbands and their sons.
“Riding in Cars With Boys,” directed by Penny Marshall,
is based on the memoir of Beverly Donofrio, and chronicles her life
between the turbulent ages of 15 and 35. Beverly, played by the
endearing Drew Barrymore, struggles to rise above her lot in life
while dealing with teenage motherhood, the rejection of her father,
near-poverty and an irresponsible junkie husband (Steve Zahn),
among other things. The film is composed of a series of poignant
flashbacks to the events and moments that shaped Beverly’s
young adult life between the ’60s and the ’80s. Most
are sorrowful tales of shattered dreams that make her desperate
struggle to achieve an education and pursue her writing career seem
nearly impossible. It takes all of Beverly’s strength and
passion to overcome her constant and disappointing battles with
love, family, friends and career. Barrymore is supported by a solid
cast, including Logan Arens, who plays Beverly’s touching
3-year-old son, Jason, Brittany Murphy (“Girl,
Interrupted”) and Adam Garcia (“Coyote Ugly”).
Short cameos are made throughout the film by Sara Gilbert
(“Rosanne”) and Rosie Perez (“White Men
Can’t Jump”). Together they effectively bring Beverly
Donofrio’s memoir to life and create characters that touch
the heart. The story of Beverly’s difficult coming-of-age is
at the same time heart wrenching and humorous in its charm and wit.
Each scene strikes a powerful emotional chord within its viewers,
especially those who are women and mothers. For guys, that pesky
Y-chromosome might make this one a little too estrogen-charged. But
ladies should see it with girlfriends or even better, see it with
their moms. And bring tissues.
Amy Shen
“From Hell” Starring: Johnny Depp, Robbie
Coltrane and Heather Graham Directed by Albert and Allen
Hughes
In a hurricane flurry of blood and newsprint, the Whitechapel
Killer became Jack the Ripper through a mysterious letter, claiming
to be from the killer and sent to London’s best. The
signature, by “Jack the Ripper,” was most likely
authored by some attention-grabbing eccentric. Swaddled in the pea
soup fog of urban legend, Jack the Ripper has become the subject of
much speculation and theory hawking. Steven Knight’s
apocrypha “Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution” posits
the most expansive and insidious conspiracy theory behind the
Ripper’s existence. Alan and Albert Hughes’s
“From Hell,” based off of the epic graphic novel which
in turn owes much to Knight’s book, chronicles London’s
most infamous serial killer from the point of view of Scotland Yard
inspector Fred Abberline, played by the ever-reliable Johnny Depp.
Depp has a wonderful knack of completely disappearing into his
characters. He doesn’t disappoint here, though the role of
Abberline doesn’t seem as meaty as would be desired. The
authorities assign Abberline, a psychic who supplements his visions
with opium, the job of tracking down the killer, whose carnage
begins to incur the curiosity of the sensationalistic press. As
Abberline begins his investigation, he meets and eventually
romances Mary Kelly, who is undoubtedly the best-looking whore in
19th-century London (or 19th-century anywhere). Heather Graham,
with neither a scar on her face nor a hickey on her chest, plays
the role well and the relationship between Mary Kelly and Abberline
is, though rather obligatory, quite convincing as well. Purists of
the graphic novel, which explains quite clearly who the Ripper is
by the second chapter, will probably be disappointed. The Hughes
brothers have taken the wide-reaching ideas planted in the novel
and simmered them down into what is, for all intents and purposes,
a well-made but rather straightforward thriller. The film looks
great, but for some reason it isn’t as adept at creating a
constant aura of quivering suspense. Most pointedly, the victims of
the Ripper seem interchangeable. Their deaths are mostly functional
building blocks that ultimately serve to increase the tension when
Mary Kelly herself is at risk. “From Hell” isn’t
wholly satisfactory but it is an interesting look at the Jack the
Ripper myth, seen through the eyes of an investigator immersed in
the bloody insanity. It works best through its delightfully squalid
montage shots, and sequences when the Ripper prowls the slick
cobblestones of London. Wonderfully atmospheric, if only the
storytelling could be as rich.
Ryan Joe