Paper Moon has been on my list for quite some time. It’s about a father and daughter tromping around Depression-era America and pulling scams, which is very much my style of storyline. Furthermore, it has Academy Award lore, for Tatum O’Neil was the youngest academy award winner in history. But what really got me to see it was a book that Bill has, where certain directors discuss the film that changed their life. Peter Doctor, the director of Monsters Inc., cited this as his inspiration. Kevin is a Pixar nerd and has been trying to get me to watch Monsters Inc. for about a million years, so I decided to watch each of these movies with their respective friends and note the similarities.
First, I want to address my initial reactions after watching Paper Moon. I had high expectations, and while I was not blown out of the water, they were appropriately met. I mean, look at that cover? How could this movie be anything else but the greatest movie ever? Paper Moon is one of the forerunner and is considered one of the classics in antagonism growing into dependence and love between two characters. This dynamic is one of my favorites. I love seeing love grow out of animosity, especially in father-daughter relationships (blatant peek into my personal life) (hi dad!!!). I also love how they approach the nature of their heist. What they are doing is never seen as evil, and Mo is never seen as a bad guy for what he does. Rather, he is played as more of a bumbling fool, and his predominant character flaw is his lack of class and poise, as opposed to his trade. The dynamic and how they need each other, especially because their actions and role – lone crooks – predicts a sense of solitude that they both try to embrace, is charming because it is so diametrically opposed to what they need (that’s each other, folks) (whoops, spoiler alert).
My only complaint about Paper Moon is that the characters are too often archetypes, and that makes the moments of genuine sincerity weaker. This movie is aesthetically stunning, funny and sharp, and the soundtrack is absolutely perfect, but I expected to whirl with glee at the relationship of Mo and Addie. I feel like the relationship was a bit too complex for the simplicity of the characters, that they were a little too one-dimensional to really evoke strong emotion from me.
Monsters Inc., however, is charming in its simplicity. I suppose that is not really a complement for a kids movie, given that that medium certainly lends itself to that simplicity. But at the same time, Monsters Inc. is *not* overly simplistic. It’s sharp, the relationship dynamics are complex, and the little bits of social commentary are brilliant.
I can already sense a theme developing in my opinions of movies, where I appreciate when movies are simple and straight-forward and magical. That is not to say that I don’t love it when a movie slaps me across the face with realism. But nine times out of ten, I feel like those kinds of movies are over-reaching. You are making a *movie*. This is fantasy and escapism. You can certainly address social ills and be subversive in the way you create a story, but you still have to create a very strong and emotionally resonating story, no matter what kind of movie you are making.
(I would advise, if you don't want anything ruined for you about Monsters, Inc., that you heed this spoiler alert)
I bring this up because Monsters Inc. is one of the few movies that have made me all misty-eyed, in the final scene, where Sulley hears Boo’s voice and smiles. The emotional core of the movie was nothing more complicated than Sulley cares about Boo. The extraneous stuff – the subversive jokes, the social commentary, the complex array of characters – was engaging enough that you weren’t overly focused on the emotional core. So when it paid off, it really paid off.
Ya know, I won’t write off Monsters Inc.’s brilliance just because it’s a kid movie and that makes it easier. I think that there have been plenty of movies that do not have that emotional core that is so powerful. Even other Pixar movies – I also watched A Bug’s Life on the same day, and it certainly didn’t hit me as hard. Monsters Inc. cut deeply and simply into some universal feelings – surprised caring, paternal feelings, confused love.
Paper Moon did not hit me as hard as Monsters Inc. Monsters Inc. embraced all of its weird absurdities – monsters, little kids, sushi restaurants, trash compacting machines – to tell a unique story, but its core was a very simple story. I think films that embrace particulars, little oddities that are unique to certain relationships, are effective at communicating an overall message about love and life, because they remind people them of their own little oddities and particulars in their own existence. Paper Moon was certainly a unique story, but the father/daughter dynamic was certainly in the forefront. Monsters Inc. was just a wee bit quirkier, a wee bit more unique, and a wee bit more distracting with all of its details. With all of that at the forefront, the emotional core was subtler and, in my opinion, more powerful.
But the similarities in the relationship and how it is approached are abundant. For example, Paper Moon set the stage for what Monsters Inc. did – told a ridiculous, complicated, silly story to distract you while a relationship grew. I think that is paramount to an interesting story. There are exceptions to this, of course. This structure does not focus on iconic moments, but small details. And I think that is incredibly more effective.
Another thing I love about Monsters Inc. is its internal consistency. It creates a whole world, premises are established, and it never violates them or lets those concepts down. For example, Randall occasionally camouflages himself. In lesser movies (eek I felt just like Ebert when I said that!), this would be used as an occasional gag, or maybe as a movie-saving iconic moment. In Monsters Inc., it’s just accepted. He does it pretty regularly. Not all the time, but regularly.
Sigh. Paper Moon and Monsters Inc. are both great. I like Monsters Inc. better. It’s more subtle in its development, simpler in its relationships, and wackier in its storyline. But Paper Moon is really pretty, too. Done and done. Why do I talk so much?
No comments:
Post a Comment