REEL CRITICS
Check it out now, the dunked soul brother
In 1948, there were three options for an enlisted black man in the
U.S. Navy: “to be a cook, an officer’s valet or to get ... out.” Carl
Brashears, the son of a Kentucky sharecropper, chose none of the above.
Instead, as we witness in the biopic “Men of Honor,” he went on to become
the Navy’s first African-American diver and to achieve the rank of master
chief, the highest rank for an enlisted man.
This engaging, old-school movie is pumped-up and predictable, from its
slices of ham and cheese to the requisite emotional finale that gives new
meaning to the phrase “12 Steps.” But like me, audiences are sure to
enjoy it for its portrayal of a man determined to achieve a goal in spite
of the huge personal costs and shameful treatment heaped upon him.
Brashears (Cuba Gooding Jr.) joins the Navy soon after President Harry
Truman orders the desegregation of the armed forces. He had only a
seventh-grade education and his father’s admonition to “do his best.” His
talents as a swimmer bring him to the attention of an officer who
recommends him for a post on the USS Hoist as a rescuer.
It is on the Hoist where Brashears meets his destiny. The first time
he sees a man outfitted in the ponderous, unwieldy deep-sea diving gear,
he is transfixed and realizes this is what he is meant to be. It is also
his first glimpse of Master Chief Billy Sunday (Robert De Niro, still
sporting his haircut from “Rocky and Bullwinkle”). Sunday is an expert
diver but pugnacious and with little heed for rules.
After two years of writing letters, Brashears is finally admitted to
the Navy Divers School in New Jersey, where Sunday happens to be the
instructor. There he must endure not only the rigors of training and a
lack of formal education, but notable slights and bigotry that becomes
life-threatening. This is where the film becomes truly engrossing and
where you want to know more about Brashears and the times he lived in.
The movie fast-forwards over the years, from one dramatic incident to
the next. Sunday and Brashears manage to bond somewhere in the late ‘50s
to early ‘60s, although we’re not given any real insights into that
relationship. And there is no explanation for the odd coupling of the
alcoholic Sunday and his rather tarty wife (Charlize Theron).
The underwater scenes are very exciting, extremely well done and make
you aware of the real dangers that deep-sea divers must face.
Big-budget Hollywood movies seem to consistently recycle famous
cinematic moments. De Niro, given free dramatic rein as Billy Sunday (who
is a composite of real-life characters) chews up the scenery in an accent
very much like his villain in “Cape Fear.” He makes the Lou Gossett
character in “An Officer and a Gentleman” look like a wimp by comparison.
Brashears’ training scenes are like that other “Rocky” movie -- a man
doing push-ups silhouetted by the setting sun. And in the big courtroom
scene, I expected De Niro to yell either “You can’t handle the truth!” or
“You walkin’ to me?”
The true standout of the film is Cuba Gooding Jr., who brings as much
energy and conviction to this role as he did to his Oscar-winning turn in
“Jerry Maguire.” It must have been quite daunting to have the real Carl
Brashears, now 70, on the set as technical advisor. I hope he’s pleased
with this version of his amazing life story.
“Men of Honor” is rated R for language.
* SUSANNE PEREZ, 45, lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant
for a financial services company.
‘Wonder Boys’ perfectly cast, well done
“Wonder Boys,” from acclaimed director Curtis Hanson (“L.A.
Confidential”), stars a perfectly cast Michael Douglas as a 50-ish
English professor named Grady Tripp who wrote a good novel seven years
ago, and now, everyone believes, has writer’s block.
Grady has been working on his second novel for so long now, that it
runs well over 2,000 single-spaced pages and includes the genealogies of
every character, including the horse.
The film, which was originally released earlier this year, follows
Grady around a Pittsburgh campus in winter during a literary festival
immediately after Grady’s wife has just left him.
During this period, several characters drift in and out of his life,
including James Leer (Toby Maguire), an aspiring writer who is a
compulsive liar; Hannah Green (Katie Holmes), a student who rents a room
in Grady’s home and would like to have a relationship develop; exalted
novelist Q (Rip Torn); Grady’s mistress, Sara (Frances McDormand), who
happens to be the wife of the English department head (Richard Thomas);
and Gary’s literary agent Terry (Robert Downey Jr.).
The movie is a low-voltage screwball comedy; not fast-paced like
vintage Marx Brothers’ films but slowed down in an attempt to recreate
real-life speed. The slow-paced comedy is probably a result of Gary being
completely stoned on pot during the film.
In spite of a fairly large cast, each character is well developed and
almost becomes Altman-esque. Each character interacts with the others,
ponders each others’ role and generally avoids a deliberately colorful
representation of what each character may represent to the viewer.
The ability of screenwriter Steve Klovs and his collaboration with
Hanson in developing such a well-rounded film make the “Wonder Boys” one
of the year’s best.
“Wonder Boys” is rated R for language and drug content.
* ROB OROZCO, 29, is an attorney who lives in Newport Beach with his
wife and two cats.
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