REEL CRITICS

Melissa Richardson and Elaine England

Making the monsters less monstrous

The monsters lurk in your closet, hide under your bed to scare you . .

. because they have to. They come to Monsters Inc. every day for work.

Those monsters that actually come through your door are wildly

courageous. They risk their lives every day because human children are

toxic and it’s a scary thing for them to get near one of us.

So what, Disney? Monsters scare us just as much as we scare them. Why

should we care about their feelings? “Monsters Inc.,” the newest film

collaboration from Disney and Pixar, is here to show everyone a new side

of those terrifying monsters. They’re sweet and funny and could easily

become your best friend if just given the chance. And everyone should

give them at least one chance.

Sulley (John Goodman) and Mike (Billy Crystal) may just be the perfect

comedy team. Mike’s loud, sarcastic wit is balanced by Sulley’s big

heart, which gets them both into trouble. Yet, Randall (Steve Buscemi)

steals the show. Randall wants to beat Sulley to the new scream record at

Monsters Inc., but he can’t quite keep up. He won’t give up though, and

its up to Sulley and Mike to stop his devious plans.

Randall would just be a pathetic monster, except that he has this

slimy, slithery nature and the ability to disappear at will and wander

about invisible. He will make your skin crawl and should get the Oscar

for best villain, if such a thing ever gets created.

“Monsters Inc.” is fun for all ages. In a time when smiles are hard to

find, “Monsters Inc.” serves them up by the dozens. Now, if only they

could somehow fix spiders so they weren’t so scary. . . .

“Monsters Inc.” is rated G.

* MELISSA RICHARDSON is a Costa Mesa resident and a junior at UC

Irvine.

A ‘House’ built with heart

“Life as a House” is a curious movie title and as the story unfolds,

it becomes even more enigmatic. The director, Irwin Winkler, has a light

but deft touch in telling this heartwarming story that deals with anger,

love, loss and fear.

George (Kevin Kline) is in crisis. He has just been fired with

severance from a prestigious architectural firm. He’s angry, even though

he hates the job. It is in effect the liberating event that will make the

way for redoing his remarkable beach cottage and to address his health

and personal problems.

George is divorced from Robin (Kristin Scott Thomas) who has remarried

and has two little boys with husband No. 2. Part of this household is Sam

(Hayden Christensen), George and Robin’s rebellious teenage son.

Next door to George’s beach house lives Coleen (Mary Steenburgen), a

single mom with a remarkable teenage daughter, Alyssa (Jena Malone).

These are primary players and each is essential to the film.

“Life as a House” is a wonderfully direct film that goes beyond the

mundane. The humor is subtle and often the audience laughed out loud in

essence to affirm “Oh, yes. That’s the way I felt in that circumstance.”

This film has heart and nobody gets shot. The camera work is fabulous,

and this is one of Kevin Kline’s best efforts. Christensen also gives a

very strong performance.

“Life as a House” is rated R for language, sexuality and drug use.

* ELAINE ENGLAND, 65, lives in Newport Beach and owns a gift-basket

business she operates out of her home.