Ambition. Films reviewed: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, Song Sung Blue, Marty Supreme
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Some people are driven, willing to risk life and limb to reach their final goals. So this week I’m looking at three new movies about ambitious people. There’s an athlete who wants to conquer the world using pingpong balls, a pair of tribute singer who finds love on the music circuit, and a porous sea creature who just wants to be a swashbuckler.
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants
Dir: Derek Drymon
SpongeBob SquarePants is a creature who lives under the sea in a town called Bikini Bottom. He has an adult job (he works as a fry cook) but acts more like a child. And like most kids, he wakes up one day to discover he’s grown taller, just tall enough to be allowed to ride the roller coaster at the local midway. He has always want to do it, so he sets off with his much taller best friend Patrick, a starfish, to fulfil his dream. But when he gets to the front of the line he is so overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, he turns around and runs away. He admits what happened to his boss, Mr Krebs, who tells him about his own experience facing fear head-on. You must overcome your fears by exhibiting bravery in the face of 
danger. Only then can you be considered a true swashbuckler.
Soon afterwards, SpongeBob and Patrick meet an evil pirate’s ghost known as the Flying Dutchman, who offers to guide SpongeBob through a series of tasks so he can get the coveted Swashbuckler’s certificate. Being young and naïve, he follow the ghost into the underworld. But the older and wiser Mr. Krebs realizes SpongeBob is in danger so he drives after them on his quest. Will SpongeBob become a Big Boy? Or will he always be a bubble-blowing baby? And when will he realize the Flying Dutchman is up to no good?
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants is the latest in a series of films, adapted from the wildly popular TV cartoon. It features the usual voices: Tom Kenny as SpongeBob, Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star, Clancy Brown as Mr Krabs and Rodger Bumpass as Squidward, and guest-starring Mark Hamill as the Flying Dutchman. The theme this time is everything pirate: a parrot, Davy Jones Locker, hornpipe, spyglass, three cornered hats… you get the picture. While you could call this a coming-of-age drama, that might be pushing it, because cartoon characters never really change or grow up.The look of this movie and its animation style is different from the largely two- dimensional TV show, more cinematic and less cartoony. (I prefer the flatter look to these 3D images.) But it’s nice to watch and quite funny in parts. Like 
when Patrick turns his pirate eyepatch into a g-string presumably to conceal his non-existent starfish private parts. Other jokes can only be appreciated by the 3-5- year-old set, like repeating the same words over and over and over and over again until it turns into something marginally salacious.
If you want to entertain your own Ritalin-fuelled psyche — or that of your kids — you’ll probably like this one.
Song Sung Blue
Co-Wri/Dir: Craig Brewer (reviews: Dolemite is My Name, Footloose)
It’s the 1990s in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mike, aka Lightning (Hugh Jackman) is a professional musician who plays back-up for a Black R&B band. He once had his own group, but now he mainly earns a living doing tributes to washed out singers from decades past. But he is fired from the show when he refuses to dress up as Don Ho, when the usual singer doesn’t show up.
But something else happens that night: he meets Claire (Kate Hudson) who performs Patsy Cline songs. Sparks fly, and soon they’re a couple with a blended family; they both have kids from previous marriages. And they form an act, called Thunder and Lightning, where the two of them exclusively sing songs by Neil Diamond. They build up a fanbase and eventually are the opening act for Pearl Jam!
Looks like they finally made… until a series of unmitigated disasters threaten both of their lives. Can their love, family and music keep them together?
Song Sung Blue is a romantic biopic about a largely unknown
musical duo and their fascinating lives. It’s three main themes are love, family and nostalgia. The love is evident: the two leads have real chemistry. Kate Hudson does a very convincing Wisconsin accent, while Aussie Hugh Jackman sticks to a more of a generic American voice. Can they sing? Totally! They’re both good singers. The family parts are warm and convincing, as are the three kids. As for nostalgia, this is a case of people in 2025 longing for some good ol’ 1990’s nostalgia for the legendary 60s and 70s. So many layers, it’s like a nostalgic club sandwich. As for the tone, while this is not a Christian, faith-based movie, it has the same family-goodness-feel to it. Then there’s the music. Face it, Neil Diamond songs were never subversive or rock ’n’ roll; they’re about as mainstream as you can get… but with catchy tunes and memorable lyrics. People seem to love it.
Song Sung Blue is a cozy, cheesy movie with lots of tearjerking moments thrown in. I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite myself.
Marty Supreme
Co-Wri/Dir: Josh Safdie
It’s the early 1950s in postwar NY City. Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) is an extremely ambitious man in his twenties, who wants to be rich and famous, but who still lives in a tenement with his mom (Fran Drescher) and works at his uncle’s shoe store. He’s simultaneously charming, brash and audacious. He’s also secretly schtupping Rachel, the married woman who lives downstairs (Odessa A’zion). So what’s his ticket to fame and fortune? Pingpong. He’s a top player who jumps and dives with his paddle like an athletic ballet dancer. Table tennis lacks mainstream acceptance as a serious sport but he plans to change all that. Step one: to secure a plane ticket to London to win the world championship. But that’s not all. He’s looking for a sponsor to invest in his Marty Supreme brand pingpong balls. He also tries to seduce a faded but glamorous Hollywood star (Gwyneth Paltrow) at least twice his age and married to a rich industrialist. And somehow he finds himself part of a scheme with his pal Wally (Tyler the Creator) to bilk rubes n New Jersey as a ping pong ringer. And a side hustle 
taking care of a vicious mobster (Abel Ferrara)’s shaggy dog. But the gangster’s pet is dognapped, Rachel reveals she’s pregnant and lots of people now want to see Marty dead. Can he escape all his troubles and follow his dream? Or is he destined to be a shoe salesman forever?
Marty Supreme is a stupefyingly good movie about a working class hero in mid-century America. It’s funny, constantly surprising and full of thrills, sex, and screwball-comedy violence. It’s frenetic and chaotic. Marty Mauser is a fictionalized version of Marty Reisman, a real athlete who chalked up pingpong tournament wins for half a century. Writer/director Josh Safdie is one of the Safdie brothers; they made Uncut Gems and Good Time together. This one is by far the best. It has a cast of thousands — Chalamet, A’Zion and 
Paltrow are all great, but so are the smaller roles, like Piko Iyer,
Emory Cohen, Géza Röhrig and Koto Kawaguchi, to name just a few. And it wasn’t till the credits rolled that I realized the villainous, Kevin O’Leary-type industrialist was actually played by O’Leary himself. There’s just so much going on — US occupied Japan, the Harlem Globetrotters — it never ceases to amaze. And putting an 80s pop soundtrack into a 1950s story is a stroke of genius.
Marty Supreme is one hell of a good movie.
Song Sung Blue, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, and Marty Supreme all open in Toronto on Christmas Eve; check your local listings.
This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Saturday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website culturalmining.com.
Flashbacks, Comebacks and Backlash. Films reviewed: Dolce Fine Giornata, Gemini Man, Dolemite is My Name
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
This week I’m looking at three movies: a period comedy, a Euro dramedy and a sci-fi action movie. There’s a hitman facing a real-life flashback, a poet facing a public backlash, and a comedian looking for a comeback.
Dolce Fine Giornata
Dir: Jacek Borcuch
It’s the near future in Volterra, a picturesque town in Tuscany.
Maria Linde (Krystyna Janda), a Polish poet, is celebrating her 65th birthday after recently winning the Nobel Prize. All her loves and accomplishments are gathered around the town’s most illustrious member. Her docile husband, her beautiful daughter Anna (Kasia Smutniak), and her playful grandchildren are all there, along with a conceptual artist who installed a replica of poet Ezra Pound’s cage in the town square; a French journalist, and various other dignitaries. She’s especially
enamoured of Nazeer (Lorenzo de Moor) a handsome young Egyptian Copt who runs a nearby taverna. And Chief of Police Lodovici (Vincent Riotta) drops by with a warning: refugees have escaped from a detention camp, so be on the lookout. Maria is on top of the world, and feels free to mention anything that crosses her mind no matter how controversial.
But xenophobia is increasing as locals blame migrants and refugees for their problems. And when fear and loathing reach a fever pitch following a bombing in Rome, Maria feels it’s time to speak up. As a child of Holocaust survivors, Maria understands the plight of refugees, so she gives an impassioned speech in the Town Hall. The speech goes viral. But poetic language reduced to sound bites means big trouble – for her family, her friends and the whole town. Can she stop the angry digital mobs before they reach her doorstep? Or has she crossed the line?
Dolce Fine Giornata is a sardonic look at contemporary Europe, both the good and the bad, as seen through the eyes of an older woman, and how dark prejudices fester 
even in gorgeous locations. The dialogue is in equal parts Polish and Italian, with polyglot family members switching back and forth. It looks at older people dealing with social networks and the pile-on criticism it brings. This is a lower-budget, character- and dialogue-centric story, so don’t expect thousands of angry villagers weilding pitchforks. Most of the action – arson, explosions, bullying – happens off camera. Although the film’s political standpoint left me scratching my head, the interplay between characters was subtle and pleasing.
Gemini Man
Dir: Ang Lee
Henry Brogan is a 50 year-old Georgian fond of fishing, scotch and puzzles. He’s also a legendary hitman, with over 72 kills under his belt. He works for the Defence Intelligence Agency, or DIA, killing terrorists the world over. But when he almost kills a little girl he decides it’s time to retire. Easier said than done. Almost immediately, a kill squad is sent to take Henry out.
Who is trying to kill him, andwhy? Certain corrupt members of the DIA, and the head of Gemini, a private military contractor similar to Blackwater. Clay Verris (Clive Owen) has been working for years on Gemini’s new weapon and thinks it’s ready to try out. That weapon is the Gemini Man, a killer who anticipates every move Henry makes.
His life in imminent danger, Henry enters fight-or-flight mode. He contacts his oldest friend Baron (Benedict Wong) an aviation specialist, and a newfriend Danny (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). She was sent by the DIA to 
spy on Henry, but is now a trusted ally. But the Gemini Man, who goes by the name Junior, is identical to Henry, only younger, faster and stronger. Who is he, and how does he work. The answer is simple – and this is not a spoiler. Junior is Henry’s clone, trained from birth by Clay himself. Can Henry outwit himself without killing him? Or is this the end?
Gemini Man is an action movie directed by the legenday Ang Lee. It’s got amazing locations, from a scenic Belgian train station, to sun-drenched Caragena, to the catacombs of Budapest, which make it gorgeous to watch. And there are some good motorcycle chases and unusual fight scenes. But it doesn’t save the movie from a fatal flaw. Junior, Henry’s clone, is not played by a younger Will Smith; he’s a CGI. And it just looks fake. There’s no soul, no brain, no emotions here… just some pixels. Our brains are still sophisticated enough to tell humans from algorthyms. Action movies can succeed without stellar actors or blockbuster scripts, but if the central special effect doesn’t work, then neither does the film.
Dolemite is my Name
Dir: Craig Brewer
It’s the 1970s in LA. Rudy Ray Moore (Eddie Murphy) is a former pop musician whose career has fizzled. He used to have hit singles on the radio, but now he loads singles onto record store shelves. And his night job is as emcee telling tired jokes at a rundown nightclub. Until he comes up with an idea. In prisons and on street corners, hoboes, panhandlers and ex-cons have for years shared stories about a mythical figure called Dolemite. He’s a man with legendary wit, guile and powers of seduction.
With a tape recorder in hand, Rudy Ray collects the jokes from local homeless men and puts together a new routine. The difference is, instead of telling Dolemite jokes, he becomes Dolemite. He’s an instant hit. With a flashy suit, pimp hat and a wooden staff, Dolemite dominates the stage with his rhythmic rap. He cuts a 
record but the language is too filthy for any of the big labels to handle. So he sells them wrapped in brown paper out of his trunk as he tours black nightclubs on the chitlin circuit. There he meets the voluminous Lady Reed (Da’vine Joy Randolph). He sees her deck a man who hits her, and says this is the second act I’ve been looking for. He signs her on the spot.
Dolemite is a hit, but it’s still small time. He wants something bigger. So he manages to convince a noted playwright Jerry Jones (Keegan Michael Key) and a director D’urville Martin (a googly-eyed Wesley Snipes) to come on board. Together they plan to make a blaxploitation movie. They turn a boarded up flophouse into their studio and get film students to handle the 
lights and cameras. But can this crew make an actual movie? And would anyone watch it?
Dolemite is a hilariously clever and brilliant look at 1970s Blaxploitation. I am not a fan of Eddie Murphy, especially after decades of abysmal comedies. He was permanently crossed off my list. But he is so good in this movie I have to rethink my preconceptions and leave them at the door. Based on a true story, Dolemite is a perfect blend of 70s music, dialogue and situations. It’s a lot like The Disaster Artist only much, much funnier.
If you like the 70s, you’ve gotta see Dolemite.
Dolemite is my Name, Dolce Fine Giornata, both open today at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. And Gemini Man also open today in Toronto; check your local listings
This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Friday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website, culturalmining.com
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