Conference bookie::movies

21.0. "Peter's Friends" by 6179::VALENZA (Note with a thighmaster.) Tue Feb 02 1993 21:16

    I was a bit put off during the first half or so of this movie, because
    it seemed like I was watching a British remake of "The Big Chill". 
    Since "The Big Chill" was a sort of Hollywood version of John Sayles's
    "Return of the Secaucus Seven", that raises the question if a
    semi-remake of a semi-remake  cancels itself out (like two negatives). 
    On the other hand, I *liked* "The Big Chill", so what do I care? 

    In "Peter's Friends", Peter invites a group of once close friends to
    his house; he has not seen them in ten years, since New Year's in 1982. 
    The occasion that brought them together is that Peter has inherited his
    deceased father's large house, and he wants to celebrate New Year's
    again with them.  An additional reason for the reunion is revealed
    explicitly later on (although telegraphed earlier).  The friends argue,
    forge bonds, and engage in various sexual scenarios.  The film is
    accompanied by a soundtrack, mostly of popular songs from the period
    1982-1992.

    As I got over my "Big Chill" comparisons, I did come to like the movie. 
    It is fairly amusing at points.  I would give this movie 3 stars our of
    4, but I am giving it a bonus of 1/4 star because the soundtrack
    includes the song "Rio" by Michael Nesmith, a song I have not heard
    since the late seventies when WNAP in Indianapolis played the Nesmith
    album "From the Photon Wing to the Radio Engine" on their 25th hour
    program.  I believe in rewarding movies for including obscure songs that
    I like in the soundtrack.  For example, "Spies Like Us" had a group of
    Soviet soldiers grooving to "Soul Finger" by the Bar Kays, a
    magnificent minor hit single from the sixties that for some reason you
    never hear on the "Oldies" stations; so "Spies Like Us" gets a bonus of
    .25 stars.

    Anyway, "Peter's Friends" is not a bad movie.

    -- Mike

    Stupid stupid stupid.

    Actually, on reflection, I am downgrading my rating from 3.25 stars to
    2.75.
    
    -- Mike

    It's an average film with a *very* abrupt and disappointing ending.
    
    Jodi-
    

    I enjoyed it.  I thought it was quite funny in parts, and liked the
    conversations between the various characters.
    
    Not great, but enjoyable viewing.
    
    Lorna
    

I thought this was only fair - everything seemed overly histrionic and
cartoonish, with the exception of Peter and the housekeeper. I did like
Rita Rudner's role, at least it was a funny cartoon...

    I thought Kenneth Brannaugh's portrayal of a crying drunk was one of the
    funniest scenes I saw last year.
    
    Lorna
    

    I *really* liked this movie, more than any other Kenneth Branaugh film
    I've seen (Henry V, Dead Again, Much Ado...).  I'm not sure exactly WHY
    I like it, perhaps because all the people seemed pretty real to me
    (save for Rita Rudner, who probably was playing a personality type true
    to form.  God save her if it was hers.  :)  Indeed, Mr. Branaugh as a
    Drunk scene struck me as damned real, although I can't say it's so
    funny when you're sitting around a drunk like that in real life.
    
    It was also fun seeing Tony Slattery on the big screen again -- he was a
    cad (I note this seems to be a Tony Slattery trait), but a rather
    sympathetic one.
    
    Definitely a film I want to buy a copy of.
    
    ***.75 out of ****
    
    
    kim  

    
    We should see more films with Rita Rudner in...she looks like a bimbo,
    she sounds like a bimbo, but her mind is sharper than a razor...she's 
    extremely funny live...
    
    On the other hand, one big advantage of being in Germany is we don't
    see much of Tony Slattery...I can only assume that he's the way he is
    because of systematic sexual abuse at a public school! 
    
    Mark