Hook

Steven Spielberg continued J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan in 1991. Starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith, Caroline Goodall, and Charlie Korsmo, Hook was released December 11. It was nominated for five Academy Awards, Hoffman was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, but lost to Williams in The Fisher King, and John Williams was given a Grammy for his score. The film grossed $300 million.

Despite saying he never would, Peter Pan has grown up into Peter Banning (Williams), a successful corporate lawyer. But Captain Hook (Hoffman) returns and kidnaps his two children (Korsmo and Amber Scott), causing Peter to return to Neverland, reclaim is youthful spirit and challenge his old enemy.

On one hand, Hook is fun to watch and greatly entertaining. It really doesn’t do anything new with the Peter Pan story, in some places it changing elements and too much time was spent on production design, which made the story suffer.

The only new idea the film presents audiences is that Peter Pan has grown up, even though he always said he didn’t want to. Beyond that, it’s really just the same story of Peter having to save someone from Captain Hook. It also makes a massive characterization change with Tinkerbell. Roberts acted her like she was the everygirl, happy, smiling and always optimistic. While she was smiling and happy in the original story, she was also incredibly vindictive and jealous, going so far as to have Wendy killed. Maybe she had a change of heart in the many years since she saw Peter, but it’s still quite jarring.

 Spielberg also spent too much time on production design and sets and not enough time with the story. The costumes are quite elaborate and the Lost Boys’ weapons are very interestingly designed. Couple that with how good the Pirate town area of Neverland looks for the time and the design of the hideout and it’s a very good looking film. Unfortunately, more time could have been spent trying to give the story a fresh take.

As said above, Hook is fun. It’s definitely not one of Williams’ best films and the story may not exactly be a new idea in regards to the source material. But that doesn’t stop it from being entertaining and a good way to pass the time. 

The Fisher King

Python Terry Gilliam directed The Fisher King in 1991. A dramedy that stars Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer and Michael Jeter, it did fairly well at the box office with a $41 million gross. Williams was nominated for Best Actor, won the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy and Ruehl won Best Supporting Actress.

Cynical shock jock talk radio host Jack Lucas (Bridges) becomes despondent after his on-air comments prompt a depressed caller to commit several murders. Three years later, he attempts suicide but is attacked and saved by Parry (Williams), a homeless man on a mission to find the Holy Grail.

This is one of Williams’ more bizarre and weird films, which makes sense as the director was the one who added the most surreal elements of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Taking the director into account, the film really does seem to be aware of how bizarre it is, which really lets Williams be himself.

On the surface, you would never think that a film about a homeless guy looking for the Holy Grail and saw a Red Knight whenever he had an ounce of self-confidence would have any sort of success. But what could have amounted to that success was that Gilliam knew how bizarre the film was going to be and directed it to be serious enough to play the mental health of Parry and the other homeless people for laughs while at the same time coming around to say that they’re still people. They all had moments that made them into what they are and they all have the same wants and needs.

This is also probably what allowed Williams to just act like a crazier version of himself, such as when he strips naked and dances in a park in the middle of the night. He doesn’t care, he’s just happy to be alive. Williams also does well in acting like he sees things that aren’t really there, like how the Red Knight terrifies him or how he keeps talking to people who don’t exist.

The Fisher King is a bizarre movie, yet, it really gets its point across without a sledgehammer and is quite a good film.

Beauty and the Beast

I like 1991. Mainly because it was the year I was born, but other than that, a lot of great stuff happened. The Soviet Union fell, Comedy Central was launched, the first Starbucks opened in California, and Beauty and the Beast was released to theaters. Starring Paige O’Hara, Richard White, David Ogden Stiers, Angela Lansbury, and Robby Benson, it made $399 million at the box office. It was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture, had three songs nominated for Best Original Song (“Beauty and the Beast” won) and won the award for Best Original Score. It also won three Grammys and two Golden Globes and The American Film Institute recognizes it as its #22 Greatest Musical, #7 animated film, #62 Greatest Song (“Beauty and the Beast”) , #34 Greatest Passions, and nominated Belle as one of their 100 Years… 100 Heroes and Villains. Eventually, it became a musical and was featured in the Kingdom Hearts franchise.

When Belle’s (O'Hara)  father doesn't return from his trip to a fair, she searches for him and finds a caste hidden in a forest. She finds her father in the dungeon and offers herself in his place. The Beast (Benson) that imprisoned him accepts.

However, he is actually a cursed human prince who hopes her love will break the enchantment on him and his servants (Stiers, Lansbury, and Jerry Orbach) . With time limited to a wilting rose, the prince must tame his temper and she must learn to see his goodness.

But the vain Gaston (White) sees Belle as his and vows to marry her.

Remember when I said the Big Ben scene in The Great Mouse Detective was the definitive use of CGI in the 1980s? Well, this film could possibly the greatest use of it in animation in the early 90s. And whenever it’s used, it looks spectacular. The “Beauty and the Beast” number would not have been nearly as good without it. Which leads me to say that this film’s production value is nothing short of amazing.

But we can’t stop there! Disney subverted “love at first sight again!” And this time, not only is it central to the story (unlike The Aristocats), but it’s actually pulled off very well, tying it into character development and a well-placed song. He went from unpleasantly mean, angry and abrasive to gentle, kind and loving and she went from being afraid of him to seeing him for who he truly is. And that’s what’s interesting. Beast wasn’t angry and abrasive because he wanted to be, it was because he hated himself. And since Belle was the first one to get past that exterior, he was able to get over himself.

Beast is also a great foil for Gaston. He starts off absolutely loving himself as God’s gift to women. And for some reason, the entire town seems to love him. He was a vain jerk that thought that since he was attracted to Belle, she should drop everything and marry him. But when it becomes clear that he’s not getting what he wants for the first time, he devolves into a complete psychopath and leads on of Disney’s greatest third acts.

And then there’s the music. I’ve mentioned two songs already and the fact that three of them were nominated for an Oscar. That’s because they’re all great songs. Except for one. See, I watched the Special Edition. And got “Human Again.” They were right to cut it out of the theatrical release as it just stops the movie dead cold for the song before picking it up again.

But if the only problem with a film is that a previously cut song is out of place, then it’s a pretty strong movie that got robbed by Silence of the Lambs. #2.