Not Worth the Wait

I finally got around to watching two cult classics recently and was severely disappointed by both. First up, 1983 slow burner Local Hero. What a mess. The first half hour was genuinely funny but then it lost me completely as the setting shifted to a small Scottish town about to get very, very rich thanks to a visiting American from a company with its sites set on oil drilling just offshore the tiny coastal village. Things would have gone smoothly if it weren't for the crusty old coot living on the beach in his house without a door. Oh where would quirky comedies be without senseless plot complications?

Not nearly as awesome I'd guess. I'm assuming you hoped that this would have been more of a bland talkfest about the encroachment of modernity.

No, not at all.

And that the Scottish accents would have been thicker, almost garbled to the point of gibberish.

Actually I quite enjoy being able to understand the actors in a film.

And that Burt Lancaster would have played the kind of magical grandpa figure with a twinkle in his eye like in Field of Dreams.

Ugh, I can't stand that kind of character. These weren't the issues I had at all. I just thought it was a jumbled mess of a movie that started with an interesting premise and squandered it through endless boring scenes and odd plot developments.

I thought it was sweet and loved the whole Scottish escort/Marine biologist romance subplot. It was like watching an exceptionally pleasing sunset and I give it an 8.

I was underwhelmed but Sullivan's Travels bummed me out even more, no pun intended. I had heard for years about how great this movie was, what a landmark film it is. Now that I've seen it, I can't quite remember what all the hype was about as it wasn't a very good comedy and was a somewhat ho-hum drama and an extremely heavy handed message film.

But how can you fault the message? Someone has to celebrate the mirth makers and stick up for the clowns. This is the movie for all the people who complain that comedies are given short shrift when it comes to the Oscars because they are seemingly lighter and less substantial that dramas. Where would we be without the jesters?

I'm all for comedy, trust me, but the hamfisted way they cram the point down your throat bugged me throughout and sunk the film at the end when we had to watch the hard hearted director finally experience the pleasures of physical comedy. Tom and Jerry cartoons will save us all!

Maybe you're just a bastard too who doesn't know how to experience joy.

Maybe this film is an overrated and overcooked piece of social propaganda that overstayed its welcome and scores no points for those who wear baggy pants and take pies in the face.

Yeah, but what about Veronica "Va-va-va-voom" Lake? She was radiant in the film and even wowed the crowd while disguised as a young train yard roustabout. I give her, and the film, a 9.

She surely was easy on the eyes but not enough to save the movie. Especially in that travelling lad outfit she wore while hopping trains. It wasn't cute at all and was actually a bit creepy.

Sexiest newsie ever.