Displaying items by tag: Lisa Kudrow

CLOCKWATCHERS

US, 1997, 96 minutes, Colour.

Toni Collette, Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow, Alanna Ubach, Bob Balaban, Paul Dooley.

Directed by Jill Sprecher.

There is quite a bit of clockwatching during this film, the focus on for women who act as temporary secretaries in a credit company. They have their tasks, typing letters, making copies, getting cups of coffee for the male executives. But they have a lot of time, especially at the end of the day, watching the clock so that they can leave.

The central focus is on Toni Collette, having achieved a considerable reputation in Australia with films like Muriel’s Wedding and Lilian’s Story. This is her second American film – and she had made an with Gwyneth Paltrow. This began her American and International career, quite considerable for almost 30 years.

Parker Posey is the brash member of the group, domineering, cheeky, stealing things. Lisa could grow, starring in Friends at the time, has an image of herself that she could be greater. Alain Urbach has a boyfriend. Toni Collette is drawn into their company, following them, going to a fortuneteller who tells her that she took toes throughout life.

There are various scenes of the girls out on the town, meals together, gossip, shopping. Then there is the cookie temp who was given a full-time job, rather mousy – but revealed as stealing objects in the office, confronted by Toni Collette.

The male members of the company are busy about their work, not really noticing the temps, but grateful for any help. The film was written by director, Jill Sprecher and her sister Karen. They then went on to 13 Conversations about Love.

1. The title, the reference to the four women, their temp work, secretaries, their desks, jobs, typing, making copies, getting coffee… For the men? The end of the day and then looking at the clocks in order to go. And then life after work?
2. The American city, companies and offices, the streets, shops, diners? Home life and apartments? City transport? The musical score, the range of popular songs in the background?
3. Iris and her story, her age, experience, at home with her father, his encouragement, a possible better job, his praise of her? The fortuneteller, her tiptoeing through life? Quiet, her desk, the work, sitting waiting for two hours, gradually settling in? The toilet, Margaret seeing her, talking with her, encouraging her, and Jane, her taking along, enjoying the company, imitating them, the fortuneteller, the meals together, gradually admiring them, enjoying their company, the influence on her own life?
4. Margaret, brash, outgoing, stealing things, confronting the men, leaving the women, changing the tag on the dress…? Her lack of confidence? Stealing things, the pencils…? The final reaction, accusations, her interactions with the other members in the group? Her being fired?
5. Paul, wanting to be glamorous, eyeing the men, meeting them in the bar, the machinery and her clocking it to be with the man mending it…? Confidential conversations with Iris? Let go?
6. Jane, relationships, timid, at work, with the other women, with Iris?
7. The new girl, timid, mousy, waiting, getting a full-time job, at a desk, looking at the others? Having taken Iris’s notebook, the confrontation? The apology, the wave, her hopes?
8. The men, the bosses, the men looking for his mug, the man wanting the letter typed, ignoring Iris in the street, it’s signing the recommendation, affirming her?
9. The meeting, the staff, the woman checking on the temps, the rules, no phone calls have personal nature…? The accusation about the stealing?
10. Iris, at the end, changing, with her father, with the other women, the influence, the future?

THE PARENTING

US, 2025, 94 minutes, Colour.

Nik Dodani, Brandon Flynn, Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Dean Norris, Vivian Bang, Parker Posey.

Directed by Craig Johnson.

It might seem strange to begin a review of filma  that looks to be focusing on family, The Parenting, with an alert to potential audiences.

Those who take cinema very seriously may be attracted by the significant names of cast members, Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Parker Posey. But, if they began to watch, they would soon be wondering what they were watching – and why the strong cast actually said yes to be in the film.

Audiences who  enjoy offbeat and broad comedies with touches of horror as well as innuendo, will be entertained with no intellectual demands made on them! In fact, the writer of the film, Ken Sublette, has written almost 300 episodes of sketches for Saturday Night Live, as well as several special episodes.

While there is a linear plot, the main effect of this film is, as with comics sketches, short episodes, some working, some working less well, but one after the other to make the effect.

There is a mysterious parenting prologue to the film, 1983, a family with difficulties, some mysterious supernatural goings-on and the family trapped and their house becoming a haunted house.

40 years on, an estate agent, played by Parker Posey in a tantalising style, rents the house. The first occupants are a young gay couple with intentions of proposing. They invite their parents to join them. And, there later joined by a great friend.

On the one hand, this is a comedy which takes gay characters and relationships seriously (even with quite a number of jokes on them), focuses on the response of the parent generation, but quite a lot of tangles. The couple is played by Nik Dodani and Brandon Flynn. But the interesting casting is that of the parents, the very serious-minded Brian Cox and Edie Falco, the happy-go-lucky parents, Lisa Kudrow and Dean Norris. In fact, the two sets of parents rather dominate rather than the couple.

Then the haunting starts, revelations about Parker Posey and books for raising the dead, the key to raising a ghost being the Wi-Fi password! And, the various parents are asked to caricature stereotypes – and even more demands, testing dignity, a of Brire made of Brian Cox.

Plenty of farce, supernatural and ghost raising themes (and the ghost is certainly not a parent), many audiences enjoying the rollicking tone and others may be questioning why they are watching what might be called politely, “absurd”.