Monthly Archives: June 1998

The Staked Goat by Jeremiah Healy (1986) – BR00037 (1998) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

The PolyBlog
June 21 1998

Plot or Premise

John Cuddy is a former insurance investigator who lost his job when he started drinking too much following the death of his wife to cancer. A friend from Vietnam calls him up unexpectedly while visiting Boston, arranges to meet him for dinner and drinks, and misses the date only to show up dead the next morning. Cuddy smells a rat in the official story and sets out to help clear his friend’s name and help his family.

What I Liked

Well, I was supposed to be studying French today. I even promised myself I would spend the evening doing that. Then I made the mistake of wandering over to a bookstore and looking through the Mystery section to see if there was anything that leaped off the shelves at me. Jeremiah Healy’s “The Staked Goat” was feeling particularly restless and somehow not only forced itself off the shelf and into my hands, but also managed to take hold of my wallet and steer me to the register. That was, I think, somewhere around 5:00 p.m. Except for the time on the way to the diner and the time to walk home, I’ve been subjecting myself to the simply wonderful story contained within its covers ever since. I’m almost tempted to read it again over the next few days, s l o w l y this time, to see if there is anything I missed, and if not, just to savour it a while longer. In any event, a very enjoyable four hours.

I liked the very realistic portrayal of the friends — biting their tongues when they used idioms (“dead to the world”, etc), laughing occasionally, etc. But regardless of the fast-paced action after the visit to Pittsburgh, the part I loved the best was the portrayal of the gay couple. I lived with a gay male couple with about the same age discrepancy, who had been together for nineteen years, and it seemed like I was back in their kitchen having breakfast when I was reading the story.

What I Didn’t Like

I did wonder about the accuracy of some of the details surrounding “sitting shiva” for Al (i.e., a funeral on Saturday? Jewish Sabbath? I didn’t think that was kosher, no pun intended). But it did say at the start that Al didn’t go very often — hope that wasn’t a cop-out…could’ve been an interesting sub-area.

The Bottom Line

I was only going to read a little — and lost an entire evening!

Godzilla (1998) – MR00006 (1998) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
June 5 1998

Plot

A large reptile mutated by French nuclear tests in the Polynesian Islands goes on vacation in NYC.

What I Liked

Matthew Broderick (playing Nick Tatopoulos) adds another genre to his list of acting credits (following War Games, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Biloxi Blues, etc.) and takes on the role of the disrespected scientist who knows all about radiation effects on all creatures great and small because he has been studying mutated worms in Chernobyl. The special effects are pretty good (covering underground, undersea, the heart of NYC, etc.), and there is something somewhat more menacing about this big dumb creature than the smaller but far more intelligent raptors from Jurassic Park. And the scene at the start where three fishing trawlers are destroyed is far more interesting than anything seen during the sinking of James Cameron’s Titanic (with the possible exception of the propeller guy). Although this movie is not an actor’s dream, Matthew Broderick does a good job and seems more comfortable in front of the camera than usual. Jean Reno (playing outside “investigator” Philippe Roche) is the best of the supporting actors and he steals a couple of really good scenes. Hank Azaria (of sitcom fame like Herman’s Head) is surprisingly good as the cameraman, Animal.

What I Didn’t Like

The sub-storyline is Nick’s reunion with his college sweetheart Audrey Timmonds (played by Maria Pitillo) — an aspiring reporter who left him after college to tackle New York and who really wants this story as her big break. Standard fluff for the movie and no real sparks between the two of them — more like old friends running into each other on the street. Pitillo is poor generally, with some really bad lines and some really terrible scenes where she’s trying (but failing) to act upset. Other times you almost even care what happens to her — almost, but not quite. One downside to the special effects that are common in many movies of this type…most of the action takes place at night — in fact, there is not one single shot of the creature in good light and the efforts to stop him are hampered by the fact that it rains the entire week.

The Bottom Line

Too bad some of the budget wasn’t spent on plot or acting.

Flubber (1997) – MR00002 (1998) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

The PolyBlog
June 5 1998

Plot

Absent-minded professor invents “flying rubber” i.e., flubber. Hilarity ensues.

What I Liked

Robin Williams pulls out all his comic genius for this Disney pic without going over the top as the absent-minded professor. The phrase “hilarity ensues” is often overused but is an understatement for this movie, suitable in most respects for kids of all ages. The humour is either slap-stick style or straight-faced silly conversations, so we’re not talking rocket-science here. Most kids will laugh hysterically at the final slapstick scenes, while more high-browed adults will cover their mouths with their hands and pretend they’re not.

Main characters include Marcia Gay Harden as the professor’s true love, and a slimy Wil Wheaton (from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Stand By Me fame) playing the son of a crook trying to steal the technology (if you love Wil, you’ll want to see the movie anyway; if you hate Wil, you HAVE to see this movie!).

But the crooks have nothing on the sidekicks who steal just about every scene they’re in: listen for the voices of Jodi Benson and Julie Morrison as the professors’ robot assistants Weebo and Weebette! And the bad-guy thugs have a couple of the funniest moments in the movie.

If you’re willing to laugh at silly slapstick, then you’ll love this movie. I didn’t have high expectations going in, and I laughed so hard my sides hurt (so too for my companion for the evening). The best comedy I’ve seen in a while (and completely wholesome!). I almost never gush, but I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

What I Didn’t Like

Nothing.

The Bottom Line

A great light-hearted family movie.

The Hippie in the Wall by Tony Fennelly (1994) – BR00069 (1998) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
June 4 1998

Plot or Premise

Margo Fortier is a gossip columnist who longs to write real news. Her first break pops when a hippie corpse from 20 years before is pulled out of a wall of a bar she worked at when she was young but far from innocent. Since she knows all the players from the time, she helps investigate along with the cop from the Sinclair novels.

What I Liked

A decent portrayal of characters who happen to be gay as opposed to caricatures of gay people, and the story never drags. The ending is nicely done as well.

What I Didn’t Like

More careful attention could have been paid to the real plot, as it is sometimes convoluted and hard to keep track of all the characters. Readers are also expected to believe that the main seven characters all still live in New Orleans twenty years later, even though they were all transiting through New Orleans 20 years before. Finally, Margo is a little too smug perhaps in the way she handles her first killer, one who has already killed two people.

Disclosure

I am not personal friends with the author, but I have interacted with her on social media.

The Bottom Line

Decent story

The Glory Hole Murders by Tony Fennelly (1985) – BR00067 (1998) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
June 4 1998

Plot or Premise

An up-and-coming businessman is killed in a gruesome fashion in a gay bar, and the cops call on Matt Sinclair, a former prosecutor turned antique dealer with personal insight into the gay lifestyle in New Orleans (since Matt’s openly gay).

What I Liked

It is a well-written book, with lots of humourous one-liners regarding the gay lifestyle of many of the main characters. I like the portrayal of the romance between various gay characters, although less-open-minded readers may have trouble accepting the lifestyle portrayed.

What I Didn’t Like

The killings are a bit graphic.

Disclosure

I am not personal friends with the author, but I have interacted briefly with them on social media.

The Bottom Line

Great first book