Me and Orson Welles
2/4
Starring: Zac Efron, Christian McKay, Claire Danes
Rated PG-13 for Sexual References and Smoking
I remember being in middle school and acting in the school plays. I never got one of the big parts, so I guess you could say that I was a character actor (I was Adolph Gretzel in "Stage Door" and a kid with a few token lines in the controversial play "Big Mary"). Still, a lot of the stuff about putting on a play rang true. Unfortunately, director Richard Linklater spends most of the running time dealing with the lead character's romantic pursuit of a pencil pusher, and it's not particularly interesting.
Richard (Efron) is an average high school student who gets a part in Orson Welles' production of "Julius Caesar" through sheer dumb luck. It's a bit part, but he gets an insider's look at the going ons of a Broadway production. There are the egos, the time crunches, the on set disasters...stuff that the cast and crew knows about but few members of the public ever take time to consider. And then there's Orson Welles himself, played with thunderous gusto by British actor Christian McKay. He's a tyrant, a monstrous egoist, and an undeniable genius. His fame can give Richard the big break he's been looking for.
The problem with the film is it spends too much time detailing the schoolboy crush of the boring lead character. That's not really a criticism of Efron's performance; the Disney musical king is adequate, but not standout. The same cannot be said for his co-star, who is anything but. If there is any reason to sit through this movie (and there are very few of those), it's to see Christian McKay. McKay dominates the screen as Welles. He has the voice, the tempestuous ego and the bipoloar personality down pat. Every moment he's onscreen (which is the majority of the production) he is completely arresting. McKay should have, but did not get, an Oscar nomination for his performance, but unfortunately for him, the film was too low profile. Also good is Claire Danes, Orson's assistant who is looking for her big break.
The Bard of Gen-Xers, Richard Linklater, has taken an unusual project for himself. Unlike his other features, which include "School of Rock" and the "Before Sunrise/Sunset" films, he did not write the screenplay, and this is a period piece. Unfortunately, he can't salvage a project where the lead character is boring. The film is also too long by about a half hour. The film looks great, but the same can be said of a number of modestly budgeted films. And unfortunately, looking great of little consequence when the subplots are far more interesting than the main plotline.
Starring: Zac Efron, Christian McKay, Claire Danes
Rated PG-13 for Sexual References and Smoking
I remember being in middle school and acting in the school plays. I never got one of the big parts, so I guess you could say that I was a character actor (I was Adolph Gretzel in "Stage Door" and a kid with a few token lines in the controversial play "Big Mary"). Still, a lot of the stuff about putting on a play rang true. Unfortunately, director Richard Linklater spends most of the running time dealing with the lead character's romantic pursuit of a pencil pusher, and it's not particularly interesting.
Richard (Efron) is an average high school student who gets a part in Orson Welles' production of "Julius Caesar" through sheer dumb luck. It's a bit part, but he gets an insider's look at the going ons of a Broadway production. There are the egos, the time crunches, the on set disasters...stuff that the cast and crew knows about but few members of the public ever take time to consider. And then there's Orson Welles himself, played with thunderous gusto by British actor Christian McKay. He's a tyrant, a monstrous egoist, and an undeniable genius. His fame can give Richard the big break he's been looking for.
The problem with the film is it spends too much time detailing the schoolboy crush of the boring lead character. That's not really a criticism of Efron's performance; the Disney musical king is adequate, but not standout. The same cannot be said for his co-star, who is anything but. If there is any reason to sit through this movie (and there are very few of those), it's to see Christian McKay. McKay dominates the screen as Welles. He has the voice, the tempestuous ego and the bipoloar personality down pat. Every moment he's onscreen (which is the majority of the production) he is completely arresting. McKay should have, but did not get, an Oscar nomination for his performance, but unfortunately for him, the film was too low profile. Also good is Claire Danes, Orson's assistant who is looking for her big break.
The Bard of Gen-Xers, Richard Linklater, has taken an unusual project for himself. Unlike his other features, which include "School of Rock" and the "Before Sunrise/Sunset" films, he did not write the screenplay, and this is a period piece. Unfortunately, he can't salvage a project where the lead character is boring. The film is also too long by about a half hour. The film looks great, but the same can be said of a number of modestly budgeted films. And unfortunately, looking great of little consequence when the subplots are far more interesting than the main plotline.
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