A quick look at this summer’s movies, from “BASEketball” to “Hope Floats”
May 27, 1998
The summer movie season just started and already there’s a huge disappointment.
“Godzilla” wasn’t all it was hyped up to be. Last week, in my review, I think I was too kind to the overgrown lizard.
The reason I say that is because I had a chance to rewatch “Jurassic Park” over the weekend.
That is a creature feature done right. It had great effects used sparingly, decent characters and an actual plot.
“Godzilla” certainly suffers in comparison, and if I had seen “Jurassic Park” again immediately preceding going out to see “Godzilla,” it probably would have ended up with two stars instead of three and a half. How does the rest of the summer look?
This is the big season for movies. Some look like they’ll be great,while others look like they’ll be lame. So, out of the more than a hundred movies heading to theaters in the near future, what am I looking forward to seeing?
“Hope Floats” (May 29) — OK, this may win the prize for the worst title of the year. If you don’t believe me, say it out loud five times fast. Hope Floats, Hope Floats, Hope Floats … sounds goofy, doesn’t it?
The always watchable Sandra Bullock stars as an ex-prom queen/jilted wife returning home after being dumped by her cheating husband on a Rikki Lake-type talk show. Harry Connick costars as the old friend who always had a crush on Bullock’s character.
“X-Files” (June 19) — I’m a fan of the show, not a fanatic. Half the time, I have no idea what is going on. Of course, that’s part of the fun.
Hopefully the movie will bring the whole alien/government conspiracy/whatever together in some sort of coherent package. Plus the chance to see Gillian Anderson on the big screen.
“The Truman Show” (June 5) —The advance buzz on this movie is incredible. What’s the difference between buzz and hype? “Godzilla” was all about hype and wasn’t that good. “The Truman Show” actually has an original idea.
(Note: Movie-goers may not know what an “original idea” is, given recent Hollywood history. That means the story is fresh and we haven’t seen it before. That hasn’t happened in a while.)
Jim Carrey stars as Truman, a man whose entire life is an elaborately produced television program. Truman doesn’t know his town is a huge sound stage, his family and friends are all actors and the whole world is watching his every move.
“Six Days, Seven Nights” (June 12) — I automatically see anything starring Harrison Ford. It’s a rule I have.
This romantic comedy/adventure movie should give Ford a chance to exercise his comedic talents. Or, focus on the “adventure” parts, since nobody does that better than Ford.
Anne Heche costars as the two crash-land on a remote tropical island together. Hopefully, Heche is a convincing enough actress to make us all forget she is half of Hollywood’s most famous lesbian couple. I think she’ll do fine.
“Armageddon” (July 1) — I have another movie rule: See any movie starring Bruce Willis.
So what if “Mercury Rising” was disappointing and “The Jackal” was one of the worst movies I saw last year? It just means Bruce is due for a hit.
In “Armageddon,” Bruce leads a team into space to blow up a Texas-sized asteroid hurtling toward earth.
Hopefully, the success of “Deep Impact” (where a comet hits the earth, a completely different concept) won’t hurt “Armageddon,” which promises more action, more fun and more thrills. Plus, it costars Ben Affleck.
“BASEketball” (July 31) — The main reason to see this — stars Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the very funny creators of “South Park.”
Otherwise, this movie, about a new professional sport combining baseball with basketball, looks kind of stupid.
But then again, it’s directed by Brian Zucker, one of the guys behind “AIrplane!,” another movie that looked pretty dumb and turned out to be one of the funniest movies ever made. Surely “BASEketball” should provide a few laughs.
There are, of course, a few movies that look like they’ll pretty much blow.
Have you seen the preview for “Lethal Weapon 4?” It seems like the buddy magic between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover might be gone. This extremely rushed project looks forced, tired and unfunny.
Similarly, the remake of “Dr. Dolittle,” starring Eddie Murphy, looks pretty bad. The original was one of my favorite movies growing up and Murphy did well in “The Nutty Professor.”
Still, this one, complete with jive-talking rats with gas problems, looks dumb. Maybe if I was 10, it wouldn’t look any better.
Finally, on paper: “The Mask of Zorro” seems like it should be entertaining. Big stars Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins. Plenty of sword fights. Babes in distress. Too bad it all looks so fruity.
There you have it, my summer movie preview. I’m sure there will be more disappointments, a few pleasant surprises and another Richard Jenni “comedy” Coke commercial to suffer through.
I’ve got my Whoppers and Coke, so I’m good to go. See you at the theater.
Mike Milik is a senior in advertising from West Des Moines