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russwollman
Reviews
Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 (1998)
When movies were young, signs warned audiences about their lack of reality...
...and the smashing verisimilitude is what makes "Dancer,Texas" such a fine piece of work.
This is one of the few films I have on the shelf. I have watched it time and again. Its pace is perfect, slower than the norm, as you'd expect life in Dancer, Texas to move. The film moves forward gracefully, allowing you a satisfying undercurrent of simple suspense.
In sharp contrast to more contrived, more spectacular films which try too hard to stimulate or excite the viewer, this one succeeds effortlessly on the strength of its fine portrait of humanity. The playersnone of them household namesare completely convincing and quite talented. Within minutes, you'll swear you've met them all in the times of your own life. The familiarity will, I hope, be endearing rather than boring.
There's a lot of warmth and charm in this film, yet it never becomes saccharine. Neither does it ignore some of the harder, less pleasant realities of human life. They remain below the surface or are stated quietly rather than being blown out of proportion. It's a nicely balanced work.
What touches me most deeply every time I watch this gem is the sweet, wonderful friendship shared among the four main characters, so well created in the script and so nicely executed by four fine young actors.
In a few words, this film is good for the heart, fulfilling the restorative function of good entertainment. It may renew your faith in human nature. The citizens of "Dancer, Texas" must existand not just in places too tiny to be on Rand McNally's map. This film's sweetness is a rare find in an industry not usually given to such expression, and therefore it's a great prize for some.
This is a classic. I want to jump into it and stay for a while.
Dinosaurs (1991)
Brilliant, witty, warm, sweet, enlightening
The "Dinosaurs" series was not only funny, it was poignant AND it offered rather profound insight into all of the silly madness of modern life. The master stroke of setting 20th century, ostensibly American life within an imaginary context of dinosaurs should say enough about the aim of the show. There was a strong environmental message within it. In the last episode, the corporate entity which ruled the Pangean subcontinent made a grave error which caused a climatic change resulting in eternal snow and the Dinosaurs' extinction. It was a genius of a finale and terribly sad, especially for those of us who'd come to love the somewhat hapless but nearly invincible Sinclair family.
Visually, the production was a real delight, and a lot of grist was packed into the 23 minutes each episode ran. The humor was not entirely topical and thus endures well. The show lacked the raw "edge" of the Simpsons, for example, leaning instead toward a sweetness and softness that are long gone from television, and in the end (except at the very end), everything turned out all right for the Sinclairs. Its appeal, therefore, is quite a bit different from a show like the Simpsons, to which it was often compared. But it is a different genre entirely, much more refined, purposeful, and more gracefully done.
This show was a big commercial gamble for ABC and had no precedent in commercial television. And it did what good television should do: entertain, inform, delight, and even stir the imagination. When it had run its course, it became another part of television history. But unlike most of recent TV history, this one is not only memorable, it will always have redeeming qualities, which will only become more apparent as the world goes in the direction the show predicts.