“Nebraska” Is More than Bruce Dern (Short Review)

Payne Nebraska Dern Much has been made of Bruce Dern’s performance in the movie Nebraska (2013) and his well-deserved nomination for the Academy Award Best Actor Oscar. The poster for the film even features only a silhouette of his face. But the film is more than a Dern vehicle, with solid performances all around and great direction once again from Alexander Payne.

Nebraska , by screenwriter Bob Nelson, tells the story of Woody Grant (Dern), an aging man who believes he won a million dollars after receiving a magazine seller’s announcement about a sweepstakes. After Grant tries repeatedly to make the journey from Montana to Nebraska to claim his prize, his son, played by Saturday Night Live alum Will Forte, agrees to take him on the trip. Along the way, the family is reunited in Woody’s former hometown, where the past connects to the present and Grant’s son learns more about his family.

I am a fan of Payne’s movies like Election (1999), About Schmidt (2002), Sideways (2004), and The Descendants (2011), and this black and white film portrays themes of family and aging in a genuine heartfelt way. Having grown up in Nebraska, Payne is able to find the humor and the heart of life in these “fly-over” states in a way that is respectful and honest. Having myself grown up in a small Midwestern town and having lived in various places, I always enjoy when a film honestly features a location outside of New York or Los Angeles. Even the names of the characters in Nebraska reflect the solidness of the heartland: Woody Grant, David Grant, Kate Grant, Ed Pegram, Aunt Martha, etc.

The often overlooked Dern gives a career performance here, but June Squibb as his foul-mouthed wife steals a number of scenes, earning her own Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Will Forte shows that he is more than a comic actor, and it is great to see Stacy Keach on screen again too.

Like Payne’s recent movie The Descendants, much of Nebraska centers on the connection between a family and the influence of money or property. While The Descendants showed off the beauty of Hawaii in glorious color, in Nebraska Payne and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael are able to reflect the beauty of the West and the plains only using black and white. As in most of his recent movies, Payne is also able to find a big heart at the middle of a mess.

Conclusion? Do not underestimate Nebraska as a small film because it is in black and white and because the reviewers focus on one performance. Nebraska may have the biggest heart of any movie released in 2013.

What Other Critics Are Saying Because Why Should You Trust Me? Rotten Tomatoes currently gives Nebraska a 91% critics rating and an 88% audience rating. Dan Jardine at Cinemania is one of the few critics who did not love the film, calling it likeable but “awfully formulaic on too many levels.” Chuck Koplinski at the Illinois Times claims that the director and Dern find “modest nobility” in the film.

What did you think of Nebraska? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Will Forte Takes a Serious Turn in “Nebraska”
  • My Favorite Parts of “The Descendants” (Short Review)
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  • Elvis Presley’s Funny Take on “Are You Lonesome Tonight” in Omaha in 1977
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    Will Forte Takes a Serious Turn in “Nebraska”

    Nebraska Will Forte Will Forte used to make me laugh on Saturday Night Live. With a certain goofy look or inflection in his voice, he can crack me up. Even though I grew tired of the repeated “MacGruber” segments on the TV show, when I found myself watching the movie MacGruber he made with Kristin Wiig in 2010, I could not help laughing at some of the ridiculous scenes.

    Now, I find myself looking forward to a Will Forte performance in a movie that is not a comedy. Nebraska, which will be released in the U.S. on November 22, 2013, features Forte and Bruce Dern in a film directed by Alexander Payne (The Descendants (2011), Sideways (2004), About Schmidt (2002)). In the movie, Dern portrays a character with mental issues who believes he has won a million dollars. Forte plays Dern’s son, traveling with the older man on a trip to get the imaginary cash. The film has received Oscar buzz since it debuted at Cannes. To get an idea of Forte’s dramatic turn, check out this scene from the black and white film.

    On the other hand, the newly released trailer for Nebraska reveals a quirkiness and humor that appear in Payne’s other films. It looks like Forte will fit in just fine with the legendary Bruce Dern.

    What is your favorite Will Forte character? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • “Nebraska” Is More than Bruce Dern (Short Review)
  • My Favorite Parts of “The Descendants” (Short Review)
  • This Week in Pop Culture Roundup (Nov. 12, 2011)
  • Elvis Presley’s Funny Take on “Are You Lonesome Tonight” in Omaha in 1977
  • Where is Bruce Springsteen on the Cover of “Western Stars”?
  • 8 Things About Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight”
  • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    My Favorite Parts of “The Descendants” (Short Review)

    The Descendants Not long ago, I was driving to work when some jerk was cutting people off and driving recklessly as she rushed on her way. Where I live, such aggressive driving is not uncommon and it annoys me when other drivers think they are more important than everyone else. On this morning, though, as she cut around me, I did not rescind the aggressive driving or even flip the bird as I have been known to do.

    Several blocks down the road, I noticed her car parked on the side of the road. She was parked outside a junior high school, and in front of the school there also was an ambulance. She was rushing because she had heard that her child had been hurt. The incident reminded me of one of my favorite quotes, generally attributed to Plato: “Be kind because everyone is fighting a hard battle.”

    I thought of the quote and the driver recently while watching The Descendants (2011). Too often, films portray characters as two dimensional, either good or bad. But some, like The Descendants, at least provide a few brilliant moments that remind us that others are just as complicated as we are. These moments in The Descendants were my favorite parts of the movie. We watch George Clooney having a late-night conversation with a teenage boy, who suddenly goes from being a stereotype played for comic relief to a real person. In another scene, we watch a father-in-law yell at his son-in-law played by Clooney, while we wonder why Clooney’s character does not easily respond. But then we see why Clooney held his tongue. He remembered that everyone is fighting a hard battle.

    The Descendants tells the story of Matt King (Clooney) whose wife is in a coma from a boating accident. While she is in the hospital, King tries to connect with and understand his two daughters, while he also struggles with a major family and work decision and with a discovery about his dying wife. Many critics have mentioned Clooney’s performance as Oscar-worthy, and it is. The other actors — including Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, and Beau Bridges — are excellent, and the film makes great use of the Hawaii scenery to help tell the story.

    Because I had already heard a lot about the movie before seeing it, the first third of the movie seemed too familiar, but as the movie progressed, I was sucked into a deeper story than I expected. Some of the trailer clips make the movie look like a comedy, but while there are some funny moments, the film is more moving drama than hilarious comedy. The Descendants is directed and co-written by Alexander Payne, who also directed and co-wrote Sideways (2004), About Schmidt (2002), and Election (1999). While all of those movies touch on some similar themes and tone, they each are different, and one should not expect another Sideways. But The Descendants is an excellent addition to the director’s outstanding work.

    Some Other Reviews Because Why Should You Trust Me?: On Rotten Tomatoes, The Descendants currently has a 90% critic rating and an 85% audience rating. Leonard Maltin praised the movie, asserting, “Watching a film as mature, moving, original and unpredictable as The Descendants renews my faith in American movies.” One of the few dissenters on the movie, Walter Chaw at FilmFreakCentral concluded that “The Descendants doesn’t just waste my time–it also empties the chamber of an artist (Director Payne) who should be making better movies.” Ouch.

    What did you think of The Descendants? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    This Week in Pop Culture Roundup (Nov. 12, 2011)

    Maybe this week you were distracted with an overload of stories about Herman Cain’s sexual harassment accusers, concerns about whether Justin Bieber is going to be a father, or the firing of Penn State Coach Joe Paterno. If you fall behind on the latest news you risk embarrassing yourself like Ashton Kutcher did. So check out these links to some of the stories you might have missed.

    Music

    Rapper Heavy D passed away. RIP.

    rem part lies

    NPR will let you listen to REM’s new 2-CD set, “Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage.”

    Taylor Swift won Entertainer of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards.

    Lady Gaga won four awards at last Sunday’s MTV European Music Awards show. And was that streaker a planned part of show?

    Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy and his sister Maile Meloy each have released new young-adult novels.

    Singer Andy Williams revealed he has bladder cancer.

    Wednesday night, Bruce Springsteen performed at the 5th Annual Stand Up for Heroes show. Watch videos of his performance on Blogness.

    A Cheap Trick museum wants you to want it.

    This “Desert Island Disc” discussion reminded us of Willie Nelson’s overlooked concept album Yesterday’s Wine. (via @grayflannelsuit)

    Whatever gets the tooth fairy though the night: John Lennon’s tooth sold for more than $31,000.

    New remasters from Pink Floyd were released and include alternate version of “Wish You Were Here.”

    Movies

    snow white
    The new live-action Snow White will have 8 dwarves and many changes.

    Snow White and the Huntsman will be released on June 1, 2012, but watch the trailer now. This ain’t your Disney version of Snow White.

    Director Werner Herzog discussed his new film, Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life.

    Seven years after the release of the excellent film Sideways director Alexander Payne released his follow-up film, The Descendants. I hear Oscar buzzing. . . .

    Slate reconsidered Blue Velvet 25 years after the film’s release.

    For Veterans Day, the Los Angeles Times chose the best war films from American cinema for each war.

    The “Atlas Shrugged, Part 1″ producer is planning Part 2 despite the poor box office for the first movie.

    Television
    Piers Morgan quit “America’s Got Talent” to focus on another talent show: the 2012 presidential election. In related news, Howard Stern might join “America’s Got Talent.”

    The producer of next year’s Oscar telecast, Brett Ratner, stepped down after making a stupid gay slur. After Ratner’s announcement, the Oscar host, Eddie Murphy, announced he would no longer host the show, apparently because he had only agreed to do the show because he had worked with Ratner on Tower Heist. Vegas just announced that the payout on bets for “Eddie Murphy wins an Oscar in the next decade” went up 1000%.

    Regis Philbin’s last week on Live! with Regis and Kelly will include guests Kathie Lee Gifford, David Letterman and Tony Bennett.

    13-year-old “X Factor” singer Rachel Crow started out life in a crack house before she was adopted. Although I had been favoring Josh Krajcik to win, Crow’s performance this week was probably the best of the group.

    Other News
    ‘Family Circus’ creator Bil Keane died at age 89.

    Slate had an interesting discussion of “The New Classics,” enduring books, films, ideas, etc. since 2000.

    “This is Nixon unplugged“is how Historian Stanley Kutler described new recordings of the former president available online for the first time, including Nixon’s grand jury testimony.

    In honor of Joe Frazier, who passed away, Life magazine presented a slideshow of never-seen photos from “The Fight of the Century” of Ali vs. Frazier in 1971

    Two new biographies about Charles Dickens are out. In related news, I have had a two-volume Dickens biography on my shelf for more than a decade that I have yet to read. Now, I do not know where to start. Maybe I will watch a movie. . .

    What was your favorite pop culture story this week? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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