Ask 411 Movies for 02.20.12: Go Ahead, Read This Column!

Posted by Leonard Hayhurst on 02.20.2012

Why is Bart Simpson's shirt blue on merchandise but orange on the show? What is Clint Eastwood’s best movie? Has Tom Hanks had the highest career peak ever? All this and more covered this week in Ask 411 Movies!

YouTube Clip of the Week
To continue from last week, we have another appearance by Grandpa Munster. This week, Al Lewis hawks the Junior Vampire of America Club. For just $2 a minute and 45 cents an additional minute you can learn a bunch of useless crap that won't impress anybody.



Leonard's Favorite Episode of Barney Miller
Every week I profile my favorite episode of a popular series. "Hash" from the third season of Barney Miller is just about that. Wojo's new girlfriend bakes him a box of brownies to take to the precinct that are laced with hash. Everyone gets stoned, but Miller. The comedy of the episode isn't just from the guys being stoned, but how it affects their standard personalities as established in the series. The elderly and slow Fish turns into a super cop, Harris lets his street wise side show and Yemana really goes off the deep end singing and talking about how he likes to ‘mush-mush' the brownies in his coffee. It's one of the best remembered episodes of the series.



Mystery Actor/Actress of the Week
Every week I'll give clues to a mystery actor or actress. If you think you know who it is, post in the comments. You win nothing but a tip of the top hat from me, but isn't that enough?

Last week: Even though I was almost 30, I played a college student in a horror movie with last week's mystery actor, Dean Stockwell. However, my age was always in question as my mother lied about my age to get me acting jobs and into school. At the age of four I was in second grade. I made three films with my popular musical husband and have a song named after me in a hit musical set in the early 1960s. In 1965, I was the last actress under exclusive contract to Universal Studios. From 1960 to 1963 I was one of the top money-making Hollywood stars, according to Quigley Publications. I originated a famous teen character on film, who was later played on television by an Oscar winning actress, and I picked up another popular teen character from an actress who was also Oscar nominated. Who am I?

The answer is Sandra Dee. Dee starred in The Dunwich Horror with Dean Stockwell at the age of 28. However, Dee's mother was known to lie about her age early on to get her acting jobs. Dee was in three movies with her husband, Bobby Darin, Come September, If a Man Answers and That Funny Feeling. "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee was a song making fun of her virginal purity from Grease. She played Gidget in 1959. The later television series featured Sally Field in the lead. Field won Oscars for Norma Rae and Places in the Heart. Dee played Tammy in two movies Tammy Tell Me True and Tammy and the Doctor. Debbie Reynolds was in the first Tammy movie Tammy and the Bachelor. Reynolds received an Oscar nomination for The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Information from IMDB.



This week: Last week's mystery actress, Sandra Dee, made her feature film debut in a movie where my scenes were deleted. I was born in England, became a U.S. citizen and was a pioneer in Canadian television. My cult classic television series was made into a feature film in which I did a voiceover in. That movie featured an actor known for playing an iconic British character. I appeared in one film in that series, but not with him, and two of my costars from my popular TV series were in the film franchise too. Speaking of iconic British characters, I've played Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in television movies. Who am I?

Q: Piggybacking on the biggest star question, who reached the highest high in Hollywood? So, not asking about their whole career, but just their peak. For instance, 80's eddie Murphy vs. 90's Tom Hanks, etc.
-Mixzylpxzly

A: Who had the highest peak ever in Hollywood is a little harder to nail, because that can be more opinion based as it's hard to compare one high to another. From your match-up I would go with Tom Hanks in the 1990s. He won two Oscars while also appearing in blockbuster films and being generally regarded as the most popular actor amongst critics and movie goers. From A League of Their Own in 1992 to Road to Perdition in 2002, Hanks was arguably the biggest, most popular and beloved star in the world.



I would also mention that Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise all had huge runs from the 1980s into the early 1990s. Most of Elvis Presley's movies in the 1960s were mediocre, but they all made money. The definitive answer here might be James Dean, because his career was so short and he wasn't around long enough to start down the other side of the mountain. Sure, his legend has expanded since he died so young, but he was still very well regarded in his lifetime by critics and fans. He only made three feature films in his career and received two posthumous best actor Oscar nominations for Giant and East of Eden.



Q: I briefly watched Urban Cowboy the other night. From what I remember from my childhood, wasn't this a pretty big deal when it came out? How was it received? Did it lead to bigger/better things for Travolta or was it the start of his decline? Thanks ahead of time.
-BFF

A: The urban cowboy craze was huge, short-lived and very specific in its coverage. A large portion of the United States already acted, dressed and did the things portrayed in the movie. The film's script was based on an Esquire article about western nightlife in Houston circa 1980. Following the movie's success, cities like Chicago, New York and Los Angeles saw country and western bars spring up, mechanical bulls everywhere and cowboy boots and hats fly off the shelves. Going to country singer Mickey Gilley's bar, predominantly featured in the movie, was like taking a trip to Disneyland. The movie's soundtrack produced several crossover hits and is cited by music critics as having started the 1980s pop-country sound.



Critical reviews at the time were lukewarm as many said it was just a country music version of Saturday Night Fever. However, it grossed more than that earlier blockbuster and was John Travolta's last hit until Look Who's Talking nine years later in 1989. It was the movies after Urban Cowboy that derailed Travolta. Blow Out was a critical hit, but failed at the box office. The death of disco and unsure direction by Sylvester Stallone sunk the Saturday Night Fever sequel, Staying Alive, and even a reteaming with Grease lead Olivia Newton-John in Two of a Kind fizzled.



Q: I recently got the HD remake of the Simpson's Arcade game, and it reminded me of a familiar question I've often pondered.

Why is it, in at least 90% of Simpson's merchandise, that Bart is wearing a blue shirt? He always wears a red one on the TV show. I've played video games, had T-shirts, action figures, and books and comics where Bart wears a blue T-Shirt. Everyone else has thier signature colors, just not Bart.

I'm not sure, but I believe they reference it in the episode "Pokeymom" when after Homer antagonizes the bull with Lisa's red dress, he calls for a little calming blue. Stunned at Bart wearing a red shirt, he asks where his blue one is before Bart replies, "I don't have a blue shirt."

I'm not sure if this is one you can answer, but I figured, why not, been a while since I've written in.
-G-Walla

A: Actually, Bart's shirt is considered to be orange by most official counts. However, there's never been an official answer from producers on why Bart's shirt is one color on the show and usually blue, or sometimes red, in other media and merchandise.

According to The Simpsons Archive, the best explanation might be as a way to identify counterfeit or bootleg merchandise, as such items would probably follow the colors from the program. Another reason could be early merchandise going off of early character model sheets, where his shirt might have been blue, and just staying with that through the years. A thought I had is that Lisa's dress is about the same color as Bart's shirt on the series, so they changed it for merchandise and other media to help differentiate images.



Q: What do you think is Clint Eastwood's best movie performance as an actor and as a director? I would go with Gran Torino as his best acting performance (I love that movie). I also think he is very good in Dirty Harry and Magnum Force (particularly Magnum Force). And probably either Gran Torino or Unforgiven as his best performance as director. He was fine as an actor in Unforgiven but nowhere near Morgan Freeman or Gene Hackman's level in that movie.
- Meanmike0001

A: I really like Gran Torino too, but I don't know if I would call it his best ever. Eastwood has always been very conscious of his image and is a great user of his own star text. Star text is the theory that a viewer will have certain expectations of the movie they're watching considering who's in it. If you see Clint Eastwood dressed as a cowboy riding a horse, what you think that character and movie will be like is different than if you see John Wayne dressed as a cowboy riding a horse. In Gran Torino Eastwood plays it grizzled and badass, which leads the viewer to expect the movie to end in a major gunfight between him and the bad guys. Instead, the ending has more impact because of his character's actions are unexpected to the viewer while still fitting within the confines of the film's story and gets the viewer to think about why Walt did what he did. Yes, I tried to avoid direct spoilers there.



Tightrope from 1984 I've always found to be one of Eastwood's most underrated performances. Again, he's playing off of his own star text to go into an unexpected direction. He's not self assured Dirty Harry, but a cop with questions about his own morality, sexual nature and family as he's on the trail of a serial killer who in some ways is his dark, mirror image.



Unforgiven might be considered Eastwood's signature movie in all of the films he has. More than a star of action movies, he's seen as the primary Hollywood icon associated with movie violence. The movie has moral ambiguity, but faces the issue of violence and its various outcomes on various people. It never passes a judgment, but says ‘here is violence and here how it affects.' In many ways, it's the columniation of Eastwood's screen persona and career, particularly related to the western genre. Yes, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman give great performances, but that helps Eastwood to not do all of the heavy lifting in delivering a more understated, subtle performance.

I consider Eastwood's best movies, in order as director and actor together, to be Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, Sudden Impact, Pale Rider, Gran Torino, The Outlaw Josey Wales, High Plains Drifter and A Perfect World. As just a director, I also like Mystic River, Changeling, Bird and the double punch of Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima.



Q: Why do some movies never get a proper release on DVD or Blu Ray? 2 that come to mind - Summer Rewntal w/ John Candy (has a bare bones DVD and no Blu Ray) and one of my favorite movies of all timne - Neighbors w/ Dan Akroyd and John Belushi which never even had a DVD release? 2 movies with big name actors, why no love??
-Mike

A: We've discussed this before. Studios and DVD distributors put out movies that they think will return the largest profit for them. They want to do this in the most cost effective way possible. People who really want Summer Rental are going to buy the movie no matter what. No amount extras is going to make them want to buy it more or convince people not interested in the movie or who haven't seen the movie to get it. Also, how many who bought the original DVD really will buy it on blu-ray? How much better is the movie actually going to look on blu-ray, even if they take the money and time, which they don't want to, to clean it up for blu-ray. As with everything, it's the economics of it. You have to convince whoever holds the DVD rights that there is a market for it. You can do that by starting an online petition or writing the company. Sure, one voice might not do a lot, but a lot of one voices adds up.



Neighbors is available on Amazon instant watch and as a DVD-R on-demand from Sony, which can also be purchased on Amazon. The on-demand DVD market a lot of studios have gotten into has been a great way for fans to get more obscure movies they want while the studios can maximize its earning potential.



Q: My question is about Guy Ritchie. Before the success he has earned with the two very good Sherlock Holmes movies, he has definitely enjoyed a career resurgence. Before the first Holmes, the long-shelved Revolver and the under appreciated RockNRolla were released, and it seemed like he would be a footnote in indie film lore…

My question is, with the success he has had lately, do you think he will ever return to the style of films like Snatch and RockNRolla? At the end of RockNRolla it mentions that one of the characters will return in an upcoming movie (sequel?) Was this meant to be a joke, or, was Ritchie planning on making the film but ditched it after he went on to more high-profile films?
-Mario

A: In a 2011 interview for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Guy Ritchie said he has written a sequel to RocknRolla and producer Joel Silver was interested in doing it. However, they haven't had time to fit production into their schedules. Currently, Ritchie, 43, is working on a big film adaptation of the spy television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. George Clooney has been rumored to star.

In the same interview, Ritchie said as long as Warner Bros. kept throwing him big time projects, he probably wouldn't get around to the RocknRolla sequel. That's probably your answer. As long as Ritchie is in demand and working on major movies, he'll probably not go back to the stylish indie films he's known for. When he's suffered a couple bombs or gets a nice hole in his schedule, then I could see him throwing something together like his earlier movies. While you call RocknRolla underappreciated, it received mixed reviews on release and didn't do well in the United States with just $5 million domestically in limited release and $25.7 million worldwide, way below Snatch.



Q: I've got an opinion question for whenever you have the time about politicians and Hollywood. It seems the world of politics comes naturally to actors (especially Reagan), but I was wondering if you think someone like Barack Obama could actually go from "White House to Animal House" so to speak? I mean every once in a while you see a John McCain SNL hosting or senators and governors either playing themselves or similar roles in small parts in law/crime dramas, but I mean a full-fledged acting career. Sure there would be complications like having SS on set checking every thing for possible threats, but for like one film a year, I think Obama could pull it off.
-Cactus

A: I disagree. Many say Obama is to stiff and stilted, relying heavily on teleprompters for speeches. I think he can come off as warm and personable on occasion, but that's when he goes off and improvises, like when he recently sang Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" at the Apollo Theater. His personal appearances on talk shows and Saturday Night Live haven't impressed me much. It's just notable because he's the president. However, many were surprised about how well stick in the muds like John McCain and Bob Dole came across in their SNL hosting gigs. Maybe it's easier when the pressure of running the free world or campaigning to be leader of the free world is off. Now, if any former president could make that jump to full time actor, it would be Bill Clinton. He's got screen presence, charisma, is a great natural speaker, engages people even if they don't like him and probably played the personal appearance and public speaking part of politics better than anyone since Ronald Reagan.



Q: I've got an obscure question. I was watching South Park season 6 and episode 5 titled "The New Terrance and Philip Movie Trailer". Basic premise, the boys watch a bad show(Russel Crowe fightin' round the world) all just for the commercials to see a movie trailer. Now the way the old segues into what would have been commercial breaks happen made me think and vaguely remember that there was some commercial(possibly trailer) that was promised for during this episode of South Park on Comedy Central. My question is if my memory is correct and what that commercial or trailer was.
-South Park Fan

A: I found some vague references to Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones relating to the episode The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer, but couldn't find a concrete reference that an exclusive clip or commercial for the movie aired during the episode. It could be that the hype around the movie was sort of what the episode was lampooning. Attack of the Clones was released May 17, 2002, and the episode aired April 3, 2002.

The episode was also made around the time Russell Crowe was in the news for his temper tantrums and brawling. In 1999, Crowe was caught on a security video scuffling with a man at the Plantation Hotel in Australia. In 2002, Crowe launched into expletive filled tirade, which he later apologized for, on BAFTA producer Malcolm Gerrie. Gerrie cut part of Crowe's appearance on the broadcast where he read a poem to terminally ill actor Richard Harris for copyright reasons. Later that year, Crowe got into a fight in London at a Japanese restaurant with businessman Eric Watson that was broken up by actor Ross Kemp.



Okay, so I didn't deliver all the questions I said I would last week. I got a bit behind and some need more thought or research. My sister is getting married this Saturday, so hopefully I can make myself work a bit more through the week. With any luck next week we'll talk about movies to show our new alien overlords, the possible rebirth of drive-ins and double features, recent bombs that could become classics, the Disney DVD vault, television shows that got pulled too quickly and more.

Don't die.
"There's no school like old school, and I'm the fucking headmaster."