[ThisWeek] The Upside of Anger at the Kenworthy

[thisweek at kenworthy.org]

This week at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre-

The Upside of Anger (R)
Friday, June 10
7:00 PM
Saturday & Sunday, June 11 & 12
4:15 & 7:00 PM
$5 adults
KFS passes accepted for Sunday shows
(See Review below)
* * *

Next week at the Kenworthy-
Summer Matinee Series Begins June 15
Thanks to the following Wednesday matinee sponsors:
Insty Prints & North Idaho Athletic Club, Tom & JoAnn Trail, U.S. Bank,
Wells Fargo Bank

Shrek (PG)
Wednesday, June 15
1:00 PM & 3:15 PM
$1/ages 12 and under, $4/ages 13 and over

Dear Frankie (PG13)
Friday, June 17
7:00 PM & 9:30 PM
Sunday, June 19
4:30 & 7:00 PM
$5/adults, $2/children 12 and under

WonderWorks presents
Cool Cat
by Elizabeth Eagles, with music by Dan Bukvich
Saturday, June 18
7:30 PM
Tickets- $6, children under 3 years are free

On Saturday, June 18, at 7:30 PM, Wonder Works will present ³Cool Cat,²
written and directed by Elizabeth Eagles with music by Dan Bukvich.  This
premier evening of theatre, music, and dance features the Gemberling
Brothers, guest choreographer Greg Halloran, and dancers from the University
of Idaho Center for Dance and Spectrum II Dance Studio.   Tickets are $6 for
adults.  Children under age 3 are free.  Tickets can be purchased at
BookPeople prior to the performance or at the door.

A silent art auction will take place in the lobby of the theater before the
performance and during intermission.
* * *

June at the Kenworthy-

The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (PG)
Wednesday, June 22
1:00 & 3:15 PM

Melinda & Melinda (PG13)
June 24, 7:00 PM
June 25, 4:45/7:00/9:15 PM
June 26, 4:45 & 7:00 PM

Fat Albert (PG)
Wednesday, June 29
1:00 & 3:15 PM

Coming this summer: Ala Zingara, Racing Stripes, Napoleon Dynamite,
Millions, Two Brothers, Because of Winn Dixie, Robots

Regular Movie prices:  $5 adult, $2 child 12 or younger.
Wednesday matinee prices:  $4/adult, $1/child 12 or younger
KFS passes accepted year-round for Sunday movies!

Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre
508 S. Main Street, Moscow, Idaho
For more information, call 208-882-4127 or visit http://www.kenworthy.org
* * *

This week¹s review-

The Upside of Anger

Written and directed by Mike Binder
Running Time: 1 hour, 58 minutes
Rated R for language, sexual situations, brief comic violence and some drug
use.

As reviewed by Sean Axmaker writing for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Mike Binder's lightweight handling of midlife crisis and emotional betrayal
opens with Terry Wolfmeyer (Joan Allen) already bitter and glassy-eyed with
alcohol and anger. Gathering her four daughters at the dinner table, she
tartly announces their father ran away with his Swedish secretary, leaving
behind everything but his wallet and a goodbye note.

It's the beginning of a three-year bender and her fuel of choice (apart from
an ever-present tumbler of vodka) is simmering fury. She wallows in
resentment at her husband's abandonment and only her withering,
sharp-tongued wit makes that scorn interesting.

And attractive, too, at least to bachelor neighbor Denny Davies (Kevin
Costner), a former World Series ballplayer turned radio personality,
coasting through retirement on autographed baseballs and personal
appearances and buzzing on beer and marijuana. He volunteers to be her
drinking buddy, invites himself over to family dinners and slowly warms her
to the idea of romance.

There are the daughters in the equation, too, played (from oldest to
youngest) by Alicia Witt (the college girl), Erika Christensen (the aspiring
broadcast journalist), Keri Russell (the ballet dancer) and Evan Rachel Wood
(high school student and narrator), but their stories play like
afterthoughts, mere sketches in the margins of Terry's tale.

Writer/director Mike Binder (who also plays Denny's entertainingly sleazy
producer) scripts sarcastic humor and dialogue that just avoids being glib,
thanks in part to a pair of rich performances. Costner carries regret and
disillusionment under cocky charm and breezy irresponsibility in his best
performance in years. The one-time sports hero is a little older, a little
less sure of himself, but finally ready to move ahead.

Allen's icy stares could turn you to stone and her cutting sarcasm would
finish off what's left, but she gives Terry a self-awareness that undercuts
her most careless comments and suggests the raw wounds under her brittle
armor. 

Allen and Costner enrich and elevate the film and give the growth of their
characters a hard-earned gravitas.


As reviewed by Ruthe Stein writing for the San Francisco Chronicle

In a rare adult moment, Hollywood gave the go-ahead to "The Upside of Anger"
-- the kind of drama that's become a dinosaur on screens overrun by
computer-generated creatures. The characters are actually believable, and
the messes they get into approximate real life.

Allen stars as Terry, a suburban Detroit housewife whose husband abruptly
runs off to Sweden with his secretary, leaving her a large house and four
headstrong daughters to care for. Anger contorts this abandoned wife's face,
deepening the lines between her nose and mouth. When Terry screams at her
children out of frustration, the veins on her neck pop out. Often shot with
no makeup, Allen gives the most naked performance possible with your clothes
on. 

Costner is her neighbor, a retired baseball player, Denny. Hollywood's
onetime golden boy has been in a slump lately, but playing sluggers is
something he knows how to do, and in "Anger," he hits one out of the park.
Costner is built like an athlete, agile and loose. His Denny is still loose
even though he's gone soft with the beginnings of a paunch.

This is a man whose best years are behind him. As he tells Terry while
trying to convince her to sell her land so a subdivision can be built on it,
"I'm just a front man flashing my World Series ring. They get the sales -- I
get a free lot out of it." Costner makes Denny's resignation palpable in the
embarrassed way he autographs baseballs for money -- his shoulders are
hunched and his head hung low.

Exercising a screenwriter's prerogative, Binder has penned a juicy role for
himself as Shep, the producer of Denny's radio talk show, which was supposed
to be about baseball except that the host finds the subject a bore and would
rather offer stock tips.

Mike Binder wrote and directed "The Upside of Anger," and he knows that
people behave foolishly but are also capable of noble acts. Terry and
Denny's bumpy relationship is a prime example.


As reviewed by Steve Persall writing for the St. Petersburg Times

Some movie stars have physical traits that set them apart from the rest,
like Julia Roberts' smile and Bruce Willis' smirk. It's usually something in
the eyes or mouth that signals the star wattage is being turned on.

For Joan Allen, it's her neck: a long, slender, uncommonly expressive
anatomical part that she may not be aware she's using. But it's the first
thing you notice in her juicier performances, the way it tenses and relaxes,
or disappears behind her down-turned chin in vulnerable moments. It almost
upstages her face.

Her neck muscles get a workout in ³The Upside of Anger,² a meandering family
drama that Allen holds together with the laser focus of her performance. She
isn't the only good thing about Mike Binder's film, but without Allen,
nothing else would matter. We're only three weeks past the Academy Awards
and already we have a best actress frontrunner for next year.

Binder obviously used ³Terms of Endearment² as a template for Terry's
relationships with her daughters, employing the same kind of crisply
written, passive-aggressive bonds. Each young woman has her conflict with
Mom. The eldest, Hadley, is pregnant and getting married, something she kept
hidden from Terry. Andy skips college to intern at Denny's radio station,
where she gets involved with his slimy producer, Shep, a much older man.
Emily has health issues to keep Terry worrying while "Popeye" detaches
herself from everyone except Denny.

The screenplay brings out the best in its actors. Allen, as noted, deftly
juggles the varied moods and humors of her role. Binder makes a sitcom role
something deeper, and each of Terry's daughters is credible. The film's best
surprise is Costner's portrayal of Denny, the kind of work he can do when
his ego doesn't get in the way. He never overplays the beer buzz, or seeks
to shine Denny's emotional armor. It's his best performance in a decade, one
that should silence his career snipers - like me - for a while.


Film reviews researched and edited by Peter A. Haggart
* * *

Kenworthy Film Society Passes on sale

Kenworthy Film Society pass prices will increase on July 1 to $30 for a
10-punch card and $75 for a $30-punch card.
That's still only $3.00 and $2.50 per movie, respectively -- the best deal
on movies in Moscow.

Why are prices increasing?  Specifically, because the cost of film shipping
has increased. 
Generally, because the cost of doing business has increased.

Passes can be purchased at the current prices through June 30, 2005, so get
yours now.
Passes are available at BookPeople and at the Kenworthy box office during
regular showtimes.

Thanks for your continued support of independent and foreign films on the
Palouse!
* * *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PAMELA PALMER, Volunteer
Mailto:ppalmer at moscow.com
Film and Events Committee
Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre

http://www.kenworthy.org

To speak with a KPAC staff member,
call (208) 882-4127
Mailto:kpac at moscow.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sign up for this weekly email on events and movies at the Kenworthy by
logging onto our website
http://www.kenworthy.org


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/thisweek/attachments/20050609/0d02bf7d/attachment.htm