Stealing Home
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Movie Reviews of Stealing Home
Movie Review: Waxing nostalgic
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this film in the movie theatre and liked it a lot. The other day, I saw it on the shelf @ the pharmacy and was feeling nostalgic, so I picked it up. This is a PERFECT movie for anyone who happens to be in a nostalgic mood!
The plot centers around a burned-out baseball player (Mark Harmon) who is tasked with finding the final place of burial for an old friend's ashes. The old friend is Katie (Jodie Foster), who was his babysitter as he grew up during the 1960s. Katie committed suicide, which is a bit of a gender role-reversal; most movies which deal with suicides are stories of men ending their own lives. After all, men are FAR more prone to suicide than women are.
The story has plenty of flashbacks to his boyhood and teenage years - back when he spent time with Katie. She had a tremendous influence on his life, and Nietzsche would label her as a sort of un-restrained Dionysian character.
For myself, I could very much relate to the flashbacks where things seemed SO close to perfection, and yet any sort of sustained happiness was just out-of-reach. That is a motif that is more than relevant to my life.
The soundtrack was written by David Foster (St. Elmo's Fire) and is a classic 80s soundtrack. In fact, I have owned the soundtrack for several yrs on CD as I liked it so much.
The time of the movie is rather interesting in that Jodie Foster was making the transition from her childhood actress years of doing Disney-type movies to becoming an accomplished and serious actress. There are many actresses in Hollywood who are more glamorous than Foster, but few can match her in acting skills. I would very much like to meet her one day for a cup of coffee as it's obvious that she has a lot of depth to her personality.
This is a well-done movie, and the usually stoic Mark Harmon turns in perhaps his best performance. Harold Ramis (The Ghost Busters - The Complete Series (Filmation, Live Action) (1975)), Blair Brown (Altered States) also star, and a young Helen Hunt makes a cameo appearance.
Many people will call this movie sappy, and that's not altogether unfair. However, sometimes sappy movies can be good movies, and this is a good movie (in my mind). If you loathe films which ooze nostalgia, this one is likely not for you.
Ultimately, the title of the movie doubles as both a baseball maneuver as well as well as a symbol of how we must sometimes take chances in life in order to truly feel alive & vibrant. To paraphrase Rilke, the best life is one where one "lives dangerously."
Movie Review: Not Flawless--but You'll Always Remember It
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is not perfect by any means. It covers many years, and it often features Mark Harmon staring off into space as he remembers his past. (That does get a bit old after the few first flashback sequences). During these years, some of the storylines are a bit farfetched. (His friend's escapades with an older redhead while at a summer beach house are particularly strained). And after a beautiful, touching moment at the end of the film, they tack on a strange sequence at a ballpark that ends abruptly and oddly.
HOWEVER, even with these flaws, this is still a movie that I cannot forget. It touches on a lot of deep and emotional subjects, such as death, family, friends, depression, and most importantly love. The relationship between BIlly and Katie at the center of this film is so "real" that all of the other storylines seem to disappear. The relationship's progress--from babysitter and child, to teenage friends and lovers, and ultimately to Billy being responsible for her ashes after her death--is flawless in its realism. The many memorable moments in this relationship will touch you and stay with you for a long time (Katie and Billy getting caught smoking and driving during one of her babysitting adventures--Billy asks "What do we do?" She shrugs, ciagrette in her mouth, and says "Wave!"; Katie and Billy jumping into a pool to "touch the drain" so he can feel better during a sad moment in the film; Billy putting his hand on Katie's leg as a child and then again as a teenager, getting two very different responses each time).
I truly believe this is one of Jodie Foster's best, most underrated roles. She needs to come across as a carefree, fun loving person who underneath it all is very sad and lonely. Sounds tough, but she succeeds with ease--you can somehow see her depression through all of her smiles. This comes across perfectly towards the end of the film, when Billy remembers a moment he shared with Katie on a seashore dock. She is smiling, and waving her arms through the air at the end of the dock overlooking the ocean. She's talking about how she would love one day to be like a bird and fly through the air, swoop down over the caves and caverns, touch the bottom of the ocean and meet her lover there, and on and on. More than anything, she's just talking about how she'd love to experience love and freedom to its fullest. Watch her carefully as she finishes her speech--her face changes from excitement and happiness to the saddest, most longing expression you'll ever see from an actress, all in a matter of seconds as she says sadly "God I wish I could do that....." It's perfect, and only Jodie could have done it with such finesse.
Please watch this movie, even if you've never heard of it. Try to overlook some of its flaws and focus on the main relationship, and you'll definitely remember it and watch it repeatedly for years to come.
Movie Review: Katie's Theme
Summary: 5 Stars
When this very special film begins, Billy Wyatt is adrift, further away from the promising ballplayer he once was than he has ever been. The most wonderful person in his life has just committed suicide. She was his babysitter and first crush growing up. She was also his compass and beacon towards all that mattered in life. She has left him her red VW convertible, and something far more personal; her ashes.
Jodie Foster has a truly magical turn as the troubled free spirit, Katie. Foster's Katie is one of her most memorable performances, capturing perfectly a free soul just a little different, and a little more wonderful, than everyone else. She was always the one to point Billy in the right direction and is doing so one last time, posthumously. Mark Harmon does a nice job as the adult Billy, lost more than ever now that Katie has died.
Katie has killed herself at Seascape, the fondly remembered second home and hangout of his youth. Much of the film takes place as he makes the journey back home by train, remembering in bittersweet fashion this magical soul who meant so very much to his life. Their free-spirited drives always got them into trouble, but always made his life better somehow. She comforts him during a family tragedy and on his birthday gives him a silver chain with a baseball, telling him: "It's who you are Billy. You're a ballplayer."
Only Katie knew. But what Billy doesn't know, is what to do with her ashes. He knows she would not have entrusted him with something so important unless she knew it was he who would know what to do with them. But he is at a loss. Billy almost gives up finding the perfect spot for her ashes until he suddenly recalls a memory so revealing, he understands why Katie did what she did. There are images of Foster's Katie in this film that will quietly stay with you for the rest of your life.
Harold Ramis as Billy's lifelong best friend Alan Appleby is terrific here, and the always great Blair Brown as Billy's mother, Ginny, help lift this already special film to near greatness. It is wistful and nostalgic, a melancholy atmosphere augmented by David Foster's beautiful score, as evocative as any in memory. A great 60's soundtrack is mingled in also, but it is Foster's opening music and his "When We Danced" which will haunt the viewer long after the closing credits. A wistful mood and magical performance by Jodie Foster make this a film not to be missed.
Movie Review: A movie that only gets better with age ...
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this movie in the early nineties when I was in my early teens. It's funny considering I can't even remember how or why I had the opportunity but I believe my sister was with me at the time and we both feel so lucky and thankful as it has cracked both of our Top 5 Desert Island lists.
I was fortunate enough to come across one used VHS copy about six years ago which I always thought I would treasure until the day I died. However, wise or not, I ended up sacrificing it to my sister as a peace-offering after a pretty heated argument shortly afterwards. I DO still have a cassette copy of the soundtrack, which I have dissected a million times on to numerous mix tapes. Needless to say, if I am ever able to find "And when she danced" at a karaoke bar someday, one of my goals in life will have finally been met shortly afterwards. Anyway, I had not thought about it again until last night when it played on the Diva channel here in Canada, at which point I recalled fondly how big of a crush I had on Jodie Foster once upon a time.
I am also a big-time baseball fan and a former Little Leaguer so one can understand how this movie has special appeal for me. Although I was never nearly as talented as Billy was, I always end up contemplating the possibility of getting back into the game after each and every time I see it.
The movie has even crossed immediate family lines as my older cousins have also seen it, about which I was unaware until only recently. Since then, at any family event, we are constantly quoting young Appleby, pleading with Billy to talk to Robin Parks for him and to "Be ... My ... Friend !!!"
I honestly can't understand how the critics did not enjoy this film ...
Movie Review: Jodie, Jodie, Jodie
Summary: 5 Stars
One of my all-time favorites. I always believed that Stealing Home was unjustly overlooked by the viewing audience and critics alike. After reading the Amazon reviews, I realize that I was wrong. Clearly, the film has touched many people on a number of different levels. While Jodie Foster's screen time is limited, in my opinion, this film contains her finest performance to date (including her strong performance in The Courtship of Eddie's Father - TV series, not the film). Mark Harmon plays the lost soul to perfection (although he is not a very good smoker, a pet peave of mine, a non-smoker cannot fake it). Blair Brown, as always, rips it up. Fabulous cinematography. The film uses long shots to perfection, revealing inimate moments from afar rather than the standard close-up. This film reveals the emotion of the characters through their silent reflection, rather than explaining the same with a pile of unnecessary dialogue. A fine example of less is more. The only complaint I have is the quality of the DVD. I assume that the full-screen only release is not the original aspect ratio (if anyone has any information on the original aspect ratio, please contact me.) No extras whatsoever. The transfer is average at best. This film deserves the full treatment, including cast and director's commentary. Please, Warner Brother's, please, revamp and re-release the disc. My heartfelt thanks to the directors, cast and crew for a movie that moves me at every viewing.