42 (2013)

There's never been a bad baseball film, ever, but some rise to the top. 42 is top 10 material.

The story of Jackie Robinson's integration of MLB is in expert hands. The combo of writer-director Brian Thomas Helgeland (L.A. Confidential, Mystic River) and actor Chadwick Boseman (Get On Up, Black Panther) as Robinson is top of the order material. 

It's a story that has been told in film before; but not well. The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) starred Robinson as himself, for real. Even stranger, Boseman in 42 plays Robinson better than Robinson played himself. 

Playing a man who has to keep his thoughts inside while insults are shouted his way, Boseman has to communicate more often with facial expressions, which he strikes a perfect note for. It doesn't hurt that Boseman has the athletic chops as well.

Throw in Harrison Ford as Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey and John C. McGinley as the Dodgers' legendary radio announcer Red Barber and you have a big-time Hollywood treat.

I saw the 2013 premiere of this film in Dallas introduced by Jackie's daughter Sharon Robinson. The family did have a role in this film so there is a degree of glossiness to it. When it comes to 20th Century heroes, I'm fine with that.

While praised for its accuracy of events, the consensus critique of this film is that it doesn't go deep enough into Robinson's struggle. In his memoir, he wrote that he couldn't bring himself to salute the American flag or stand for the National Anthem knowing he was "a black man in a white world." That's still a discussion today, so we can hope for a film with more grit in the future. For now, a glossy formula film about a 20th Century hero is completely ten-buck worthy.

In a nutshell: A great American 20th-century true story told with movie magic

Award potential: 42 was not a factor in 2013 Oscars and similar award groups. Boseman was a newcomer at the time.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Bill & Ted Face The Music

Whoa! It's been 31 years since the original, but Wyld Stallyns couldn't keep this sequel from happening after the Keannussance of 2019, the year Keanu Reeves became bankable again. But should it have happened? After all, comedy sequels are hard and nothing looks older than a 55-year old sporting Ted hair.

The quick answer is —yes way! 

The joy of Bill and Ted (Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter) and their most excellent chemistry makes it breezy enough to enjoy and you'll catch yourself laughing out loud quite a few times. It's a dumb comedy filled with dumb characters, but with these two bros it works in a way that doesn't when, say, the otherwise brilliant Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell make a dumb comedy. The unpretentiousness of this dated teen duo certainly works in the film's favor.

So many things could have gone heinously wrong of course. Their daughters (Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine) are introduced, ugh, but not in the usual pass-the-torch way a franchise might use them. They are utilized not as springboards for a new spinoff universe, but as fresh characters that can experience the "whoa" of time travel for the first time as they round up Mozart, Louis Armstrong, and Jimi Hendrix to create the song that will save mankind. They are, in a word, bodacious.

The film tricked me a few times by introducing 2020 CGI technology, and a new assassin character. Both had my eyes rolling until it turned out the film didn't go deep into the bag of SFX or action. And just when the plot seemed to be going too broad and contrived, it pulled back quickly.

There is a lot of fan service here but those returning characters, such as William Sadler as Death, deliver on laughs. And the new ones, such as Holland Taylor and Kristen Schaal in new roles, helped the story party on.

Face the Music certainly benefits from a year without new movie content and a great 2020 comedy to compare it to, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much cinematic joy it brought.

Is this ten buck-worthy new film worth a trip to a crowded theater during a pandemic? Nope. Is it worth the $19.99 home rental cost? Probably not. But if two or more of you want to rent it, you'll be satisfied with that bodacious choice.

In a nutshell: In the world of comedy sequels, it is most triumphant.

Award potential: Despite being one of the only theatrical releases of 2020, it doesn't have a chance in any categories.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.