Jennifer Love Hewitt plays Norma Shearer

I got sucked into a Norma Shearer silent film, "A Lady of Chance" last night. Norma's a con woman who does well until she falls in love with one of her marks. The obstacle to their love is when the con woman's past comes back. This would be the template for the Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt film "Heartbreakers," with Hewitt playing Shearer's role, and a dozen other films just like it (including "Wedding Crashers") Or so I thought.

Then I read reviews on IMDB and they said this plot was old when this movie came out in 1928. No matter, Shearer is hilarious. In order for this kind of movie to work as a comedy, the marks have to be deserving, and though they could be more comical, (think Gene Hackman in "Hearbreakers") they're deserving enough so they don't get sympathy.


Shearer has some very funny reactions when faced with a family that's poor but has plenty of love. She can barely conceal her contempt. It's refreshing to see some cynicism to what was (and is) a hokey movie trope.

I won't give it away, but there's also a hilarious pre-code joke about rough sex.

It moves along quickly, maybe a little too quickly. The main couple meet, fall in love and get married the same night! When Shearer decides real love may not be a bad idea we wish the male lead had a little more depth to him to love. She just decides to stick with him, where in a modern rom-com, he would have had some endearing quirks or traits she would reflect on to make her decide to *not* hop on the train to leave him.

There is a great scene of subtlety where Shearer puts on a veil, mugs for the camera at the thought of marriage, then you can see the wheels turn in her head as her face turns serious, Maybe marriage isn't for (as they say in "Wedding Crashers,")  'hillbillies" after all.

Very funny, very quick, well worth catching it on TCM.

And speaking of reviews, the New York Times review from 1928 is all spoiler. That critic was a dick! He gives away the entire movie.

Comic review: World's Finest No. 1

Things are getting better and better. The Huntress is once again Batman's daughter. And Power Girl is definitely the cousin of an alternate dimension Superman. Things are right again in the DC Universe. Why was that so hard?

Things start with the women covering a lot of exposition. They're trapped on Earth 1 after being whisked from Earth 2, and they've spent the last five years setting up their identities. A flashback explains the circumstances of the whisking part. It's a nice touch that Helena is the one who saves Power Girl.

The bookend chapters are drawn by George Perez and the flashback is by Kevin Maguire. I usually complain about an issue having too many artists but these two are freaking icons who get better and better over the decades. It's an all-star team-up. Check out the page of Helena and Karen in their civilian clothes walking across the street. It sets up the contrast in their personalities. Tough girl Helena's in a leather jacket and jeans and the girly Karen is in this great dress which just shows curves without showing skin. Also look at Helena's face above. Just beautiful.

Writer Paul Levitz has a long history with these two characters and though I may never forgive him for they way he killed the Earth 2 Batman back in the 70s, his affection for these characters show. It's a lot of fun and am looking forward to more.

Back during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, there were a couple scenes of PG and Huntress commiserating about the ongoing drama, and I remember someone writing a letter to the editor saying that these two make a natural team, and he was right. They really belong in World's Finest.

My only complaint is PG's new costume. Give her the old one, close the Wally Wood window, and don't give her too many muscles!

Comic Review: Earth 2 No. 1

I've been asking DC for years to unchain the JSA from World War II and they've done it. Bless you DC. Now they no longer have to age while the rest of the DCU stayed the same age.

We have cameos by the young Alan Scott, Al Pratt and Jay (and Joan) Garrick, but the JSA isn't even in this issue, it's just laying groundwork for the future. The whole book features the Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman from this new Earth 2, and it's a little reminiscent in how the Earth 3 characters kicked off Crisis on Infinite Earths. I don't want to spoil it but if you read Crisis you'll see what I"m talking about.

It's a great twist that Batman Superman and Wonder Woman are the old guard and the JSA will be the new kids. This will probably preclude an Infinity Inc. return, but it might be worth it.

The future Power Girl and the Huntress hang around long enough to get blasted into Earth 1 in World's Finest No. 1 (a review on that tomorrow).

I'm a JSA purist and even though this is a total reboot, I was very happy with what they're doing here. The love of the characters and legend is there.

Great story by James Robinson, great art by Nicola Scott.

DVD review - Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale

My children were given this as a Christmas present and I was a little wary. The Tom and Jerrys from the '40s were beautifully animated but colossally violent. The ones from the '70s were badly animated, and worse yet, in response to the complaints of violence, made Tom and Jerry extremely dull friends. I also vaguely remember Filmation licensing the characters in some pretty crappy Saturday morning fare. Films followed in the '80s in which the cat and mouse had voices! Sacrilege!

My expectations weren't set too high.

But, I was pleasantly surprised. The animation is good, great backgrounds. Tom and Jerry remain enemies. Tom gets beat up some, but not with cast iron skillets. The story isn't Citizen Kane, but it has its moments. And much of the comedy works. And, the whole thing is set to the score from the Nutcracker. How freaking ambitious. It's as if, inspired by Mickey Mouse's appearance in Fantasia, Hanna-Barbera convinced MGM to make a nearly feature length T&J classical music piece, and it sat in a vault for 70 years.

I haven't seen the other T&J direct-to-DVD movies, but this could very well be the best T&J cartoon ever. And quite possibly the best Hanna-Barbera production.

Also, for cartoon fanatics, don't miss the very beginning where they cleverly combine the Warner Bros. logo with the font and background of the '40s MGM cartoons.

Evolution of 30 Rock

Just saw the "Runt" episode of "30 Rock" on cable and am amazed at how much the show evolved from the first season. First, the focus was on the writers, now they're background characters. Second, when Liz had a problem she discussed it with Pete, now it's Jack, and finally it's so surreal now, comparatively speaking this episode was a drama (watch Tracy's speech about diabetes) ! Rip Torn plays it totally straight, two seasons later he'd be over the top.

I'm not complaining, as the show got more surreal it just got funnier. All signs seem to point to just one more season though.

(Read Bossypants, Fey touches on the difficulties of being a female in charge that this episode focuses on.)

Best Curt Swan Inker

This is a post for the true comic book geeks. Who was Curt Swan's best inker? Swan was of course the Superman artist from the '60s to the '80s. The question is who was his best inker. If you're a baby boomer and read Superman in the '60s, the answer is probably George Klein. Clean lines, a massive chest, a 'Mad Men'-era haircut. Truly manly.

Then the '70s came along and Murphy Anderson started inking, and everything changed. The lines were feathered, and Superman was dragged out of the '50s. Sideburns! Anderson would be my favorite inker and though most of his work on Swan was from the early '70s, he'd still pop up through the '80s on one-shots. DC definitely needs to put out a Swanderson trade paperback.

The late '70s also gave us Bob Oksner, Dave Hunt and Kurt Shaffenberger. Oksner was probably the most true to Swan's pencils. Not a lot of flair, but a real solid Klein-like consistency. Shaffenberger could make any penciller look like Shaffenberger. Compare his work on Swan to his work on his own pencils and you'll see little difference. Shaffenberger did make the most perfect S insignia though.

When asked, Swan said his favorite was Al Williamson, an EC Comics veteran who, once again, put his own imprint on Swan's pencils. It is an interesting look.

See you in the funny papers

I'm behind on this review, but if you are any kind of comic strip fan, it would behoove you to find a copy, (I've seen them in Barnes & Noble), or better yet subscribe to Hogan's Alley. It covers comics from the Yellow Kid to Sponge Bob (another yellow kid, actually) and everything in between.

As a kid I loved spreading out the Sunday comics on the living room floor, studying the art, and memorizing the names of the artists, and the syndicate. (The Evening Bulletin's selection was always better than the Inquirer's). This magazine has interviews of or stories about everyone I've ever admired.

The latest issue has a great interview with Cathy Guisewite, a history of Bluto and his legally-induced dopplegangers, and a funny story about how every time DC Comics needed to goose sales, they'd put a gorilla on the cover.

Check it out here.