COCOON (Blu-ray)

Written by Senora Bicho

Cocoon was released in 1985. I remember seeing it in the theater and my memory is that of a cute story involving old people and Steve Guttenberg. Watching it over 20 years later sparked a very different opinion.

The movie follows a group of friends living in a retirement community. The main focus is on three men of the group, each experiencing a different difficulty that comes with age. Ben (Wilford Brimley) fails an eye test and has his driver's license revoked, Joe (Hume Cronyn) has untreatable cancer, and Arthur (Don Ameche) has lost his ability with the ladies. The trio escape their daily lives by trespassing onto a vacant neighboring estate to swim in the pool and enjoy the little bit of danger their law-breaking provides.

The action then cuts to a mysterious group of four that hires Jack Bonner (Steve Guttenberg) to be their guide for a diving expedition. Jack is relieved for the job since he is broke and desperately needs the money. It is revealed the group is renting the vacant estate and through the course of the expedition they bring up large pods and deposit them into the pool. The old men continue to swim in the pool and start immediately feeling younger and more alive. Ben gets his eyesight back, Joe's cancer goes into remission, and all of the men become frisky. While everything seems to be working out well, Jack and the old men realize there is something very different about the group and soon discover their secret. This forces them all to make decisions that will have a lasting impact on the rest of their lives.

The DVD includes an audio commentary by Ron Howard, likely from a previous DVD release, as are the five very short making-of featurettes, which are disappointing and do not offer much interesting information.

The video is presented with a 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer looks good enough for its age but is nothing to write home about. The source is clean but can be soft at times. Grain is apparent and the image can be dark at times. The audio is more impressive presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The dialogue is clear and understandable. The surrounds offer minor ambiance, particularly water effects, and music.

I have mixed emotions on my review. There are portions of the story involving the retirees that are endearing and enjoyable. However, the denouement is confusing. The message of the movie is touted as being about love, friendship, and the human spirit but some of the choices the characters make are not in line with this and don't make sense. The Steve Guttenberg storyline is painful at best. I never thought he was a great actor but here he is downright awful. He is never believable or genuine and one particular scene is beyond ridiculous. For the reasons mentioned, I can't wholeheartedly recommend Cocoon. There is especially no reason to purchase the Blu-ray version since the special effects don't hold up and are mostly distracting. Instead of wasting two hours watching this, use those two hours to enjoy the preciousness of life which is what the movie would tell you to do anyways.

HAPPY DAYS: The Fourth Season

Written by Hombre Divertido

In 1980 ABC launched the Saturday-morning animated show Fonz and the Happy Days Gang. Unfortunately, the television show Happy Days had become a cartoon five years earlier.

As was common in the seventies and eighties, a series was created, and once a breakout star was established, said star was exploited, even to the detriment of the series. The show from whence the term “Jump the Shark” originated actually did so before that notorious act was carried out. In season three Happy Days became The Fonzie Show, and the innocence of high-school kids in the fifties portrayed so well in the first two seasons was gone. So was the integrity of the show.

One certainly can’t argue with the decision to focus the show on Fonzie (Henry Winkler), as season four was the highest rated in the show’s history. Paramount has now released all twenty-three episodes in a four-disc set.

From the start of season four, it was obvious that the only important thing was to give Fonzie as much airtime as possible, no matter how ridiculous the writing. The season opens with a three-part (or two-part depending how technical you want to get) episode entitled “Fonzie Loves Pinkie” featuring Roz Kelly as his love interest. These three episodes have all the elements of a cartoon and a major-fromage factor. The rest of the season follows suit with contrived episodes that, for the most part, sadly pushes the rest of the cast to supporting roles.

The episode where Fonzie gets baptized certainly takes a religious turn for a show of that era, and does have a surprising level of poignancy. There are also some brief instances of the other actors getting a chance to display their comedy chops, for instance: Ron Howard in “A Place of His Own” and Anson Williams in “Fonzie Hero” to name a few. Nonetheless, the show hits a new low in “Spunky Come Home” which revolves around Fonzie losing his dog.

Winkler was and is a talented performer who portrayed Fonzie with true commitment, but he didn’t deserve to be required to carry the whole show.

The season does include some pleasant guest appearances but most of the following talent is wasted: Marc McClure, Charlene Tilton, Diana Hyland, Nancy Walker, Dick Van Patten, Linda Kaye Henning, Eddie Mekka, and Conrad Janis.

The only listed “Special Feature” in this set is certainly generously titled. Since the third anniversary episode is the standard flashback episode, which was poorly constructed and executed, and was broadcast as part of the season, it seems a bit unethical to call it a bonus feature.

Recommendation: This is trite television that wastes the talents of Ron Howard, Tom Bosely, Marion Ross, Donnie Most, Anson Williams, and others. Happy Days was better when it was an ensemble show. This is only for the true fan.

HAPPY DAYS: The Third Season

Written by Hombre Divertido

Is it possible that the series that literally jumped the shark actually did so before the storyline played out? Since the series aired for eleven seasons from 1974 until 1984, it would be tough to say that the third season was the beginning of the end, but it certainly reflected a drastic change in the focus of the show.

Season Three is simply when it became Fonzie’s (Henry Winkler) show. When Happy Days premiered in 1974 after having its pilot run on Love American Style, it was a coming-of-age show revolving around Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) and his exploits with pals Potsie (Anson Williams) and Ralph (Donny Most). Fonzie was relegated to a supporting character.

Ironically the title of the first episode of Season Three is “Fonzie Moves In,” and that is exactly what he does in more ways than one. Fonzie rents the apartment above the Cunningham’s garage, which allows for the character to be involved in more storylines. Though not the complete end of the original format of the show; the writing was clearly on the bathroom wall.

Though Season Three still has some fun episodes, there are more stories revolving around the Fonz, than in the two previous seasons combined. What makes this season work more than those yet to come on DVD is that Fonzie is still just the local tough guy and mentor to Richie, and not yet the all-powerful superhero that he would eventually evolve into.

With legendary television director Jerry Paris at the helm for all but three of this season’s episodes, they all have a solid pace and a nostalgic feel to them. Some of the episodes are a bit too contrived such as “Two Angry Men” which has Mr. Cunningham (Tom Bosley) and Fonzie squaring off in court over a collapsed roof, but there are some gems here. In “Richie Fights Back” we see some of the best comedy generated by Ron Howard in his seven seasons on the series, and in “A Date with Fonzie” we are introduced to Laverne and Shirley.

There are actually no extras in this set, though they are listing the “second anniversary” episode as a special feature. Unfortunately it is nothing more than a contrived thirty-minute episode that revolves around a surprise birthday party for the Fonz where the regulars sit at Arnold’s and reminisce while clips from the previous two seasons are shown.

Recommendation: Get it while it is still good. Some bonus features would have been nice, but this is a must-have for the true fan, because it’s pretty much downhill from here.

EAT MY DUST (Supercharged Edition)

Written by Puño Estupendo

If you say "Roger Corman" to someone, it seems like they are either completely "in the know" or are happily ignorant of what that name means. I'm not ashamed in the least to say that I love what that man's done, but don't necessarily love all of the movies he's brought into the world. So when I see a DVD with the "Roger Corman" banner on the box art, there's a pretty fair chance that I'm going to check it out at some point.

Eat My Dust is a nice little slice out of time from the 1970s involving stock cars, beer drinking, short shorts, and Ron Howard. Released in 1976 and directed by Charles B. Griffith, it focuses more on fast driving and "good ol' boy" humor than it does on plot or character development. Everything you need to know is all given to you in record time: within the first 15 minutes or so.

Hoover Niebold sneaks his friends into the local stock car races for some semi-rowdy fun and teenage carrying-on. Ron Howard is outgoing and confident in the role, generally likable right away. Hoover's supposed to be quite the character even though his only claims to infamy are a Civil War-styled hat, a jacket with a bunch of racing patches, and "more speeding tickets than anyone else in the county." That would be Puckerbush County to be exact, where Hoover's biggest problems seem to be his father the sheriff and his lack of a blond girlfriend in hot pants. He gets a quick chance to rectify the second problem, but it's going to be hell on the first one.

The blond in hot pants is a little out of Hoover's league wants to go for a fast ride, but Hoover's truck can't give it to her. However, she sees one that will do just right. Big Bubba Jones has his winning stock car within pointing distance and she seals the movie's plot by aiming her finger at it and saying, "I want a ride in that car." Hoover obviously has it bad for her so it doesn't take long for him to be peeling out of there with hot pants riding shotgun and his friends in the back of Big Bubba's (now stolen) pride and joy. This all takes place by the 17-minute mark. From then on it's chase, chase, chase, with Hoover's dad trying to get all of the parents in check and putting a stop to this situation.

There's a huge group of secondary characters in use here. You've got the bumbling police force, the "good ol' boy" car racers, the parents of Hoover's friends, and some miscellaneous one- or two-line jokesters. I knew I was going to like this cast when I saw Clint Howard show up as one of Hoover's buds, but what sealed the deal for '70s fun was when Dave Madden (Reuben Kincaid from The Partridge Family) comes on screen as Big Bubba Jones.

Now, admittedly so, I understand that's not much of a plot but that's not what you watch these movies for in the first place. What there is to be enjoyed from watching Eat My Dust is the joy of a time and place with movies that just couldn't happen now. This flick has every cliché in the book and you love it for it. Cars driving through buildings, fruit baskets and crates that are stacked in the street for no apparent reason, everyone has a beer in their hand while they're behind the wheel, and there's no such thing as sexism. You know the drill. You've seen this kind of action played out a gazillion times and yet it's fun here.

For the Corman fans out there, you get some nice little asides. Director Griffith wrote Death Race 2000, which was directed by Paul Bartel, who makes a minor appearance as one of the kid's dad. Griffith also wrote the 1959 classic A Bucket Of Blood, which turns out to be a tavern of some sort in Puckerbush.

This is the kind of movie that should always be playing on some cable station on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. It's not the best movie of its kind but you won't need it to be. Just lie on the couch and smile; it's that kind of movie.