I think there should be some films and filmmakers off limits to Hollywood's bizarre obsession with remakes and updates, and certainly anything by Frank Capra should be on that list. Then again, I always figured Hollywood would never be so stupid as to remake Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO, and I was dead wrong on that one. I must learn never to be surprised at anything Tinseltown does these days. As I've said on many an occasion, there is way too much cocaine in Hollywood.
For those of you who don't know the original film, MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN is the story of a simple country man who comes into a lot of money, moves to a big city to use the money to help people in need, and is soon put on trial for his sanity. Gary Cooper stars as Deeds, and Jean Arthur is a reporter who falls in love with him. It's typical "Capra-corn", but it's vastly entertaining and it works.
There are no more Gary Coopers any more, just as there are no more Humphrey Bogarts, Jimmy Cagneys, W.C. Fieldses, Jimmy Stewarts or Daffy Ducks. But there are a handful of modern day Hollywood actors who could be compared to Cooper. Tom Hanks comes to mind. Adam Sandler, most definitely, does not. I have a hard time using the names Adam Sandler and Shemp Howard in the same sentence, let alone Gary Cooper. Gary Cooper was known for his laconic stoicism, and his iconic screen presence. Adam Sandler is known for poop jokes, being loud and obnoxious and running one-gag sketches into the ground when he was on Saturday Night Live. Here and there I have heard good things about him - such as how BIG DADDY and THE WEDDING SINGER were both kind of sweet. But then I remember the poster of BIG DADDY - Sandler and a little boy peeing together on a wall in public - and I shake my head and wonder why he suddenly thinks he's Gary Cooper. (Gary Pooper, maybe.)
As far as I know from the pre-film publicitiy, Winona Ryder will essay the Jean Arthur role. Now, anybody who knows me personally will know that my love for Ms. Ryder is all-encompassing (as well as unrequited), so I will be remain kind enough to think that the only reason she would be involved in a project like this is because since the very good GIRL, INTERRUPTED, her career has been like London during the war - bombs, bombs and more bombs. She knows she's a good actress, but she also knows she's no Julia Roberts, who can go seven or eight years between hits and still command beaucoup bucks. So Ryder's agent calls and says, "Hey, Adam Sandler is remaking a Capra classic" and, wanting to work and work quickly, she agrees to co-star. At least that's how I rationalize it in my world.
Go To Page: 1 2
