Lock Yourself In Weekend: Michael Ritchie’s America
You probably know his later films, which were more family friendly and comedic (Fletch, The Golden Child, Wildcats, The Fantasticks), but when director Michael Ritchie burst onto the scene with his first five films he showed a sharp-edge visual style and viewpoint which was startling. His docu-drama style inspired by Robert Altman presented a nasty side of America which showed society to be competitive and cynical. Although he occassionally tried to live up to his early reputation which later movies, they never achieved the greatness of his earlier films. Buy, rent or borrow these 5 classic films, get some snacks, and clear out your weekend. You can grab some of these on Netflix Instant right now, also check out instant rentals at Amazon.com, or iTunes or Hulu Plus.
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Downhill Racer (1969)
Loosely based on the extreme skiers popping up in the mountains of California and Colorado at the time, Robert Redford plays a reckless, competitive skier who refuses to accept coaching from his strategic minded coach, played by Gene Hackman. Usually likable Redford creates an egotistical, selfish athlete who’s drive for personal success clashes with the concept of team success we’ve brainwashed to believe in, and puts the elitism of sports like skiing at the forefront. The movie may be about the American Olympic ski team, but there is very little talk of patriotism. Ritchie’s very first film, his ability to capture the thrill, beauty, and danger of skiing still hasn’t been matched by another narrative filmmaker.
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Prime Cut (1972)
Gene Hackman plays a villian in this film about organized crime in the slaughterhouse indusry. While Prime Cut refers to cattle industry, it also is a commentary on the women in the film, specifically Sissy Spacek, who are forced into female slavery (and put on naked display in livestock cages). Ultimate movie tough guy Lee Marvin plays an enforcer for the Irish Mafia who goes on a rampage to bring Gene Hackman to justice, with revenge seeking Spacek by his side. There are few movies which have made female nudity feel so dirty, and Ritchie’s commentary of treating women like cattle is daring even be today’s standards.
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The Candidate (1972)
One of the most provocative political satires every produced, Robert Redford plays an idealistic Kennedyesque senator who is selected by Democratic spindoctor Peter Boyle to be put up as the democratic Presidential candidate. Selected for his good looks and charism, Redford lacks the experience and knowledge to take control of his campaign and allows Boyle to run his entire candidacy, turning Redford into nothng but a political puppet. Boyle’s treatment of presidential candidacy as nothing but a competition he wants to win is brilliant and made all the more pointed and cynical with the realism created by Ritchie’s documentary style.
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Smile (1972)
Made in the same documentary style as The Candidate, Ritchie next took on the women and men behind beauty pagents. The teenage girls in The Young American Miss are competitive, backbitting women who happily use their sexuality to get what they want, specifically young Annette O’Toole who compares beauty pagent prizes to the scholarships given to male athletes. But this is also the story of the emasculation of men, specifically Nicholas Pryer’s depressed husband of pagent organizer Barbara Eden and head judge Bruce Dern who is in complete denial of the pathetic suburban life he’s leading. In fact, the only man who shows a willingness to take a stand and call people out for bad behavior is Michael Kidd, as the homosexual guest choreographer.[
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Bad News Bears (1975)
Probably Michael Ritchie’s most beloved movie, he turned the idealized All-American sport of baseball into a foulmouthed comedy which is far more accurate about childhood than many wanted to admit (but has been repackaged in sport movies ever since). The original Kenny Powers, Walter Matthau, plays an alcoholic former baseball player hired to coach a team of the worst players in the town after a civil suit is filed by one of the parents whose child was excluded from little league because he lacks skills. With hilariously realistic kids, including bigger names Tatum O’Neal and Jackie Earl Haley, and the movie is happily un-PC in its humor, all the while calling out the ridiciousness lengths people will go in the name of fairness.
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