Young Indiana

Possums, I've clearly been neglecting this blog. It's been months since I went on and on about the fashion in Running on Empty. In my defense, I've started getting up really early to write, which means I have to go to bed really early (because I adore sleep), and so movies have become harder to find time for. Which, I recognize, hampers my River Phoenix Movie Completist project.

Accurate representation of me in the mornings
Photo Credit: niyosstudio from Pixabay

With a whopping running time of 2 hours and 8 minutes, I thought I might have to watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade over two nights, but possums, for you, I bravely completed it in one. No need to thank me.

Although in truth, for the purposes of this post, I probably could have stopped watching the movie twelve minutes and twenty seconds in. Because that's exactly how long River Phoenix is on screen. He plays young Indiana in the opening sequence, and then Harrison Ford takes over (and he's fine, I guess), and Phoenix is wrapped and off to film I Love You To Death (great movie which we'll talk about in, if history is any indicator, several months).

Whatever, he'll do
Photo Credit: Freeimage4life

So I'm going to focus mostly on those first twelve minutes. I won't say much about the rest of the movie because it's Indiana Jones - you probably have a pretty good idea of what you're in for. Do you like watching people punch Nazis, boat chases, piles of squirming sewer rats, and excessive repetition of the word 'penitent'? Then you'll like the movie. Fair warning, though, that women aren't treated terribly well (wait, there's misogyny in action movies? Shocking!), and the part where Indy and his Dad realize they've both slept with the same woman is gross and problematic. Okay, done.

Back to those first twelve minutes. We meet young Indiana, aged 13, according to Wikipedia. I would have watched this movie when I was 12 or 13, and I can assure you, none of the boys my age looked like that, but it's Hollywood, so I give it a pass. Indy is on a boy scout horseback riding trip in Utah, 1912. He explores some caves (as you do) with his less than courageous friend, and they stumble upon some bad men doing bad things to...treasure? There's treasure/artifacts in the cave, that's all you need to know.

Shiny!
Photo Credit: Pixabay

Indy's moral compass points due north, and he knows that these artifacts belong in a museum, so he tricks the men to get the treasure and then we are treated to an excellent chase sequence on a circus train that features a rhino wielding its horn as a weapon. Indy manages to escape and takes the artifact to the sheriff, who makes him return it to the bad men and their mysterious leader, played by a Harrison Ford impersonator (clearly the effect they're going for).

We also get a first glance, or rather a first hear, of Indiana's father, who's a cool cat more interested in Latin verbs than his son. All great set-up for the meat of the movie.

Spoiler - Sean Connery plays Indy's  distant dad, and, further spoiler, by the end of the movie, they've grown closer!
Photo Credit: Georges Biard

I'm going to dig into all things Phoenix in a moment, but these twelve minutes form a fantastic mini origin story. Fans of the franchise are given so many gifts. In the caves, Indy's cowardly friend is spooked by a snake, but Indy picks it up calmly and chastises his friend. But wait, you say, Indiana Jones famously hates snakes! How could the screenwriter make such a mistake?

Fear not, friends, this is no mistake. Because in a few minutes we are going to see the event that causes Indiana Jones' ophidiophobia (that's the fancy word for fear of snakes, and in case you're about to be impressed, I had no idea what it was before googling 'what is a fear of snakes called' and then I had to check three times that I spelled it properly. Probably should have left this part out and let you all think I'm a freaking word genius, but here we are).

I hope you don't suffer from ophidiophobia. If you do, you will likely not appreciate how ADORABLE this little friend is!
Photo Credit: Tony Alter

On the circus train, Indy is trying to get away from the bad guys when the suspension bridge he's climbing across above the reptile car gives way, and he falls into a box of very wiggly snakes, thus the fear is born. The sequence also shows us how Indiana gets his start with a whip when he falls into the lion's car and grabs the whip hanging on the wall. The first crack strikes Indy, and we see blood on his chin, which explains the scar on Harrison Ford's chin (the actual scar, I have just learned from the internet, came from a far less interesting car crash).

We even see how Indy gets his iconic hat. The Harrison Ford impersonator gives him the famous Panama hat after Indy is forced to return the stolen artifact that should be in a museum. Bad Harrison Ford gifts him the hat presumably because he likes Indy's moxie. 

Iconic
Photo Credit: Gary Stewart

Once Young Indy gets the hat, that's it for River Phoenix. Old Indiana Jones then spends 116 minutes fighting his way through Portugal, Venice, Germany/Austria, and Turkey. He travels by blimp at one point. There are worse ways to spend 116 minutes.

I'll speak briefly, as I always seem to, about Phoenix's hair, which is floppy and glorious and completely wrong for the period. A quick google search of men's hairstyles in 1912 shows us close cropped do's, mostly flattened to the scalp. No doubt styling products did big business in this era, so Phoenix's shaggy mop that falls dramatically in his face is anachronistic, but who cares, because this was exactly the way Young Amy always hoped River Phoenix looked in his movies. Zero disappointment from this corner.  

I have just learned this River Phoenix action figure exists (thank you internet), and my life goal is now to obtain it. Look, he comes with snakes! SNAKES!!!
Photo Credit: The Pop Culture Geek Network

Regular readers of this blog (hi Mom, hi Dad!) will remember that we've seen the pairing of River Phoenix and Harrison Ford before. Phoenix played Ford's son in The Mosquito Coast. This time they're playing the same character at different ages, and Phoenix gets to give his best Harrison Ford impression, and as usual, shows great skills. He's very earnest and steadfast, just as you would hope 13 year old Indiana Jones would be. Also scrappy and quick-thinking. So good job, casting director Maggie Cartier!

This twelve minute opening sequence inspired an entire other franchise, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, a TV show beginning in 1992 and running two seasons, then spinning off into a series of four Family Channel TV movies. I remember when this show was on the air, but don't remember watching a single episode (I wasn't the only one - Wikipedia tells me it was cancelled due to large budgets and low viewership). Likely I was subconsciously protesting the casting, which featured Sean Patrick Flanery as Young Indiana, whom I will forever after refer to as the poor-man's River Phoenix. No shade intended (I'm sure he's a great actor), but there can only be one Young Indy. To be honest, I even resent Harrison Ford a little, and it was his part first. Flanery didn't stand a chance.

If my parents had bought me this chocolate marshmallow cereal, maybe I would have enjoyed a bowl while watching The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. I could have saved the show with my viewership! Missed opportunity.
Photo Credit: tOkKa

Despite feeling like the movie could have used a lot more Phoenix, I enjoyed my re-visitation of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It's a dude movie, to be sure, one that triumphantly fails the Bechdel test, but it's Indiana Jones! And, as far as I'm concerned, it's the definitive ending to the franchise, because we don't acknowledge the shameful disaster that is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Next up, as I mentioned earlier, is I Love You To Death, the 1990 Kevin Kline comedy loosely based on a true story. I've seen it before, and remember enjoying it (Tracey Ullman is in it! She's incredible!). Phoenix, if memory serves, gets to play a bumbling doofus alongside Keanu Reeves. Right, it's all coming back to me now why Young Amy liked this movie so much. 

Incredible Tracey Ullman with incredible 80's hair!
Photo Credit: Alan Light

You should watch it in the interim as well. Don't worry, you'll probably have several months to get to it before I'm back.

Until then, possums!

Hooray for Jumpsuits and Martha Plimpton!

I know you've all been waiting with rapt anticipation for my assessment, and I'm here to let you know that you can breathe a collective sigh of relief because the 1988 River Phoenix movie Running on Empty TOTALLY HOLDS UP!!!

Super glad to be swiping left on this one!
Image by John Hain from Pixabay 

The politics of the movie are strikingly modern, without a whiff of misogyny, no homophobic "jokes" played for awkward laughs, no troubling stereotypes at all. It is not a terribly racially diverse movie, but if that's the worst thing you can say about something made 33 years ago, I think you're doing okay.

In fact, even the fashion holds up! First, check out Christine Lahti absolutely rocking this jumpsuit that I would 100% wear today.

Amazing

The white t-shirt, relaxed-fit jeans look, which both Lahti and Plimpton are costumed in, is also incredible, and if I ever wear hard pants again, I'm stealing this style.

Could be worth ditching the sweat pants for

I would totally wear this dress that Plimpton has on when she attends her dad's stuffy chamber music concert in their living room.

Curtain matching dress (not a euphemism)

Very fine looks ladies, and congrats to costume designer Anna Hill Johnstone for both nailing the look of the late 80s, and also designing some fabulous costumes that are still relevant.

To the movie: Annie and Arthur Pope and their two kids have been on the run from the FBI for 15 years after the parents took part in a protest bombing that went wrong and paralyzed a janitor. They have to pick up and move town when the merest hint of a G-Man is in the air. Their oldest son Danny (Phoenix) is a talented pianist, and the movie shows how his options grow limited the longer he stays with his family on the run, but staying together is the only way they've survived so far. So, not an easy or light watch, but damn it's a good movie!

This movie marked my introduction to River Phoenix. I likely would have watched it in 1989 or 1990.  I remember the VHS copy and being at a friend's house, which means I would have been 11 or 12 at the time. It's not a typical teen-movie at all (my husband Sam commented upon this, his first watch, that he would have been bored as toast watching it at 12 years old), and I like to think that it was more than just Phoenix's non-threatening boy good looks that made it a hit for me (although, that didn't hurt). It's not just me who thinks this was a stand-out performance; Phoenix was nominated for an academy award for this film (he lost to Kevin Kline for A Fish Called Wanda).

Running on Empty was the only time Phoenix was nominated for an Oscar
Photo credit: Mike Beuselinck via Flickr

I think the reason Phoenix is so strong in this movie, and why a movie like A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon falls apart for me, is that here he's pure vulnerability. Looking forward (which we'll do a little more near the end) to the roles that I've enjoyed him in the most, they're all ones that showcase his vulnerability as a performer, let him settle into that space and explore it. So good job director Sidney Lumet (I'm sure he reads this blog religiously)!

This movie also gave me such a gift in the casting of Martha Plimpton. First of all, she's a wonder on screen (as we saw during her brief appearance in The Mosquito Coast). She also gave (and gives) me hope. Because she's absolutely gorgeous, but she's not what I would call pretty. Her character has a sharp wit and speaks her mind. Judd Hirsch's character describes her lovingly as being "full of beans." She's real and a bit dark, she's funny and loving, she doesn't look like she just stepped off a fashion runway, but you want to look at her all day. In the 1980s, women and girls were allowed, briefly, to be full people like this. And they were celebrated for it! Plimpton was an on-screen love interest for both River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves, making her highly aspirational for young Amy. In fact, she even dated Phoenix in real life. Staring in the 1990s, a trend began where women started to need to look more and more polished, with fewer edges or sharp lines, and definitions of beauty began to get very constricted, which was hard to grow up with. Martha Plimpton, for a brief moment before all that, was everything, and I'm so glad.

Walking the red carpet at the Oscars
Photo credit: Alan Light via Flickr

Possums, we're heading into what I believe is the Golden Age of River Phoenix movies, which began here with Running on Empty. Next up is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and we're also going to watch I Love You To Death, Dogfight, and Sneakers, all of which I have seen and loved, and also My Own Private Idaho which I watched for the first time waaaaaaaaaaay too young, and didn't understand, but I'm going to do some research going into that one, and I hope to be in a better position to appreciate it.

Me, hard at work, getting ready to understand Gus Van Sant
Photo credit: via Pixnio

So rest up, my lovelies, 'cause we've got a lot of movie watching to do!

Little Ni-who-ta?

I might not have been in the best headspace when we sat down to watch the next movie in River Phoenix's filmography. Three of his movies came out in 1988. The first was A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, which blog readers will remember was not well-received (by me). 

The last Phoenix movie of 1988 was Running on Empty, which marked my introduction to River lo these many years ago, and which I immediately loved (both him and the movie). I've seen it many times, but probably not for at least 25 years, and I'm so looking forward to seeing it again, and desperately hoping that it lives up to my memory and isn't full of homophobia or racism or other 1980s disappointments. 

PLEASE let Running on Empty have aged well!
Photo Credit: Matt Brooks

And the middle Phoenix film of 1988 is the one this post is about, Little Nikita. Caught between the horror of Jimmy Reardon, and my baited anticipation of Running on Empty, it's possible I wasn't as focused as I could have been. The notes I took while watching Little Nikita are sparse because...it's fine. It's a perfectly fine movie. It's a Russian spy story that seems to hold together. Sydney Poitier is in it and he's lovely (fun fact that my husband reminded me of: Poitier and Phoenix will work together again in the 1992 movie Sneakers which I am also looking forward to re-watching). My biggest complaint is that the audience learns the big secret in the movie early on and we then spend about 30 minutes watching Phoenix learn the same thing which isn't the most riveting storytelling, but it's fine. There's a perfectly fine chase scene at the end, and it's all   just   fine.

There's some fun early exploration of technology when Poitier's computer pulls up a "record" (see: single line of green text) of someone who has died, but that same individual, years after their death, opened a business, and the computer then blasts us with a very large text box in a different font declaring "DOES NOT COMPUTE." I actually wish this was how computers worked, so when I typed into Google "do I need a hyper-realistic dinosaur costume," it just tells me "DOES NOT COMPUTE" and I have my answer (I do need one, by the way. I don't care what Google has to say). 

That's some snazzy early coding right there!
Photo Credit: Raimond Spekking

Watching the opening credits it struck me that there are a lot of guys named Richard in this movie. Three of the main actors (after Poitier and Phoenix) are all named Richard, one of the characters is named Richard, and the movie was directed by a Richard. I thought about making a joke that this was a real dick movie, and I guess I just did.

So while I don't have a whole lot to say about this movie plot-wise, I have a few things to say about River. Because while teenage Amy would not have liked River's character Jimmy Reardon (god, I hope she wouldn't have liked him!), I think she would have been smitten with Jeff Grant in Little Nikita. His hair is very swoopy and floppy, which for some reason was important to her. He twice (!) wears a tank top. And he goes on a completely charming date with his girlfriend Barbara in the middle of the movie. It's a scene that does nothing to move the plot along, but I loved it. They're at a drive in with a bunch of other kids, then Jeff and Barbara split off, share one kiss (chaste, but not too chaste), and then absolutely devour their french fries. A date like that with a non-threatening boy would have been right up young Amy's alley. Heck, I would still consider that  a slam-dunk of a date.

Primo Reading Material
Still shot from The Simpsons

I don't believe Little Nikita will stick with me, and that's not entirely the movie's fault, but rather its placement in Phoenix's filmography. I feel confident in saying that if you're going to watch one River Phoenix movie from 1988, it should be Running on Empty, but I will confirm that in our next installment!