Review: Miracle

Rated: PG-13

At the Circus

Rating: ***

Twice in the last 12 months Hollywood has provided us with sports movies based on real events. The question, of course, is whether such films, lacking suspense about the known ending, can maintain interest.

Quite amazingly, both "Seabiscuit," the tale of the legendary race horse, and "Miracle," the story of the U.S. 1980 Olympic hockey team, end up being absorbing tales that aren't hampered by our knowledge of the ending.

While "Seabiscuit" is in most all ways the better film, "Miracle" is an uplifting and apparently accurate story of a memorable moment in sports history. Members of the hockey team have reportedly given the film a thumbs up, an important endorsement.

The focus of "Miracle" is on the coach and on how he molded a group of amateurs into a team capable of defeating the professionals from the USSR at the Olympics. That's not a unique angle n many sports movies involve an underdog overcoming all odds to triumph.

What makes this movie special is its attention to the details of coaching -- endless conditioning drills, pointed criticism during practice, one-on-one coach/player confrontation and one-on-one coach/player reconciliation. The story also takes time to focus on the how the coach's absorption with winning takes an inevitable toll on his family.

Kurt Russell is convincing as the coach; he avoids the temptation to glamorize Brooks, nor does he stereotype him. Brooks seems real.

As the team slowly takes shape -- in less than one year -- we can see the ingredients upon which it was built. Clearly Brooks' did successfully craft an unselfish team with an exhausting work ethic. And, most of all, the team peaked at the exact right moment.

The weakness of the film, from my view, is that the game sequences are not as riveting as they might have been. By contrast, "Seabiscuit" had me on the edge of my seat during the races.

It is undeniable, however, that the final moments of "Miracle" are powerful. The game ends with defense -- shutting down the Russians for 10 minutes. The portrayal of the all-out physical sacrifice by the Americans and the brilliant substitutions by the coach is vintage sports cinema.

It's refreshing to see a sports movie end with defense rather than with the tape-measure home run or the 45-foot three-point shot n or the 45-foot putt, for that matter.

And by emphasizing defense, the movie emphasizes teamwork over individual performance -- and that's clearly the movie's intent.

As someone who's coached throughout my life, I love a good sports movie. To my delight, I've now seen two in the last 12 months. In both "Seabiscuit" and "Miracle" human values are interlaced into the story to lift the tales out of the specific sport and into the realm of universal human experience.

The old-fashioned values of hard work and unselfishness are celebrated. And coaches are shown sensitively blending the kick-in-the-butt with the arm-around-the-shoulder. Parents know how hard it can be to find the balance between discipline and compassion -- and stories of how others managed to walk that tightrope without losing their balance are always welcome.

The movie also celebrates amateur athletics, ending with Brooks reflecting on how the arrival of "dream teams" packed with professional athletes will make miracles like this impossible. It's hard to argue with Brooks after seeing the joy on the face of a bunch of 20 year olds as they play solely for love of the game and love of country. There are no spoiled rich athletes in this tale -- only hard-working guys who realize that criticism makes them stronger and who understand that the team's name on the front of their jersey is more important than their own name on the back.

Boomers bare it all ... again

Review: Calendar Girls

Rated: PG-13

At the Myrna Loy

Rating: **

Well, 40 years after burning their bras during the '60s, the boomers are slipping out of the halters again -- this time as seniors.

First 57-year-old Diane Keaton takes off her clothes for a nude scene in "Something's Gotta Give." Now Helen Mirren, 58, and Julie Walters, 52, and Annette Crosbie, 70, join a group of gray-haired friends to take it all off in "Calendar Girls." And the list goes on: Remember Kathy Bates in the hot tub with Jack in "About Schmidt?"

What's up there? Is this accidental, or do we have a new liberation movement afloat? Curious, I searched for interviews with the stars of "Calendar Girls" to see just what they had to say about agreeing to play nude scenes at the age when having a SAG card means something different.

But first, a word about the movie. "Calendar Girls" is a terrific concept in search of a better script. Based on a true story, "Calendar Girls" spins a true tale about a Yorkshire chapter of a women's club who decide upon a most provocative fund-raising project: a nude calendar with the senior ladies taking it all off to round up money for a good cause.

The film starts off like a classic, with hilarious scene after hilarious scene as these quite ordinary proper British ladies work up the courage to strip for charity. Their inspiration comes from a poem that proclaims that women get better with age -- and that "the last phase is the most glorious."

Determined to share their glory, the women hire a shy photographer to photograph them doing ordinary things -- playing piano, baking, singing Christmas carols. In the nude, of course.

The cast itself is glorious, but when the crew leaves for the United States on a publicity tour, the cinematic boat begins to take on water. A conflict erupts as one woman accuses another of turning a good idea into a selfish crusade for fame. One family comes apart as the husband and son see mom choose fame over family. Sadly, these loose ends are left hanging, and the film ends weakly, with a myriad of questions unanswered.

Despite that letdown, it's impossible not to celebrate the movie's spirit -- and the spirit of its plucky cast. Clearly this film is a celebration of women who like their wrinkles -- and wish to remind the world that Brittany Spears is more plastic than pleasing.

It's a film worth seeing to cast a vote for mature movies about mature people. But it's not going to tickle the celluloid veins of a cineaste.

Back to the more interesting topic: What's with the parade of naked sagging bodies on the screen?

More than one reviewer -- and quite a few actors -- say it's a byproduct of the baby boomers growing older.

Marty Meitus, food editor of the online "Rocky Mountain News," put it succinctly.

"I'm so excited," wrote Meitus, "Naked older women are 'in' this year."

Chris Hewitt of Knight-Rider agrees.

"Young people aren't the only ones who are sexual or confident or comfortable in their own skins," says Hewitt. "Middle-age people feel all the same things. In other words, 'We're here. We're not Britney Spears. Get used to it.'"

The cast of "Calendar Girls" predictably had to answer a lot of questions about the subject of their naked AARP bodies being on screen-- albeit discreetly photographed for this PG-13 movie.

Helen Mirren, a veteran British actress who has made a career out of refusing to be well behaved, was delighted with the film's message.

"Obviously it's a film that celebrates women," said Mirren. "Not just physically but emotionally. These are great women."

In one interview, Mirren reflects on growing old.

"It was a difficult period between 54 and 58," she says, "when you feel like an old bird. You're no longer a mature good-looking woman. But after that, it's fine."

Mirren, who says she avoids Hollywood movies because they are commercial ventures where actors are only commodities, credits a Greek wedding with opening the door to a new kind of movie for the baby boomers.

"I think the success of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' is (helping) Hollywood find an audience they'd forgotten about: People over 40."

Mirren recalls laughing during the shoots. The women requested lots of champagne before the nude scenes -- and they all were proud of their oldest colleague, Annette Crosbie, 70, because "she was the coolest and she has a great figure."

In an interview with the "Latino Review," Julie Walters (who won a Tony for "Educating Rita") offered her own take on the project to writer Julian Roman.

"Women in their 50s are sort of invisible when it comes to sexuality, bodies and all of that," said Walters. "I hope it gives out a message that beauty is associated with youth, and obviously that's beautiful, but there is an exchange that takes place. You can exchange that for wisdom, hopefully, of the life you've led, within that is the beauty."

Writer after writer offered the same view: that seeing movies about older people who aren't ashamed of their bodies or the sexuality is a trend that's just taking off -- a byproduct of the aging of the baby-boomers. Such films are "riding the prevailing cultural wind" wrote one critic.

The remaining question, of course, is whether moviegoers will attend such films. My guess is that such films will have their biggest profits from DVD release -- allowing the seniors to see the films at home, near the sofa.

But I may be wrong.

The auditorium at the Myrna Loy was packed on Sunday -- and the woman in front of me was a 70ish lady who laughed heartily -- and without embarrassment -- throughout the film. I half expected her to stand up at the end and offer the battle cry: "We're here. We're not Britney Spears. Get used to it."