DVD Review: Jayne Mansfield’s Car

Jayne Mansfield’s Car is an interesting and engaging family drama set in the south in 1969, when a death brings two very different, though perhaps equally dysfunctional, families together. It boasts a fairly incredible ensemble cast including Robert Duvall, John Hurt, Kevin Bacon, Robert Patrick, Ray Stevenson, Frances O’Connor, Ron White and Billy Bob Thornton, who also co-wrote and directed the film.

The film opens with a small anti-war demonstration in the town of Morrison, Alabama, while the two local cops look on. Meanwhile, the older folk are in a barber shop, discussing politics. Jim Caldwell (Robert Duvall) says, “You ought to have to be from here to run for office, the way I see it.” Another guy tells him, “Well, they’ve been here some forty-odd years, though, Jim.” Jim is then upset to learn that one of his sons, Carroll (Kevin Bacon) was the leader of the anti-war demonstration. He seems to be leaning pretty far to the right, so the sudden shot of Jim seated by a stream is completely welcome, for it makes us feel for him. It makes him more human.

This family has money. They live in a mansion. Skip (Billy Bob Thornton), one of the other sons, has a small collection of sports cars. But they are far from being trouble-free. Skip, though fifty years old, still lives at home. Jimbo (Robert Patrick), though married and with a son, also still lives at home. Jim lives partially in the past, harboring an anger, and also a morbid passion for car accidents. The family dynamic is almost immediately apparent during an early dinner scene at the house. Jim is interestingly quiet for the beginning of this scene, and he when he does speak, it’s to say basically what he said in the barber shop, which now simply comes off as rather sad instead of strong and indignant like the first time.

A phone call from England interrupts their dinner. Jim’s ex-wife – the mother to all of his children – has died and is going to be buried in Alabama. A death in the family is an easy way to make an audience feel for a group of people, but it’s really when Jim says, “She deserved to be with her people, don’t matter what she’d done to us” that you become involved and drawn in.

Sadly, the backstory of Naomi (Jim’s ex-wife) is provided by some clunky exposition by two supporting characters in a car. But that is one of only a very few weak moments in this film. Most of the scenes are strong, and work to develop the characters in this character-driven film. There is an early scene when Jim hears of a car accident over the radio and goes to see it. There is a nice moment when the two cops see him coming and exchange a few quick words before he arrives – “that son of a bitch shows up at every wreck there is,” “rich folks ain’t never got anything to do.” And as Jim gets closer, they greet him in a friendly manner. It’s a wonderful moment, showing perhaps that Jim doesn’t get the respect he thinks he does, and from the very people he’d expect it most. (It’s also interesting the order in which we’re given information. We’re allowed to develop our own opinion about Jim and his curiosity about accidents before learning that he actually was a medic in the first World War, so could actually provide some help in these situations.)

John Hurt plays Kingsley Bedford, Naomi’s second husband, who arrives for the funeral with his two grown children, Phillip (Ray Stevenson) and Camilla (Frances O’Connor). There is tension at first between the two families, who had never met before. But they then begin to get to know each other. Billy Bob Thornton is funny when he tells Camilla: “I like the way everything you say sounds. I wish I could speak English.” Actually, much of the film’s humor comes from their interactions. At one point he asks her straight out, “I was just wondering, sometime could we just slip off and you get naked and talk English and recite something, I don’t know, and just let me beat off to you.”

The film is really about these characters and their relationships. Often it’s the most quiet, most personal moments that are the best. For example, the scene where Jim asks Kingsley how he met Naomi is absolutely perfect and touching. The scene where Skip tells Camilla about the war is another excellent, quiet, intensely personal scene.

By the way, the film’s title comes from the car that Jayne Mansfield died in, a car that was shipped around to different towns where people could buy tickets to look at it.

Special Feature

The DVD contains one special feature, “Jayne Mansfield’s Car: Behind The Scenes,” which features interviews with Billy Bob Thornton, Robert Patrick, Ray Stevenson and Kevin Bacon. Billy Bob Thornton says the film is about how different generations view war, and it’s about “the romanticism of tragedy.” Robert Patrick talks about how they moved quickly on this film, doing between one and three takes. There is also some footage taken on the set.

Jayne Mansfield’s Car was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 10, 2013 through Anchor Bay.

DVD Review: Mike Birbiglia: “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” (2013)

Mike Birbiglia’s new comedy special, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, proves what an amazing talent he has as both a storyteller and a comedian. Here he tells a great story, with wonderful detours and side roads but always coming back to the main thread at just the right moment. He even allows serious and sweet moments into his routine. The main story is his relationship to Jenny and how that has changed him. But the road he takes to get there is truly hilarious and often touching.

He starts by talking about how a few years ago everyone he knew started getting married. He starts with a somewhat general statement that I can relate to: “Sometimes when I think I am right about something, it can be a real source of tension between me and the person I’m arguing with, and the reason it’s a source of tension is that I’m right.” He talks about how he thinks marriage is insane, and mentions how fifty percent of marriages end in divorce. He adds: “That’s just first marriages. Second marriages, sixty to sixty-two percent end in divorce. Third marriages, seventy to seventy-five percent end in divorce. That’s a learning curve.”

But don’t worry – he can be romantic, like when he says, “From the moment I met Jenny, I knew I wanted to sleep with her at least once.” And: “I remember the first time I fell in love. It was in high school, it was that first time where you fall in love and you’re just like, ‘This is it, I found her, I’m seventeen years old and I’m done.’”  I love his material about failed attempts at kisses, and about seeing people making out. “Making out is just sloppy. It’s like watching a dog eat spaghetti.” He also mentions how the way women argue can be maddening. “That’s how Jenny argues things sometimes. She’ll just say, ‘That’s how I feel.’ And I’ll say, ‘That’s not an argument.’”

He also has some wonderful self-deprecating humor. “If I stare at the mirror, I get angry. Like I feel like I’m complaining about a bad call a ref just made. I’m like, ‘Come on! You’re blind if you’re leaving the house like that!’”

His bit about the Scrambler is brilliant, especially as he acts out the motion of being on that carnival ride. (I had a similar experience when I was a kid, trying to tell the guy to stop the ride each time we flew by him – unsuccessfully, as my friend proceeded to vomit onto us. I never went on that ride again.)

Of course, I love that he rips on Texas: “I was coming back from a five-day stint in Texas, which was awful, because it was in Texas.” And I love his rant against marriage, about bringing the government into a relationship, and how people who don’t believe at all in a particular religion will have the ceremony performed in a church.

He really only breaks once from his routine to directly address an audience member. He jumps off the stage to grab someone’s leg who is wearing no shoes. Only in Seattle.

This is a comedy performance that I think I’ll be returning to, as it’s really like a one-man play, with a true story arc and lots of wonderful moments along the way. In that way, it’s quite a bit different from most stand-up specials.

Special Features

The DVD includes a fifteen-minute behind-the-scenes documentary titled How To Make Whatever This Is. It begins with Mike Birbiglia on stage, talking about how he’d done this show so many times, and kept tinkering with it. Mike Berkowitz (Mike’s agent) talks to Mike about the show being good enough, and it being time to stop “fixing” it. There is footage of Mike Birbiglia on The Bob And Tom Show, as well as footage from an earlier performance of the show. Jen Stein talks about how the show has broken boundaries in her life. Mike talks about how it’s hard for him to leave this show behind; after all, this material is his life.

There is also some bonus footage. The first is a short bit cut from the show in which he interacts with an audience member, imitating the person’s pose in her chair. The second is a post-show question and answer session, in which he talks about his sleeping disorder and a bit about the performance. The third is Mike asking folks to turn off their phones at the beginning of the show. He does a great bit about how there is no customer service anymore, how it’s difficult to get a real person on the phone.

My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend was released on DVD on November 25, 2013 through New Wave Dynamics. The DVD is approximately 76 minutes. My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend was also released on CD, that disc being approximately 72 minutes. One thing that is cut is the bit where he points out the audience member who has no shoes or socks.