The Terminal (2004)
The place where we work becomes
something like our second home and the people we work
with become our extended family. That may not be what
filmmaker Steven Spielberg is intending to say in
his latest film, but that becomes the main theme exposed
in the Capraesque film "The Terminal." The true theme
of the film is supposed to be about waiting and the
passage of time but Spielberg, a motivated workaholic
if there ever was one, doesn't have the patience or,
more importantly, the human experience to project
such a theme into this film. (Spielberg is artsy but
before that he is mainstream.) So, instead, we get
a film that is more about how people who are thrown
together often come together as a family.
It doesn't matter all that much
because regardless of what "The Terminal" is about
or what it is supposed to be about, it is another
film that contains a powerhouse performance from Tom
Hanks. We will probably all agree that Hanks has proved
himself an amazing actor again and again in numerous
films. And this performance is certainly showy and
flawed, but damn good all the same. Let's face it,
the man is awesome. When I think that he started as
a goofy little comedian in TV's "Bosom Buddies" and
is now rightly one of the most well-loved and well-respected
actors of his time, well, it almost brings a little
tear to my eye. Who knew? I think no one in the world
could possibly be more surprised than Hanks himself.
This is just the latest in a long line of wonderful
performances.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be
said for his co-stars because, well, none of them
are given very much to do worth noting. The love interest
here is played by Catherine Zeta- Jones who seems
like such a obnoxious bitch to me in real life (and
her acting does nothing to nullify this idea on screen),
I can't see Hanks' little immigrant ever wasting a
second on her. His rival is Stanley Tucci who is given
a role that barely works. In the plot, Hanks' immigrant
must stay in the airport and Tucci's character fluctuates
between trying to help him get out and trying to make
him stay depending on which contrivance the scripters
here need for the plot twist they are working on.
Tucci, a fine actor, can barely keep up with what
his motivation is supposed to be. Meanwhile Chi McBride
and hottie Diego Luna (who is given a stereotypical
Mexican moustache here) are not asked to do much of
anything. Even so, with his few sparse minutes with
Hanks, Luna makes the most of his character and gives
us someone that we instantly care about. Of all the
supporting cast, Luna does the best work here.
"The Terminal" may be typical Spielbergian
Hollywood pabulum but it makes us feel good and has
its heart in the right place. That's all we really
want from this artsy yet mainstream director and his
megawatt star, isn't it?
Notes:
Jazz musician Benny Golson has a
cameo. Also with Michael Nouri. Tony Randall who died
just days before the film was released, can be seen
on a TV screen in an "I Love New York" commercial.
The McBride role was originally
going to be played by Bernie Mac. Andrew Niccol was
set to direct at one point.
The film was also known as simply
"Terminal" but one assumes Dreamworks dubbed that
"too much of a downer" and added the article in the
title.
Based loosely on a true incident.
More about that story can be found at Snopes.com
The film's original ending, where
CZJ's character goes into the city with Hanks' was
re-shot.
Viewed in Austin in June 2004.
