32 ARTS
THEWEEK 29 February 2020FilmOnpaper,Greedlooks“sopromising”,said
EdCumminginTheIndependent.Inthis“thinly
fictionalised”satireofthelifeofSirPhilipGreen,
SteveCooganplaysSirRich“Greedy”McCreadie,
anunscrupuloushigh-streetclothingtycoonwho
isplanningalavish,celebrity-heavytogapartyon
theGreekislandofMykonostocelebratehis60th
birthday(seepage 56 ).Sadly,themoviesquanders
“agoodideaandanexcellentcast”,bywantingto
haveboth“itscheapgigglesanditsSeriousMessage”;
itfailsonbothfronts.Greeddeliversitsjokeswithall
thesubtletyofa“chainsaw”,saidOliverShahinThe
SundayTimes.Thetone“ping-pongsawkwardlybetweencomedyanddrama”aswriter-director
MichaelWinterbottomshoehornsin“issuesdujour”–includingthemigrationcrisisandsweatshop
labour.Cooganhassomedecentone-liners,buthisMcCreadieis“actuallylessextravagant,
obnoxiousandridiculous”thantherealGreen;he’sa“two-dimensionalogre”withoutafraction
ofGreen’s“Kray-likemenace”.ThesamecanbesaidforMcCreadie’sairheadex-wife(playedby
IslaFisher),whoisafarcryfromthe“graspingLadyMacbeththatisTinaGreen”.Greed
Dir:MichaelWinterbottom
1hr44mins(15)Disappointingsatire
inspiredbyPhilipGreen★★InMexicoCity,fewerthan 45 publicambulances
serveninemillionpeople.This“superbobservational
documentary”followstheOchoafamilyasthey
scrapealivingbyoperatingoneofthecity’sprivate
ambulances,saidWendyIdeinTheObserver.Fer
andhis17-yearoldsonJuandrive,whileten-year-
oldJosuérattlesaroundintheback,ferryinginjured
people tohospitalin thehope ofpayment.Theirs
isatenuousexistence,saidNickSchager inVariety,
andLukeLorentzen generatessuspenseand“intense
empathy”inhisdespairingdepictionofashattered
system.“Portraits ofinstitutional dysfunction don’t
comemuch more urgentthanthis.” Muchof thefilm “playslikeamadlyadrenalactionmovie”,
saidDannyLeighin theFT,astheOchoas race otherambulances,doorsflapping,to emergencies.
Butifthefamilyat first seem opportunistic orparasitic,“part oftherealitysetoutin thisgripping,
endlesslyhumanfilmis howrarely theymakeanyactual money”–thevictimsofhit-and-runs and
gun battlesoftencan’torwon’tpay. Lorentzenleavesusto drawour ownconclusions,as theblood
is“moppedupbef oreasnatchedmealof cannedtunainabrightlylitconveniencestore”.Midnight Family
Dir:LukeLorentzen
1hr19mins(15)Fascinatingdocumentary
setinMexicoCity★★★★ThisDisneyadaptation ofJackLondon’s (^190) 3classic
novelisengrossingbut“abit corny”,saidPeter
Bradshawin The Guardian.AnadorableStBernard-
colliecalled Buck isdognappedfrom hiscomfortable
Californiahomeandputtowork onasled teamin
the Alaskanwilderness;helaterjoinsforces witha
grizzled gold prospector (Harrison Ford),before
finallyfallinginwithwolvesand answeringthetitular
call ofthewild.A“mythic”talesuchas thisdeserves
anadaptation of“realsinewand feeling”, saidTim
Robey inTheDailyTelegraph. Instead, wegeta
“massive dose ofoverlycutedoggie antics”.Thefilm
softens everythingit touches, agreedAnthonyLaneinTheNewYorker.“Mortalperilgives wayto
slapstick; atavisticfearsare reducedtoaquizzicalcockof thehead; andBuckisaboutas forbidding
as Scooby-Doo.”Even so,Buck’s humanco-stars,including Dan Stevens asamoustache-twiddling
villain, give“winning” performances,said Kevin Maher in The Times.Andthough the computer
effectsareabominable, children will love what is left:a“fantasticallymusculartale”.
The Call of
the Wild
Dir:ChrisSanders
1hr40mins(PG)
Syrupyadaptationofthe
JackLondonnovel
★★
The warning signs thatLikeaBosswouldbea
stinker “were as loud asklaxons”, saidManohla
DargisinThe New York Times–the “dubious
conceit”,the late winterrelease date, andthe shoddy
poster, forastart. In this misjudged comedy,two
great friends(Tif fany Haddish and RoseByrne) sell
astakein their strugglingcosmeticscompany to an
uber-bitchbeauty billionaire (Salma Hayek) whois
determinedtodrive them out ofthebusiness. Its main
comic premise seems to be that there’s “something
inherently funny”aboutwomenactinglikestereo-
typed men:“cursing,havin gsex andgetting stoned”.
This “uniquely dispiriting”movie wastesthetalentsof almosteverybody involved, saidWendyIde
in The Observer.MiguelArteta,knownforhis “bracinglytransgressive” indie comedies, delivers
“sloppilypace dhackwork” here,while finecomicactresses are “shackled toascreenplayso crassly
tone-deaf,itmakesyou want to chisel offyourown ears”.The fi lm’sonlyredeemingfeatureisBilly
Porter, whose one momentof“fabulousmelodrama” is more funthaneverythingelse puttogether.
Like aBoss
Dir: Miguel Arteta
1hr 23mins (15)
Misfiring female
buddy movie
★