Monday Morning Quarterback Part II
By BOP Staff
February 5, 2014
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Brett Ballard-Beach: "Once positioned as an Oscar contender" is such a sad and lonely little phrase, but when it's true, it's true. I think most recently of another Paramount would-be Oscar contender that ended up getting the critical shaft and not much love from the Academy - The Lovely Bones. That got a little bit of financial resurrection when the studio decided to remarket it and pitch it to teen girls and it opened wide to $17 million and finished at $44 million. At $65 million, that cost nearly four times as much as Labor Day did ($18 million) so this isn't a financial disaster by any means for Reitman et al, but a reminder of how on paper months in advance things seem like a sure bet. Then it's discovered that the acerbic has been traded for the maudlin and you're left with a line like "I though that peach pie looked familiar" uttered with 100% conviction.
Edwin Davies: This release struck me as the studio trying their best to salvage a bad situation. The early reviews for the film that appeared towards the end of last year pretty much killed the impression that it was going to be an Oscar contender, so opening it against the prestige pictures would just kill its momentum at the box office. Taking it into January meant it had less competition, and it could theoretically work as counter programming for the Super Bowl. The thinking behind it is sound, but the response to the film has been so overwhelmingly negative, and the ads made it look like such a melodramatic schmaltz-fest, that the best they could hope for was a result that wasn't entirely horrible. Given the budget, this fits that description.
Felix Quinonez: I think this is a very sad result. I wanted this movie to do a lot better because I think Jason Reitman is great. But this movie really needed to get good reviews and it clearly failed in that the department. The fact that Labor Day was not up to the usual standards of Reitman's work and that it was completely shut out at the Oscar race sealed its fate. Its low budget will keep it from being a financial disaster but I wonder what this will do for Reitman. It was not so long ago that his career seemed to be on fire. Juno and Up in the Air were both critical darlings and commercial successes. Young Adult got very good reviews but still fizzled at the box office now Labor Day was critically savaged and pretty much ignored by audiences.
Jason Barney: Yes, this result is pretty bad. The potential "Oscar contender" label does nothing for me and only makes this effort look even more pathetic. The official budget was listed at around $18 million. Against that this is an awful opening. Coming out of the gate at #7 against films that have been out for three weeks or more is a statement to just how little support or interest there was for this. Domestically this one might reach $10 million, but a film that isn't even in the top 10 for two weeks doesn't give us much to talk about.
David Mumpower: For my money, felons on the run are not portrayed as the misunderstood love interest in movies anywhere near often enough. Everyone has crafted excellent replies in this thread. Occam's Razor applies, though. Labor Day fails the laugh test. That is why it was pushed out of awards contention season. And it is why the movie bombed this weekend. If anyone you know is thinking about watching the film, either talk them down from the cliff or push them off of it. Either way is superior to watching Labor Day.
Reagen Sulewski: Oh, those wacky parody films... wait, this wasn't a parody of what romance movies are like? Ye gods.
Kim Hollis: What was your favorite Philip Seymour Hoffman role?
Brett Ballard-Beach: Well, seeing this question was a very blunt "shock to the system" way of finding out this saddening news. My favorite role of his would probably be a split between the screenwriter in State and Main and the villain in Mission: Impossible III. His role that will probably reverberate with me the longest: Caden Cotard in Synecdoche, New York. And my all-time favorite scenes of his: singing "Slow Boat to China" to Joaquin Phoenix in The Master, and his incessant "shut ups" over the phone to Adam Sandler in Punch-Drunk Love. I'm going to go off alone and cry some more.
Edwin Davies: It's incredibly hard to choose, not merely because he was one of my favourite actors, but because he was one of those rare performers who was always great, even in movies that weren't. All of his collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson would rank fairly highly. He was great in all five films they made together, but they also showcased his tremendous range; it's hard to believe that the cocky punk in Hard Eight is the same guy playing the creepy stalker in Boogie Nights, the desperate nurse in Magnolia, the ferocious, terrifying Mattress Man in Punch-Drunk Love, or the magnetic, beguiling Lancaster Dodd in The Master. He could do pretty much anything, and he committed to everything he tried his hand at. He brought tremendous weight and menace to his role as the most memorable villain in the Mission: Impossible series, and delivered some truly hilarious lines in Charlie Wilson's War with real intensity. He was an amazing talent, and it's such a terrible shame that we've lost someone who would have continued to give it his all.
Bruce Hall: Whenever I think of Hoffman I immediately think of Scotty J from Boogie Nights. Not that this is his best or most memorable role, and I suppose I'd seen him prior to that in movies like Twister and The Getaway. But Boogie Nights is one of those movies where a number of actors turned in notable performances, and it also happens to be one of my favorite movies. And Hoffman in particular always stuck out to me. He left it all out on the field and made a relatively minor character stand out by making him feel dynamic and real. There was so much passion there, and the vast array of emotional states he brought to Scotty just amazed me at the time. I remember thinking:
"This guy is really good. He might be going places."
Well, as Edwin noted, PSH really was the kind of actor who made a habit of performing well in underperforming material, and when you're the kind of talent he was, your presence helps lift all boats. He definitely went places, and had still many more yet to go.
I think we were all aware of his struggles with addiction, and I remember shaking my head when I heard the news, because for better of worse I feared the story was going to be what it apparently is. I'm convinced his best roles were still ahead of him and his passing is nothing less than a tragic waste.
Fortunately the work he leaves behind is not, and all we can do now is wonder what might have been.
David Mumpower: I saw the news before most of the world did on Sunday, and wound up informing several friends (including Brett...sorry). First, I spent the body of an hour hoping against all hope that the rumor was unfounded. Coincidentally or not, Hoffman has been an integral part of several of my favorite movies of the 2000s. I frequently instruct people who have yet to watch Mission: Impossible III that Hoffman's villainy elevates Cruise to heights he hadn't seen in years. And I love Hoffman's portrayal of Lester Bangs so much that I find myself constantly quoting his various lines in the movie. He isn't even in Almost Famous that much yet he somehow defines everything as the wizened tutor for the lead character.
If I had to pick one role, however, it would be Hoffman's portrayal of Gust Avrakotos in Charlie Wilson's War. Hoffman inhabits the psyche of that character so completely that I sometimes forget he is not the real person. Charlie Wilson's War is on the short list for best movie of the 2000s for me (as are Mission: Impossible III and Almost Famous). Hoffman is integral to that as he demonstrates with easy confidence that he is a man of action rather than a "cake eater" who "is gonna get us all killed." The scene where he smashes the window of a superior who has denied him a promotion is as memorable a movie moment as there has been in 20 years.
I hated to hear about James Gandolfini. The death of Philip Seymour Hoffman is a true gut punch. He was positioning himself to be the greatest character actor of all time. And now he has died way, way too young. Tragic is not a strong enough word for this.
Jason Barney: I loved him in Charlie Wilson's War.
Reagen Sulewski: The thing about Hoffman is that he never had any roles that were boring. Even bit parts like Magnolia and The Big Lebowski came alive because he made some kind of choice that made his character stand out. Personally, I'm partial to the bored ferocity of his role in Mission: Impossible III and his incredible smarminess in The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Kim Hollis: I'm still devastated by this news. I struggle to think if there's another actor of my generation who is as consistently talented and engaging as Hoffman. My favorite role of his also comes from one of my most beloved films. As Lester Bangs in Almost Famous, Hoffman basically provides the outline for the remainder of the film. It's a small role, but he brought Bangs to life. I will always be in love with the way he delivers the line, "Iggy Pop! Amen!"