The Curious Case of Gran Torino

time.com ^ | Jan. 26, 2009 | S. James Snyder

[Free ThinkerNY]

This year's Oscar story lines have already been etched in stone — Mickey Rourke as the comeback kid, Slumdog Millionaire as the art-house wunderkind, Milk as the timely social commentary (released three weeks after Proposition 8 passed in California).

Yet while the critics have been fussing over wrestlers and Mumbai quiz shows, audiences have been flocking to Gran Torino — an Oscar outcast that's been doing laps around the competition at the box office.

At some point this week, the Clint Eastwood drama will pass the $100 million mark, easily surpassing the box-office receipts brought in by not only some of the Oscar front-runners (Slumdog Millionaire now totals $56 million, Milk $21 million) but also Eastwood's last Oscar winner, Million Dollar Baby.

"It's an amazing story that no one's really talking about," says Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst with Hollywood.com. "For a movie starring a 78-year-old to have a $29 million opening weekend in wide release, and in the process to beat out the likes of Anne Hathaway in Bride Wars, I don't know if I've seen that before ... It's a testament to how people still feel about Clint Eastwood."

[Mr. Blonde]

I thought The Wrestler and Slumdog Millionaire were both really good. I liked Gran Torino better though. I have heard several people say Slumdog Millionaire is already one of their absolute favorite movies.

[meyer]

He actually wanted to name me after Clint’s character in them.

He wanted to name you "Filo Beddoe"? :-)

[Wacka]

Even those were good. It’s not his fault the monkey was a bad actor.

[Mr. Blonde]

He did. I will admit to wondering how I would have been different with that name. Something tells me I would be a lot closer to the barroom fighter Clint was in the movie than the laid back person I currently am.

[Maigrey]

I made a comment to a co-worker last week that is he had the following plot lines included into the story, it would have been nominated...

1. Clint came out as a homosexual...
2. He admitted that he was wrong about other cultures;
3. He offed himself after an hour soliloquy specifying how his life was carbon-heavy, and that taking his life would cure the end of global warming...

That would have made liberals stand up and cheer!

[Richard Kimball]

The Beguiled.

Eastwood made some weird movies when he was trying to break out of the "Man with no name" typecasting.

I always though an under-appreciated movie was "Play Misty for Me." Michael Douglas ripped off that whole movie in Fatal Attraction. Jessica Lange played the nutball girlfriend perfectly. She was good looking enough to seduce him, and totally crazy. As an aside, that movie was the one where a pair of white patent leather loafers became the standard horrible gift in movies (Vacation and a bunch of other movies have used it.)

[Clemenza]

That wasn’t Jessica Lange, that was Jessica Walter. GREAT movie, btw.

[firebrand]

There was a lot of amateur acting, and scenes where you could see the other actors were dazzled that they were in the same shot with Eastwood.

Still, quite a good movie!

[infowarrior]

Back when Gene Shalit was on the Today show, ANY movie he thought was good (usually something nobody ever heard of), I avoided, while any movie he panned, was a very good movie.

Works GREAT for Roger Ebert, too....

Had a similar yardstick myself, although I used Leonard Maltin as the 'stick...

the infowarrior

[wtc911]

Just OK plus, not good imho. Many character development and structure problems. Some truly lousy acting (including bits by Clint), some clunky staging, a predictable ending but....better than ninety percent of what’s out there.

[meyer]

I will admit that when I bought my first pickup truck in 1982, I had a bed liner installed. My friend insisted on calling it a ‘Filo Beddoliner’. :-)

[xp38]

The only eligibility for the Oscars you need is to release it before Dec 31 somewhere in the LA area. Gran Torino was but they ignored it regardless. It won’t be up for nomination next year.

[Richard Kimball]

Eastwood made a couple of movies with homosexual overtones. The most blatant was Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. The other was Tightrope.

I thought that in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot it was obvious that Eastwood and George Kennedy were old lovers and Kennedy was jealous because Eastwood had taken up with a younger guy (Jeff Bridges.)

[Richard Kimball]

You're right. I knew it was Walter, just wrote the wrong name.

I don't know why, but I've always had a thing about hot chicks that were crazy enough to kill you.

[goat granny]

not sugarfoot, it was Rawhide.....my favorite singer Frankie Laine sang the theme

[Clemenza]

Ms. Longet was very sexy in “The Party.” Too bad Spider Savitch didn’t decide to go to Telluride instead that day...

[Poser]

“Sugarfoot, right?”

Rawhide. Sugarfoot didn’t last long. I liked it.

[DCPatriot]

My question...how could a 20 yr-old SON of Right Cal Gal never have already seen Dirty Harry or Magnum Force ? ;^)

And how come nobody on the thread has mentioned The Good the Bad and The Ugly?

[ArmyTeach]

My husband and I saw it. He’s a Vietnam Vet. At the end of the movie we just sat there. Didn’t think about moving for three or four minutes. It really grabbed us.
BTW, I thought the Hmong girl was cute and the grandmother was hysterical! I thought the use of less-than-professional actors was refreshing.

[Obamageddon]

"Right turn, Clyde"