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A star is born at 81
Published: 7/16/2007 6:03 PM
Last Modified: 7/16/2007 6:03 PM

Just back from vacation, where I couldn’t completely escape the motion picture industry….

I see a movie almost every weekday. I see a movie with my wife, in a theater, about once a year now (busy schedules, two young children, not that many films I care to see a second time, I’m cheap when it comes to baby-sitting….)

Too cheap, my wife tells me.

But I wanted her to see “Waitress,” the screwball-funny life lesson starring Keri Russell as a pregnant waitress who dreams up exquisitely oddball pies at a tiny Southern diner as she dreams of a better life.

It made me laugh again, smile again. It also made me think again about it being one of those films released early in the year that shouldn’t be punished for that fact come Academy Award consideration time.

This delicious slice of the farce of life should be nominated for best original screenplay. Russell (remember she’s an Emmy-winner for “Felicity”) should be a candidate for best actress.

I decided on second viewing that without question, a nomination is in order for best supporting actor for a man whom many young filmgoers will likely discover here for the first time: Andy Griffith.

He’s 81, he’s been retired for years, and he’s never been better. As the cantankerous diner customer who imparts his order, his opinions, his wisdom and his senility, he’s the heart of the film, creating a character who’s made his share of mistakes and tries to keep a young woman from doing the same.

Andy Griffith will always be Sheriff Andy Taylor, but I remember the first time he teamed with Don Knotts in the comedy film classic “No Time for Sergeants.” He’ll always have that courtroom presence as Matlock, but I recall him as Lonesome Rhodes, facing the court of public opinion in Elia Kazan’s scathing “A Face in the Crowd.”

But those movies are 50 years old, so many young people who see “Waitress” will decide they’ve found a new star, an overnight sensation, and wonder where Andy and his folksy charm have been all this time.

The answer: Somewhere between Mount Pilot, North Carolina, and Hollywood, California.

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I See Movies for Free

“I was born a poor, black child” … not me, actually, but Steve Martin’s character in the “The Jerk.” That absurd opening line is just one of the absurd number of film facts, quotes and minutiae contained in movie critic Michael Smith’s brain, at his disposal to toss out on a moment’s notice. It’s a key requirement as Tulsa World film critic to know these things. Michael learned a few other life facts along the way (seven years as a Crystal’s Pizza & Spaghetti manager) before attempting journalism and joining the Tulsa World in 1996, where he’s covered everything from a school shooting in Fort Gibson to a tornado in Stroud to witnessing an execution. A little community theater coverage was sprinkled in there, too. Movies engender many of his happiest memories, from standing in line for “Star Wars” and “Grease” at the Southroads Cinema to the James Bond and Pink Panther movies that always premiered at the enormous Continental Theater.

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Past Articles By Michael Smith

2/16/2013		Broken Arrow movie theater moves to discount showings
2/15/2013		Review: 'Amour'
2/15/2013		Review: 'A Good Day to Die Hard'
2/15/2013		Review: 'Beautiful Creatures'
2/14/2013		Review: 'Quartet'
2/14/2013		Shirley MacLaine to speak at Osage Casino
2/14/2013		Weekly rewind: February 14
2/14/2013		REVIEW: 'Beautiful Creatures'
2/12/2013		Belgian best picture hopeful 'Amour' opens in Tulsa on Friday
2/10/2013		'Die Hard' marathon at AMC Southroads on Wednesday ends with new film
2/9/2013		Review: 'Identity Thief' a stupid movie from stupid idea
2/8/2013		Oscar audit: Critics choices for best picture hold up over time

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