Argo

Ben and the Argonauts

Argo -  4 Stars (of four)

At the risk of sounding hyperbolous, Argo is a godsend.  The combined crap stew that Hollywood has been spewing out over the past couple years has been mindnumbingly vacuous and condescending.  There was a brief, shining moment when Hollywood realized you can make quality entertainment for an audience over the age of twelve a couple years ago.  But then went right back to the brainless crap that crescendoed with the combined insulting and cynical Battleship.  But then Argo came out.  Finally, a movie made by adults FOR adults that is exciting, dramatic and thrilling.  It can certainly proudly take its place alongside such great films like The Third Man, The Counterfeit Traitor, The Manchurian Candidate, The Odessa File, The Little Drummer Girl, or Gladiator.  I hope George Clooney and Ben Affleck, as the producers of this movie are monitarily rewarded and honored for this film because I want to see MORE of them.  Now, I love a big ole dumb action flick just as much as the next guy, but I really do hunger for great, meaty entertainment the likes of Argo.

For those of you who don't know, Argo is the recounting of a declassified story of how the CIA, along with the Canadian government, exfiltrated six American Embassy workers from Tehran during the takeover of the U.S. Embassy during the 1979 Iranian Revolution.  They did this by making the Embassy employees the crew of a fictitious movie doing scouting locations in Iran.  The CIA officer, played by Ben Affleck, flies into Tehran, meets up with the Americans who had been in hiding at the Canadian Ambassador's residence, and walk out through the airport as a Canadian film crew.

The movie takes some radically different tones.  The first act, setting up the problem, the US Government coming up with absurd escape plans, and finally the creation of the fake movie, Argo, is actually very funny and engaging.  From the absurdities of the State Department's attempts to put an escape plan together to the absurdities of Hollywood egos and fake atmosphere.  The movie takes an almost satirical look at Hollywood culture and shows its artificiality for what it is.  The movie then makes an almost surreal juxtaposition with the ersatz world of show business and the very real business of being a fugitive in revolutionary Iran.  The second act, the plan itself, is all suspense, worthy of being in the company of some of the greatest espionage stories in cinematic history.  Finally, the third act, the actual escape, is nail-biting intensity.  I don't know if the escape was quite so close or not, but it was thrilling to watch.  An interesting side note, the end credits run photos of the actual people involved side by side with the actor portraying them.  The casting choices were phenomenal.

Now, can we finally say it?  When will we, as a nation, finally acknowledge Ben Affleck as a great artist?  What is the source of this communal revulsion, or at least distaste of him?  There does not seem to be anyone in Hollywood that elicits as much ridicule and derision as Ben Affleck.  Why?  Is it because he has been, admittedly, in a lot of bad movies?  All stars go through these.  Harrison Ford made Hannover Street and Hollywood Homicide.  Clint Eastwood made Paint Your Wagon and Any Which Way You Can.  Liz Taylor made Cleopatra.  Al Pacino made Cruising.  Robert DeNiro made Rocky and Bullwinkle.  The Wachowskis made Speed Racer.  George Clooney made Attack of the Killer Tomatoes 2 (!) AND Batman and Robin.  Warren Beatty made Reds AND Ishtar.  Even Steven Spielberg made 1941 AND The Terminal.  So we see they can't all be hits, box office gold.  Was it because he was a bit of a womanizer in his early career?  If you lay that one at his feet, you may as well add him to the club that includes Charlie Chaplin, Errol Flynn, and Warren Beatty to name a few.  All men who were the new young and hot talents for their respective ages.  Is it because he is perceived, unfairly, as a bad actor?  Need I mention John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwartzeneggar or Chuck Norris?  Not being great thespians never hurt them.  Or is it, I believe, that green-eyed monster, jealousy?

1. Ben Affleck has now directed two great movies, Argo and The Town.  He has received an Oscar for Good Will Hunting.  He has received Emmys and Golden Globes   He has been to the heights of success for his MTV movie award nomination for Best Kiss in Daredevil and to the depths for his attainment of the Razzie for the trifecta stinkeroo of Datedevil, Gigli and Paycheck.  And despite what Jay and Silent Bob say, he was NOT the bomb in Phantoms.  But let's take a closer look.  He also made: Good Will Hunting, Shakespeare In Love, Chasing Amy, Boiler Room, Hollywoodland, Dazed and Confused, Jersey Girl (yeah, I SAID it!), Forces of Nature, Changing Lanes, Dogma, The Sum of All Fears and Armageddon. Whether or not they were all equally good is a matter of debate, but they are all entertaining in their own ways.  So why do we act so shocked when he makes great movies like Argo or The Town, like we just discovered a new Gospel?  He's been here all along, and bad press, along with our love to hate somebody has kept him from being recognized as a great artist in his own right, not just the junior partner of Damon/Affleck.  It's time to get over our irrational, knee-jerk distaste of him and really look at what he is capable of, objectively and honestly.