Word: avildsen
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Directed by John G. Avildsen...
Since John Avildsen, who directed Rocky and The Karate Kid, is obviously not attracted to depressing subjects, you know up front that Lean on Me will lean heavily on Mailer's theorem in telling the Joe Clark story. The estimable Morgan Freeman plays the man who became the last-hope principal of crime- ridden, drug-soaked, graffiti-infested Eastside High in Paterson...
...feel deeply. Darcy's mom (Miriam Flynn) does get to display some wistful despair -- "Sooner or later, everybody leaves," she says, referring to family and pals as well as lovers, "that's what love's all about" -- but in general she is a snooty shrew. Director John G. Avildsen (Joe, Rocky, Neighbors) relies mostly on his young star to bring passion and balance to the piece. And Ringwald, in a hospital scene with her mom, proves she can still deliver the best movie tantrums since Margaret O'Brien hit puberty. It is possible that this Two Kids and a Baby...
...Avildsen doesn't care about Stallone's jingo-juggernaut. "I felt the character wasn't developed much more," he says of subsequent Rockys. In Avildsen's two Karate Kid pictures, the characters have stayed closer to the earth, closer to the turf Avildsen understands. Cinematic integrity? "I think your integrity has a direct link to your check book," Avildsen says...
Summing up his philosophy--perhaps "approach" would be a better word--Avildsen observed "There are only so many stories. Some people say there are only two stories, 'Jack and the Bean-stalk' and 'Cinderella."' Which kind does the blockbuster filmmaker and Academy Award winner favor? "Stories that don't cost a lot of money to do." In the trillion-dollar age of the imperial Spielbergian director, it's understandable why Avildsen remains one of the business's favorite practitioners...