Word: geniality
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There ought to be a double resonance in this tale, for the story is about two kinds of mystery, two kinds of lies: domestic and cinematic. Married people may become so involved in their careers that they sink into a genial ignorance of each other's emotional lives. Moviegoers may become so seduced by the image on the screen that they forget their sainted star is likely to be an ordinary troubled oaf like themselves...
Nice is not a quality often associated with movie actors. Today's typical film star -- Arnold, Jack or post-modern Keanu -- radiates danger; he's a wild guy to take a wild ride with. The nice guy is on TV: he's the genial, comfortable friend you want to invite into your home each week. They are two distinct breeds, the domesticated husband of TV and the movies' demon lover. One does the dishes, the other smashes them...
Americans who remember Ike at all tend to recall a do-little President or a mangler of sentences at press conferences. Military writers sometimes portray Ike the General as a genial and soothing Alliance board chairman at best, or at worst a glad-handing bumbler. Eisenhower the Supreme Commander was none of those. He was a driving, demanding man of terrific energy: up before dawn, to bed after midnight, chain-smoking four packs of cigarettes, drinking 15 cups of coffee a day. He was a military perfectionist, impatient with his subordinates and a peerless, lucid briefer. He had a volcanic...
...mildly, the genre is -- or was -- cynical and subversive. But given the power of humanistic piety in contemporary movies -- it is virtually the only acceptable tone for American films seeking an adult audience -- film noir, if it's done at all, is usually accompanied by nostalgic winks and genial, reassuring cues of self- consciousness. Just kidding, folks, say the filmmakers. Red Rock West, in contrast, is all furious conviction. Its humor is sardonic; its ironies are conveyed by violence; and its view of human nature is bleak...
...uptown daily. There are clever doses of cynicism and office politicking, but at heart The Paper wants to be a Front Page for the New Age; most of the tough talk is about ethics. "It was always the truth," intones the paper's columnist (Randy Quaid in a savvy, genial turn). And Henry snarls indignantly, "Not everything is about money...