Word: klines
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...first serious contact with modernism, however, came at Black Mountain College in North Carolina, under the abrasive tutelage of the former Bauhaus instructor Josef Albers. The friendships he formed at Black Mountain--with painters Franz Kline and Cy Twombly, composer John Cage, dancer Merce Cunningham--continued when he settled in New York City. Rauschenberg has always had the strongest possible sense of creative community; his generosity with ideas, resources, support and money became an art-world legend, growing over the years...
...talented Ang Lee (The Wedding Banquet, Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense and Sensibility) has directed this story of uneasy family relationships in the restless, promiscuous culture of the early 1970s with crystalline precision, leaving the audience to stare at the ugly and universal truths underneath. Ben Hood (Kevin Kline) is having a decidedly unromantic affair with his next-door neighbor Janey Carver (Sigourney Weaver), while his wife Elena (Joan Allen) is showing signs of being unable to put up with the charade of their 17-year marriage any longer. Their children, meanwhile, are beginning to discover sex and the perverse...
Several elements of the story suggest that the cause of their pain might be the social climate of the decade. Lee's portrayal of the 1970s is scarily realistic. He doesn't overplay period detail: the furniture is slightly tacky, the shirt lapels are wider, and Kevin Kline's sideburns come halfway down to his chin, but none of this changes the ageless, affluent suburban setting. The film lets the audience laugh at the decade, but there are disturbing undertones to even the funniest scenes...
...actors all give exquisitely controlled performances, but the film's depressing story arc leaves their performances stunted. As Ben and Elena Hood, Kline and Allen are especially adept at communicating their pain to the audience, even though they can't even communicate with each other. But Kline's character in particular comes across as clownish, because he's never given a chance to emerge from his foolish, self-indulgence. Ricci's stone-faced Wendy Hood is interesting to watch but difficult to penetrate. Sigourney Weaver's sultry next-door neighbor remains a mystery throughout the film. Lee suggests that every...
This tale of a small-town high school teacher (Kevin Kline) whose life is turned upside down when he's declared gay by a former student-turned-star (Matt Dillon) constitutes Hollywood's own coming-out comedy about homosexuality. It's therefore an appropriately bland comedy that ends up reinforcing, not puncturing, gay stereotypes, and doesn't get enough out of a cast which includes Joan Cusack, Tom Selleck, Debbie Reynolds, and Bob Newhart. However, Kline still manages to rise above the plodding humor, especially in his show-stopping dance scenes; and Selleck is terrifically funny as the sleazy, sardonic...