"This lame duck of a movie pretends to be a sardonic melodrama about overweening ambition in the Reagan era, with John Cusack as a corrupt political go-getter and James Spader as his idealistic best friend, a lawyer for the Justice Department. It’s actually a rallying cry for the Wasp élite. Cusack is an underprivileged ethnic type who tries to pass for a preppy; even after he’s exposed, he succeeds at ingratiating himself with all the genuine blue bloods in Spader’s circle (including Spader’s lover, Imogen Stubbs, and her senator father, Richard Widmark). They’re all too trusting—they can’t believe just how bad Cusack is until he blackmails or betrays them. In effect, it’s a reactionary movie: Cusack, the grabber, spouts populist cant, while Widmark, whose parties are 'The National Review come to life,' emerges as an honorable man. It would all be offensive if it weren’t so shallow. The true color of this film is lily white."
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
True Colors (1991 Movie)
I searched the New Yorker website for the term "preppy." The results included a very short article on the movie True Colors, short enough for me to include it entirely:
"This lame duck of a movie pretends to be a sardonic melodrama about overweening ambition in the Reagan era, with John Cusack as a corrupt political go-getter and James Spader as his idealistic best friend, a lawyer for the Justice Department. It’s actually a rallying cry for the Wasp élite. Cusack is an underprivileged ethnic type who tries to pass for a preppy; even after he’s exposed, he succeeds at ingratiating himself with all the genuine blue bloods in Spader’s circle (including Spader’s lover, Imogen Stubbs, and her senator father, Richard Widmark). They’re all too trusting—they can’t believe just how bad Cusack is until he blackmails or betrays them. In effect, it’s a reactionary movie: Cusack, the grabber, spouts populist cant, while Widmark, whose parties are 'The National Review come to life,' emerges as an honorable man. It would all be offensive if it weren’t so shallow. The true color of this film is lily white."
Sounds like a text for the reading/viewing list, albeit secondary.
"This lame duck of a movie pretends to be a sardonic melodrama about overweening ambition in the Reagan era, with John Cusack as a corrupt political go-getter and James Spader as his idealistic best friend, a lawyer for the Justice Department. It’s actually a rallying cry for the Wasp élite. Cusack is an underprivileged ethnic type who tries to pass for a preppy; even after he’s exposed, he succeeds at ingratiating himself with all the genuine blue bloods in Spader’s circle (including Spader’s lover, Imogen Stubbs, and her senator father, Richard Widmark). They’re all too trusting—they can’t believe just how bad Cusack is until he blackmails or betrays them. In effect, it’s a reactionary movie: Cusack, the grabber, spouts populist cant, while Widmark, whose parties are 'The National Review come to life,' emerges as an honorable man. It would all be offensive if it weren’t so shallow. The true color of this film is lily white."
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