O (2001) and Summer Catch (2001)

O:
Grade: B+
Actors: Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles, Josh Hartnett, Andrew Keegan, and Martin Sheen
Director: Tim Blake Nelson
Rated R for language, violence, and strong sexual content

Summer Catch (2001)
Grade: F
Actors: Freddie Prinze, Jr., Jessica Biel, Brittany Murphy and Matthew Lillard
Director: Mike Tolan
Rated PG-13: for language and disturbing images or Freddie Prinze Jr. and Matthew Lillard in thongs


In the past two weeks, two films targeted toward teenagers have opened that, at first glance, have almost nothing in common. However, the two films are very much alike, but the finished product is what makes them so different. These two films would be "O", an adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, and the other is a comedy about a Cape Cod baseball player who falls in love with a rich, vacationing beauty.

Yes, the stories behind each one are radically different, however, the characters in each are similar in many ways. In Summer Catch, Freddie Prinze, Jr. plays talented baseball player Ryan Dunne. He's not well off and his mom is dead. His dad owns a lawn service, and Ryan spends his days playing baseball and mowing lawns. During the particular summer in which Summer Catch takes place Ryan is playing in a prestigous summer league that attracts scouts from all over the nation, but his plans on being recruited are nearly thwarted by his relationship with a vacation beauty named Tenley (Jessica Biel). Tenley's father doesn't really approve of her budding relationship with the lawn boy, and tries to sabotage their relationship by firing Ryan's dad.

In "O", the talented sports player is the hero of the school basketball team, Odin James (Mekhi Phifer). He has snagged the best-looking girl in school, Desi (Julia Stiles), but he's from the wrong side of the tracks. He's been arrested for being in possession and under the influence of cocaine. Desi's dad doesn't approve, but it's Odin's friend Hugo (Josh Harnett) who tries to ruin him. Hugo's dad (Martin Sheen) is the coach of the basketball team, and loves Odin more than his own son. So it's this reason (and his jealous nature) that make him want to ruin Odin by planting the seed of doubt in his mind about Desi's unfaithfulness.

The difference between the two films is that one is your below-average teen comedy and the other is, well, Shakespeare. But that's not all it boils down to. Summer Catch is only interested in pulling dull laughs from the audience (hence the disturbing thong images) and making them feel for Freddie Prinze, Jr. who employs those hideous puppy-dog eyes that he so carelessly uses. They script's few attempts at developing characters are haphazard, careless, and cliche. They use the old "Dead Mom" approach, and, in Jessica Biel's case, the "Rebel" approach.

The baseball scenes are technically great, and they hold our attention at times, but when the film switches back to it's palid love story, it falters. The subplot about Ryan flying out of control whenever the pressure gets too tough during a game, is just laughable. His inspirational conversations with his bar-owner brother (Jason Gedric) are even funnier, unintentionally of course. At it's almost two hour running length, Summer Catch is a film that could have used some editing, and a new script. As it stands, this is the second worst movie of the year (only behind Freddy Got Fingered).

"O", on the other hand is a film that could stand to be a little longer. Tim Blake Nelson (an actor in O Brother, Where Art Thou?) knows how a contemporary-dress Shakespeare film should be. He hits the right notes with its dour mood and wondering, ponderous score full of sombre, minor notes.

The only real flaws I can find are in the character development department. Remember, this is Shakespeare (and having never read Othello, I'm taking other people's words that this film follows the plot quite well) so the development of characters is almost built in. Odin and Hugo are two of the most well-developed characters in recent teen film memory, but all of it is too sudden. It's almost as if the script doesn't know how to handle their changing emotions. Maybe the editing is to blame because in one scene a character is in one certain mood, but in the next, they are totally different.

One of the best and most memorable scenes depicting conflicting emotions in a single character is in this film, as Odin obliterates a basketball goal during a slam dunk contest, while hopped up on cocaine. Phifer's seething intensity and the slo-mo employed in the scene make it real. One of "O"'s stengths is that it feels real. That's thanks, mostly in part, to the natural and unaffected acting from Pfifer, Hartnett, and Stiles.

While most people have a problem with the final act of the film, I don't see anything wrong with it. The plan of destruction is as well thought out as any I've seen in a film. And it's not hard to believe that these events could happen at a school. The depiction of these events are flawless, and the acting on all parts is incredible. The score, direction, editing, all perfect. The only time that it gets heavy-handed is at the end when Hartnett gives a final speech about wanting to fly, be recognized, and be an eagle (because Odin is).

Only one of the recently released teen films lives up to potential. That's "O". The other is just a showcase for talent-challenged Freddie Prinze, Jr.'s body.


Brian Jones, 2001