I really wanted to review a Cameron Crowe movie as a kind of reminder that he can be a truly unique and entertaining voice of optimism in what is, let's face it, a pretty shit world. I say reminder because Aloha has come out and has been panned by critics, ignored by audiences and even Crowe seems apologetic of the movie. Sadly Aloha isn't alone as there have been other relatively recent missteps in his body of work. Elizabethtown, for me, was such a horrible low point that I get upset just thinking about it. We Bought A Zoo fared better and I'm firmly on the "loved it" side of this fight but others despised it. That people could despise such a hopeful and healing movie is more than a little shocking to me but perhaps that's Crowe's main problem. Maybe his voice is just too tender for this generation of twitter fed negativity. But that's for another day...
We're here for Singles. Released in 1992, this was Cameron Crowe's follow up to the now iconic, Say Anything. I don't know if he felt any pressure to reproduce the magic of that movie but it certainly doesn't feel like it. Straight out of the gate we meet Linda (Kyra Sedgwick) who is breaking the fourth wall and telling us about a recent doomed relationship. It is a solid opening and sets up Linda as someone who will find it hard to trust anyone ever again...
Next is Steve (Campbell Scott). This is the central performance of the movie. The reason for this is Campbell Scott is such a fucking boss of an actor. Steve feels real. He's a guy you knew in school or a work colleague you have a lot of time for. Anyway, Steve isn't so much breaking the fourth wall as chewing it up. Suffice to say the fourth wall is reduced to a mere brick by the end of this movie but nobody does it better than Steve in his opening scene. It's pure Crowe gold, delivered with perfection and it's used to show us that you never know what's around the corner. Steve ends his scene by telling us he's going to concentrate on work for the next three years... we already know more than him.
After that it's Janet (Bridget Fonda) and Cliff (Matt Dillon). Janet is beaming as she tells us how much she loves her boyfriend Cliff who is the lead singer of Seattle scene also rans, Citizen Dick (hilariously Pearl Jam make up the rest of the band). She seems completely blind to several things. First, Cliff is clearly screwing everything he can get his hands on. He's also a bit of an idiot and he can't sing. Still, love is blind and Janet's positivity is very endearing.
Debbie (Sheila Kelly) and David (Jim True Frost) round out the group. Debbie is the local consumer of men. But she has a sweetness about her in her quest to find her perfect guy. This culminates in her making a dating video. The director of this turns out to be Tim Burton decribed as "the new Matrin Scorcese".
David's claim to fame is being Steve's friend. That is all... the lucky git!
What's striking about Singles is just how influential it has been. Dialogue flies along at a Sorkinesque pace. Our "friends" hang out in a local coffee house drinking coffee discussing their relationships, sex and work. Remind you of anything? They also socialise in the cool clubs watching bands like Alice In Chains and Soundgarden. Indeed music is often used by Crowe as a way to tell a story and it is a big part of what makes Singles such a cool movie. The aforementioned Seattle scene is everywhere with cameos from various members of the bands involved. But the central musical theme of the movie actually belongs to Paul Westerberg and his tracks Dyslexic Heart and Waiting For Somebody.
For all the extra bells and whistles a movie like this hinges on whether or not we enjoy spending time with the characters. I certainly do and can identify with much of what was being talked about. Crowe also knows that his central pairing of Linda and Steve are the main draw here so he lavishes them with wonderful dialogue and beautiful shots. A scene with them in Steve's apartment talking about their previous relationships while listening to some great music (anything from Sly and the Family Stone to REM on vinyl) is a delight. The acting is superb from both as they realise they like each other and the only thing stopping them from taking it to the next level is Linda's previous relationship disaster. Steve, to his credit plays it beautifully and we all remember the "neighbourhood" line...
Meanwhile Janet is slowly realising her boyfriend probably loves himself more than anything else and decides to walk away. We spend just the right amount of time with her finding her own way. She and Cliff are the perfect support act to Steve and Linda. And make no mistake, despite them being on the cover of the original poster back in 1992, they are the support act. I dunno, maybe they looked cooler.
Meanwhile Janet is slowly realising her boyfriend probably loves himself more than anything else and decides to walk away. We spend just the right amount of time with her finding her own way. She and Cliff are the perfect support act to Steve and Linda. And make no mistake, despite them being on the cover of the original poster back in 1992, they are the support act. I dunno, maybe they looked cooler.
Debbie's lust for love is a more lighthearted affair. Her dating video ends as you'd expect but how it happens is funnier than it should be. Again, we spend just about the right amount of time with Debbie and her whimsical ways.
Aside from the ones I've already mentioned, there are some superb small parts and cameos in this movie. Cameron Crowe stalwart, Jeremy Piven gets a fucking superb scene with Steve which I won't ruin here. A very young Paul Giamatti gets a hilarious restaurant scene and Tom Skerrit relishes his scene as Mayor Weber. There's a mime who, as Steve delicately puts it, "really shouldn't speak" played by another Crowe favourite Eric Stoltz. Bill Pullman plays a plastic surgeon and gets some nice scenes with Janet. James Le Gros plays Linda's ex. Cameron Crowe plays the guy interviewing Cliff. It's a movie loaded with these cool little extras. But none of these appearences take you out of the movie. They are all in there to do a job and they all do it well.
So with all that to enjoy, why hasn't this movie been a fucking huge success? The truth is, Singles is like most of Crowe's movies, an acquired taste. He's had one massive hit, Jerry Maguire which deserves all the plaudits it gets and Vanilla Sky did reasonably well. None of his other movies have really clicked with the majority. Almost Famous, while absolutely essential viewing to people like us was a huge flop. We Bought A Zoo was a minor hit. Say Anything made a few quid. Elizabethtown broke even. Aloha flopped. So you've got this guy who has all this talent but he hardly ever gets the numbers he deserves. You have to say Tom Cruise being in his two biggest movies isn't a coincidence and We Bought A Zoo had Matt Damon. Both guys are big draws. Singles has a stunning cast but not one of them is a star. In some ways this makes it a more personal movie to those of us who love it. It's such a little gem. Like your ideal partner it's smart, sweet, sad, funny. It has everything Crowe's more successful movies have and for me it has more. Maybe that's because I was 17 when I saw it first or maybe it just is his best movie. I honestly don't know. What I do know is Singles gives us lines like this: "sometimes I wish it was as simple as this postcard somebody sent me once". I agree.
G.
