Ask Mick LaSalle:
“Big Eyes” a drama with laughs.
Dear Mick: I fail to understand how “Big Eyes” could be classified as anything other than a drama. What am I missing?
Nancy Wheeler, Crockett
Dear Nancy: It’s a drama with laughs, but definitely a drama. The Golden Globes called it a comedy, but it has a history of classifying borderline and dramatic films as comedies, like “Lost in Translation,” “The Kids Are All Right” and “The Artist,” to name a few. In a way, it’s good for the movies because it gives them a better chance of winning. It crowds out real comedies, however, as in ones that actually make people laugh. Hello Mick LaSalle: When watching movies on TCM, we often check to see how old an actor or actress was at the time. Quite often, we are astounded by how young they are, given how old they appear. Do you think people “aged” faster in the ’30s and ’40s?
Ken Kirste, Sunnyvale Hello Ken Kirste: That would seem impossible — yet, I get the same impression. Rosamund Pike (“Gone Girl”), for example, is 36. She’s a young woman. Meanwhile, when Greta Garbo made her last film, “Two Faced Woman,” at the same age, she seemed like a mature, fading beauty — attractive, to be sure, but no longer stunning. Clark Gable made “Command Decision” when he was 47. He looked like an old man. Brad Pitt, however, is 51, and Tom Cruise is 52, and while they don’t look like kids, they don’t look old. In some cases, people just didn’t take care of themselves. Gable, Joan Crawford and Ava Gardner pickled themselves in alcohol, and the smoking didn’t help, either.
But there were others who were relatively healthy, and they also looked beat up by 40. It’s a mystery. I suppose it has something to do with styles, with our perceptions and maybe also with an attitude, the way people thought of themselves and carried themselves. There were exceptions. Hedy Lamarr started off gorgeous in her 20s, but she was at her most stunning in her mid- to late 30s. Cary Grant remains a symbol of lifelong good looks. There’s also something else to consider: Gable at 30 was a man — not a young man, but a man — and Jean Harlow, at 21, was a woman. It’s all well and good that today, 40 is the new 30, but it’s not so great that it takes 40 years to grow up. Dear Mick: How did you feel about Tipper Gore’s fight to get a “code” reinstated to inform parents of the potential harmful influence on their teens? Wasn’t that still censorship?
Kathleen Elzey, Elk Grove Dear Kathleen: I’ve always had a lot of sympathy for parents having to compete with a depraved culture in the raising of their kids: a culture catering to the basest impulses of lust and violence in order to convert minors into helpless consumers of garbage. I wouldn’t prevent anybody from creating something, but the labeling of products or a rating system that gives parents a leg up isn’t censorship. It’s just information. Hi Mick: Since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences now nominates up to 10 films in the bestpicture category, why not do that with best director, best actor, etc., too? What’s the downside?
Adam Smith, San Francisco Hi Adam: The downside is that the quality will go down, as it has with the best-picture nominees, but there would be one upside. Every year, there are only seven or eight women’s roles that have enough size and scale to result in a possible Academy Award nomination. The competition is to get those roles. Once an actress gets one, she’s almost statistically assured to be nominated. If there were eight or 10 best-actress nominees, the academy would have to scrape the pan — there were a couple of scrapes already this year — and people would see just how pathetic the situation is for women in American cinema. Have a question? Ask Mick LaSalle at mlasalle@sfchronicle.com. Include your name and city for publication, and a phone number for verification. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.