Lindsay Lohan Does PLAYBOY

The book Ebert's Bigger Little Book Glossary includes this entry: "Centerfold Folly. With the exception of Marilyn Monroe, no actress who has appeared nude in Playboy to advance her acting career has ever actually advanced her acting career." But does this apply to an actress hoping to re-start her career? And what if she channels Marilyn Monroe while appearing nude in Playboy? Time will tell if this works for Lindsay Lohan, the cover model and main attraction for this year's Holiday issue of Playboy.

The photo spread has Lohan doing a shot-by-shot re-creation of the Marilyn Monroe photo spread from the 1949 issue. As such, Lohan is adorned with Monroe's hair (in color in style), wears nothing but red lipstick, and poses just shy of showing everything (though I must tragically show even less for this entry) against an all-red backdrop. There's also a brief bio of Lohan, from her successes to current probation; a bit of hope contradicting the "Centerfold Folly," cited above, as the writer notes that Drew Barrymore posed for Playboy in 1995 "and by 1998 she was back on top... a star again, for all the right reasons"; and a few comments from Lohan, who quotes Marilyn Monroe, observes that "because you only live once you have to learn from your mistakes" (an odd comment from someone who's repeatedly violated her probation) and "I have no idea why there is this fascination with everything I do." (An odd comment from the nekkid cover model of Playboy.)

So Lindsay Lohan has joined the long roster of celebrities baring it all for Playboy (and voiding her statement in 2004: " I'm not doing Playboy, no. Never.") Will this wind up as the latest mistake from someone whose life of excess led her to addiction and prison? Will the publicity (the issue was released early after the photos were leaked online) and reported million dollar payout for the photos lead to new career opportunities for the actress? And how will this affect Playboy, which has fallen on such tough times that Hefner is considering selling his magazine? Time will tell; but as Lohan's successes and failures all happened before she bared it all, it will be her actions and not this pictorial that resurrects her career -- or ends it.

Written by James Lynch.

Georgia Rule (2007)

I always enjoy a movie directed by Garry Marshall, because first and foremost, this guy knows how to tell a good story. His typical film is a tight, character driven drama, and Georgia Rule is a prototypical example of this type of film.

Complementing this director are three generations of Hollywood's leading ladies: Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, and Lindsay Lohan. Rounding out the cast are Dermot Mulroney, and Garrett Hedlund (who I first saw in Eragon). Certainly more than enough talent to make a good film.

The drama focuses on the three generations of women, and the conflict between Grandmother, mother, and granddaughter. Fonda plays Georgia, a domineering matriarch who lives life according to a strict protocol, hence the title Georgia Rule. This has driven her daughter, Lilly (Huffman) off from the family homestead in Idaho, to California where she is married to a high powered attorney. For the summer, Lilly decides that her daughter, Rachel (Lohan) has become too much to handle, and the plan is to drop her off for a while before she packs up to go east for college.

The film goes from conflict to conflict. We begin with Rachel walking outside her mother's car as they approach the town in Idaho as she prematurely parts ways with her mother. Lohan is perfectly cast as the rambunctious "rebel without a clue," as she personifies in real life. Next, Rachel and Georgia have different ideas of a summer vacation when her grandma signs up her to work at the local vets office. It's kind of funny to see the townspeople getting their medical care from the local vet, Simon, played by Mulroney. (As an aside, while this may seem ridiculous at first, the town is kind of small, and the nearest doctor may have been miles away. I also know more than one MD that was fed up with their vet bills and got meds for their animals, so while not encouraging this, I could see it happening the other way). We also have the makings of a love triangle as Rachel attempts to seduce the local Mormon teen, Harlan (Hedlund).

Lest you think the entire film is formulaic, and just small town idyllic Idaho living, we next take a turn into the more serious. Rachel blurts out that she has been sexually abused, by her father. This shocking revelation, coming from one so rebellious and not exactly reliable, then forms the basis of the rest of the drama. Her mother returns from California to get to the bottom of things, followed by the father. Marshall expertly directs this so that for the rest of the film, it's purposely fuzzy if the allegation is true or not up until the very end.

Georgia Rule is a tight drama, that kept my attention throughout. The dialogue is well done, and each of the characters is multidimensional- there are no stereotypes here, even among the lesser characters. This film takes on the difficult subject matter of child sexual abuse by a family member, and gives it a dignified treatment, which is far more common than many would want to admit. While this is not exactly "family friendly entertainment," it does make for a moving motion picture. Check it out when you get a chance.

Overall Grade: A

--Jonas

Bobby (2006)

If I was looking for a film that would fill up our tags, then Bobby was the one to do it. The superpower cast includes: Harry Belafonte, Anthony Hopkins, Lindsay Lohan, Ashton Kutcher, Helen Hunt, Emilio Estevez, Laurence Fishburne, Heather Graham, Demi Moore, Martin Sheen, Elijah Wood, Joy Bryant, and William H. Macy.

The plot focuses on the day at the hotel before the night that Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Most of this film takes place at the Ambassador Hotel, which was a landmark until it was torn down recently. Bobby attempts to portray the characters of all social levels, from the busboy on up to the owner of the hotel as their live proceed during the day. It also tries to show that their paths intertwine, and that these folks are all related somehow, kind of the "six degrees of separation" thing.

My criticism of this film is twofold. Firstly, I felt that at times,we were reinterpreting the "stormy sixties" of 1968 through our modern times. While I guess this is impossible to avoid, as we all interpret the world through filters, it still doesn't need to be so obvious as it was in Bobby. The other thing was that there was very little of RFK. He finally makes a cameo appearance at the film's end to declare victory in the California primary, and get shot exiting through the kitchen (not much of a spoiler there, I think we all knew how it would end). His other several appearances are all canned newsreel footage of RFK giving speeches that made me feel like I was watching some type of "Kennedy marathon," on the History Channel, and not a major motion picture with this much star power.


Strange as it might seem, the part of Bobby that I enjoyed the most was the setting. The props all looked quite accurate and authentic for 1968. It reminded me of the analog world of the late Sixties, and how the digital revolution would change the world over the next three decades.

The acting performances were all excellent, although with so many characters, I would have liked to know less of them better, and at times I felt that the film lost focus. At least a few of the characters lacked depth, and I wasn't really sure who they were, or what they were doing in the hotel that day.

In summary, if you're a Kennedy fan, than Bobby is probably a great film for you. If you're not, then despite its big name star power, its only average.

Overall Grade: B-

--Jonas

Just My Luck

Just My Luck is a superficial look at the role of luck in one's life. Lindsay Lohan plays Ashley, the young woman with all the luck. She has a great job, always gets a taxis, and always wins those scratch off lotto cards. Her counterpart, played by Chris Pine, is the prototypical born loser. He unclogs toilets at a bowling alley for a living, and trips with an amazing frequency. This sets up the stereotypical lucky and unlucky characters who have as much depth as a tidal pool- at low tide.

After the stereotypical chance meeting, at a masquerade ball, and a chance kiss, he inadvertantly takes her luck. Her perfect, lucky life quickly turns into rock bottom quite overnight. And all of a sudden, Pine's career takes off, and he is more successful than he could dream of. As if you couldn't guess, now she needs to find him to get her luck back by kissing him.

Just My Luck feels more suited to a younger teenage crowd than to any broader age appeal. There are a few laughs along the way, but I could often see the next plot twist from a mile away. It's a formula film from start to finish, and don't expect anything more.

Overall Grade: C+

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