NEW What Goes Up (DVD)

At first, I wasn't sure where it was going... Up, down or just sideways. But soon, I realized the filmmakers were creating a world that resembled reality far more than almost any movie I've seen in that there are collisions between events, intentions, characters, loves, hates ...and the whole stew can be hysterically funny, odd, disturbing, heartbreaking and then funny all over again. In this way, I have to give the film enormous credit and gratitude that it does not try to be like every other movie. It does not talk down to its audience.

It takes place in 1986 in the days before the Challenger Shuttle blew up, but the themes of heroism and unexpected tragedy play out in subtle and clever ways. I think the critics who didn't like this movie are used to following very well paved roads with well defined markers. This movie follows its characters first to last and that can make it bumpy and twisty and ultimately, so much better. And because the characters are so three dimensional, the markers which we expect only come if the characters lead us there. They do in the end. The director lands us where we need to be. But along the way, we are on ground which is just as unsettled as the characters who turn to ridiculous methods to lessen the pain of losing someone they loved in their lives. If you're willing to walk this unsettled ground, it's well worth the ride. The performances are outstanding, especially Steve Coogan and Olivia Thirlby. If, on the other hand, you need to be spoon-fed or for your plots to be singular and instantly identifiable, you will probably hate it. You kind of have to give in to it and then the doors open and the characters and the overall tone of the film resonates. It WILL make you laugh and cry.

I saw this at a promotional screening. It was mostly filled with Hilary Duff fans. I am not one, but am much more so now. She does wonderfully well as the Lolita wannabe seductress. Again, the character is so finely drawn that some might think since she's not a successful seducer, the character and the movie leave you hanging. It's really the opposite. It's her lack of success which makes her character so compelling. In many ways you can say the same about the movie as a whole. It plays its own game according to the rules which govern human behavior, not conventional plot points. This results in an awkwardness which is much more real and much more satisfying than just about anything I've seen in some time. I highly recommend.

I was fortunate to see this film at the Los Angeles premiere, and I thought it was outstanding. The characters here are real, and that means unglamorous. But isn't that what real life is? Steve Coogan does a spot-on job as Campbell Babbitt, a departure from the roles we've come to expect from him. But a more dramatic turn suits him well. Hilary Duff, Olivia Thirlby and Josh Peck were excellent, bringing their flawed characters to life in a very real and believable way.

For me, some of the supporting cast members particularly stood out, especially Max Hoffman (Dustin's son) as Fenster and "twins" Ingrid Nilson and Andrea Brooks. These are real people. Nilson especially was just dynamite, and I found myself wishing that there would have been time to explore these characters a bit deeper.

I think the writers did a fine job with this story and the concept of what makes a hero or maybe whether all of our heroes really aren't heroic after all. There were a few places that could have been tighter, but this film was never meant to be perfect, and for that I am glad. Kudos to Jonathan Glatzer on a uniquely different film. I love it.

'WHAT GOES UP must come down' and that seems to be one way of looking at this funky little film written by Robert Lawson and writer/director Jonathan Glatzer. Given Steve Coogan's comedic talents it is able to rise above an implausible script and come close to be entertaining.

The time frame is January 1986 and Campbell Babbitt (the last name is well chosen as a reference to Sinclair Lewis' novel 'Babbitt' - a satire of American culture, society, and behavior, it critiques the vacuity of middle-class American life and its pressure on individuals toward conformity) played by Steve Coogan is a reporter for New York World, writing a series about a woman who became a 'hero' by turning the anguish of seeing her son murdered in to acts of civil service (the woman whom Babbitt has grown to love commits suicide, and out of cherishing her memory he continues to write stories as though she were still alive - an act that Babbitt's editor Donna (Molly Price) finds ridiculous and sends Babbitt of to New Hampshire to cool off and to over the upcoming Space Shuttle Challenger).

Babbitt arrives in a little town in new Hampshire (the town is preparing to celebrate the Shutttle launch as Christa McAuliffe was raised there) to discover that his old friend Sam who was planning to become a priest but opted for teaching had a class of 'problem kids' who adored him. Babbitt discovers Sam's body in the street. The class of odd kids mourn Sam's passing: he was their hero. What Babbitt discovers is a group of kids each of whom is challenged with a problem and is trying to find ways to overcome those problems: Lucy Diamond - a reference to the Beatles song - (Hillary Duff) was in love with Sam; Tess Sulivan (Olivia Thirlby) claims she saw Lucy and Sam in an intimate moment, suggesting that Sam's act resulted in his jumping off his roof in suicide (Tess has private problems at home that lead to an unwanted pregnancy); Jim (Josh Peck) is the guardian of the coffin and funeral and 'burial' of Sam; Peggy (Sarah Lind) is a paraplegic who talks Fenster (Max Hoffman, son of Dustin Hoffman) into being her first sexual encounter; Ann (Ingrid Nilson) and her 'twin' Sue (Andrea Brooks) provide comic relief in their bizarre antics; Lute (Laura Carswell) is the dissatisfied choral assistant to the weirdo-choir director and pageant designer Penelope Little (Molly Shannon).

In the midst of this strange crew and situation Babbitt as a reporter tries to sort every thing out, falls for Lucy, and is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his woe begotten story in New York. His influence helps the kids sort out their priorities and leads Babbitt to find a way out of his own unwanted heroism. The story ends before we know the result of the Challenger explosion - and the creation of a real hero in Christa McAuliffe. But there really isn't a beginning or an end to a story in the ordinary sense of a film. WHAT GOES UP merely puts before the viewer the lives of some odd people and lets us watch how they cope. It has a bit of comedy, though dark, and a lot of tender moments that don't come into focus until movies end. For many this film will perplex: for others it will satisfy. It is an offbeat tale with a lot of innuendoes. Grady Harp, October 10