A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

 

A Prairie Home Companion - 2006

Coming up next is 2006's "A Prairie Home Companion", a film that explores the last installment of a long-standing and much-beloved radio show.  We meet all the characters and see what they are like both off and on stage.

The film's cast includes Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Garrison Keillor, Kevin Kline, Lindsay Lohan, Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly, Maya Rudolph, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Marylouise Burke, and L.Q. Jones.

At the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota, a very popular and much-loved radio show is coming to an end.  It's the final night of the show.  However, the audience knows nothing.  Garrison Keillor is the host and keeps the whole thing flowing onstage with witty stories and various commercials for such things as "Jens Jensen Pickled Herring" and "BeBop ReBop Frozen Rhubarb Pie and Frozen Rhubarb Pie Filling".

Show security is provided by private eye Guy Noir, who has a terrific way with words.  All of show's cast and crew love him.

He's fascinated by a mysterious woman who appeared backstage and wanders around unimpeded.  When talking of her to another man, he says, "Her hair was what God had in mind when he said, 'Let there be...hair'".

It turns out that this woman was a former listener of the show.  She is currently deceased and now acts as a sort of "Death Angel" named Asphodel, bringing comfort to the cast and crew of the show.

Among the more famous acts of the show are members of a great singing family, Rhonda and Yolanda Johnson.  The two sisters sing "My Minnesota Home" to rapturous applause from the audience.

After a beloved cast member dies during the show, the Johnson girls take to the stage to sing "Goodbye To My Mama" in memory of their friend.

Garrison Keillor occasionally teams up with Yolanda, as he does here with a song called "Gold Watch And Chain".

Yolanda is very excited to have her daughter, Lola, attending the show.  Lola even gets a chance on stage.  She sings a rendition of "Frankie And Johnny".

Chuck Akers is a sort of bluegrass singer.  His farewell to the show (in more ways than one) is a song called "You've Been A Friend To Me".

We've also got those "Pachelbels of the prairie" and those "Brahms of the bunkhouse", singing cowboys Dusty and Lefty.  Their act/song "Bad Jokes" leaves the audience in stitches.

Other acts with the show include Robin and Linda Williams and gospel-style singer Jearlyn Steele.  Jearlyn does a "Coffee" commercial with Garrison that is pretty funny.

Smells so lovely when you pour it, you will want to drink a quart of coffee.

It's delicious all alone, it's also good with donuts, black coffee.

Coffee stimulates your urges, is served in Lutheran churches.

Keeps the Swedes and the Germans awake through the sermons.

Have a pot of it today, I'm sure you'll say it's awfully good coffee.

During the show, the man who is going to pull the plug on it comes to watch.  He gets more than he bargained for when he gets a visit from Death Angel Asphodel.

At the conclusion of the show, the cast comes together on the stage to sing "Red River Valley" and "In The Sweet By and By" as they bid the audience goodnight.

Some years later, the main cast is sitting in Mickey's Diner in St. Paul discussing the possibility of a road touring of the old radio show.  Everybody is excited at the prospect of getting back together.

Everybody pauses, however, when a familiar face walks into the diner.  They wonder who among them she has come for.

Cast rundown:

   Woody Harrelson.............................Dusty

   Tommy Lee Jones............................Axeman

   Garrison Keillor................................Himself

   Kevin Kline......................................Guy Noir

   Lindsay Lohan.................................Lola Johnson

   Virginia Madsen...............................Asphodel

   John C. Reilly...................................Lefty

   Maya Rudolph..................................Molly

   Meryl Streep...................................Yolanda Johnson

   Lily Tomlin......................................Rhonda Johnson

   Marylouise Burke.............................Evelyn

   L.Q. Jones......................................Chuck Akers

And that's it for A Prairie Home Companion.  This film was included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list.  All of the musical segments were recorded live before an audience.  The director then asked the audience to choose their favorite take of each song, which was then included in the film.  Michelle Pfeiffer was originally supposed to play the role of Asphodel, however, she later backed out.  Virginia Madsen's agent mentioned the role to her in passing, figuring that Madsen would pass.  She jumped at the chance as she was a huge fan of the original radio show.

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The Parent Trap (1998)

 

The Parent Trap - 1998

Coming up next is 1998's "The Parent Trap", a remake of that classic Disney film that sees twins separated by divorce who are reunited at a summer camp and their plan to get their parents back together.

The film's cast includes Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson, Elaine Hendrix, Lisa Ann Walter, Simon Kunz, Polly Holliday, Joanna Barnes, J. Patrick McCormack, Vendela, and Maggie Wheeler.

Strangers and lookalikes Annie James and Hallie Parker are attending the same summer camp in Maine.  Annie is from England, while Hallie is a California girl.

When they meet up, the two girls instantly clash.  "Wanna know the real difference between us?" asks Hallie.  "Let me see...I know how to fence and you don't?  Or, I have class and you don't?  Take your pick," Annie responds.

A series of pranks ensures very quickly that they are separated from the rest of the girls at camp and placed in an isolation cabin.

Once they are forced to spend their time together, the girls become close and eventually discover that they are sisters who were separated as infants when their parents divorced.

So, the only thing left to do is to switch places so they can meet the parent that they have been missing.  They also plan to get their parents together so they can rekindle their romance.

Hallie flies to London, England, where she is very happy to meet her mother,  successful wedding dress designer Elizabeth James.

Mother and daughter spend time together, and Hallie learns a bit about the way her parents met and fell in love.

Annie, meanwhile, has flown to Napa, California, where she meets her dad, Nick Parker, who owns a vineyard.

She is very excited to experience life as a California girl.  Her excitement only grows when they get to their house.

Annie learns from housekeeper (and good friend) Chessy that the situation is far from ideal.  Her dad has become engaged to some hot, young thing.

She is quickly introduced to her future stepmother, Meredith Blake, and she isn't impressed.

Annie quickly finds out that Meredith is a pretty fake character, and she's pretty disgusted with the woman.

The feeling is entirely mutual.  Meredith plans to send "Hallie" to boarding school in Timbuktu just as soon as she's married to Nick.

Their father's engagement forces the girls to act fast.  Hallie tells her mother the truth about their switcheroo.  Elizabeth is definitely happy to be with Hallie, but knows the situation needs to be remedied.

The girls organize a get-together in San Francisco, where Meredith brings along her parents (her mother is Joanna Barnes, "Vicky" from the original film) to meet everyone.  Annie is, again, not impressed.

Nick is definitely surprised when he sees his ex-wife all over the hotel.  Having been kept in the dark about the whole twin switching situation, he has no idea what is going on.

But he's delighted when he sees the girls together again after so many years.

One person who is not delighted, however, is Meredith.  "Did I ever mention that Hallie is a twin?" Nick asks her.  "No, I think you forgot that little detail," she says through clenched teeth.

Later, Meredith accompanies the girls and Nick on a camping trip.  The girls engineer a series of events that ensures Meredith's swift exit from their lives.

Meredith's exit paves the way for Nick and Elizabeth to get back together.

And the girls are delighted when their broken family is made whole again by their parents' marriage.

Cast rundown:

   Lindsay Lohan.............................Hallie Parker/Annie James

   Dennis Quaid...............................Nick Parker

   Natasha Richardson......................Elizabeth James

   Elaine Hendrix.............................Meredith Blake

   Lisa Ann Walter............................Chessy

   Simon Kunz.................................Martin

   Polly Holliday...............................Marva Kulp Sr.

   Joanna Barnes.............................Vicki Blake

   J. Patrick McCormack....................Les Blake

   Vendela.......................................Herself

   Maggie Wheeler............................Marva Kulp Jr.

And that's it for The Parent Trap.  This was Lindsay Lohan's film debut, and she skipped school and pretended to be sick so that she could attend auditions.  Other girls who vied for the dual role of the twins included Mara Wilson, Scarlett Johansson, Alex McKenna, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Tina Majorino.  Among those who were in consideration for father Nick Parker were Jeff Daniels, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Robin Williams, Bill Murray, and Harrison Ford.

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