Email Author Michael Sragow

1999 Stories by Michael Sragow

• Stormin' Mormon

  published May 6, 1999

  The SLC in SLC Punk! stands for Salt Lake City, but it might as well stand for Some Lucky Chump. The filmmaker, James Merendino, has stated that... More >>

• Great Pods

  published April 22, 1999

  Just as David Cronenberg's The Fly (1986) came off as an organic reaction to a terrible new wasting disease, his new movie crystallizes the... More >>

• Out-of-Steppers

  published April 8, 1999

  Steve Martin says he doesn't want audiences to expect the same old Steve Martin whenever he stars in a comedy. But that means one thing when he's... More >>

• Reel Time

  published March 25, 1999

  "I hope it's better than The Truman Show," said the woman in line behind me at the publicized "sneak preview" of EDtv. Afterward a man in my row... More >>

• Myles of Ego

  published March 25, 1999

  Self-serving confessions are a mainstay of bestseller lists; now we're doomed to see their ilk on screen. The film 20 Dates is the not-so-verite... More >>

• Top Rank

  published March 18, 1999

  Jimmy Cagney brought the same electric physicality to gangsters that he did to song-and-dance men. He gave a bright-eyed mug such as his character... More >>

• Lost and Found

  published March 11, 1999

  The Deep End of the Ocean starts as a maternal horror movie and ends up as a family therapy session. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the photographer wife... More >>

• Rushmore or Less

  published February 4, 1999

  In the 1993 hit Groundhog Day, Bill Murray played a show-biz smart-ass who grew into a human being. Murray added a core of warmth and romance to... More >>

• Hi-Lo Ho-Hum

  published January 21, 1999

  "Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose," Kris Kristofferson sings in his most beguiling song, "Me and Bobby McGee." Stephen... More >>