By: debbie lynn elias
There was a time that September and the onset of Fall brought such excitement to me. Back to school (yes folks, I actually loved school), new clothes (albeit sometimes ugly ones purchased by my mother), change of seasons, crispness in the air, the warmth of fall foliage and of course, a plethora of Oscar worthy movie releases. No matter how bad a day, how mean a teacher, how incompetent or nasty an employer, or how embarrassing the outfit, there was always the joy and excitement of the big Fall movie releases. Sadly, times, they are a changin’ and never moreso than with a plethora of disappointing “big release” Fall films. The latest victim – FLYBOYS.
Long anticipated (by me at least) for its alleged accuracy and romanticism of World War I and those volunteer American Flyboys known as the Lafayette Escadrille, at the end of this film, I was in tears – and not from the horrors of war, but rather the horrors of poor plot, awful acting and disastrous direction.
Lensed from a computer generated “eye-in-the-sky”, FLYBOYS is essentially the story of what would change the face of combat forever – the airplane. Set in 1917, hand to hand combat is the still the way of war between England, France and Germany. Tensions are high. The battlefields are littered with the blood of young men fighting for what would be “the war to end all wars.” (Ah, 20-20 hindsight. If only they had known what the future held for mankind.) But, tides are about to turn thanks to a new weapon – the airplane. Helmed by a squadron of 38 eager volunteers, the Lafayette Escadrille enter the new frontier of air combat as they take to the skies in their rickety canvas and cardboard flying machines.
With typical American bravado, Blaine Rawlings, Eugene Skinner and William Jensen, among others, can’t wait for the United States to enter the European fracas. Determined to make a name for themselves and feel that thrill of the rush of victory and adoration of millions of young women, they volunteer to fight for France as part of the Lafayette Escadrille. Meeting up with disgruntled and distant American flyer Reed Cassidy, full of salt and vinegar, the boys are romanticized as they engage in dogfights with the Germans and most notably, as they take on a German zeppelin. Battle scarred and battle weary, at the end of each fight, they kick back at a comfortable chateau with a soft down bed, some good cigars and fine bottles of French cognac wine, singing bawdy identifiable war songs. Ands tossed in for good measure is their lollygagging about between battles as they discuss their hapless existences back in the States that, although never developed, seems to be the impetus for each to wanna be somebody.
Go-to guy James Franco takes to the skies as irreverent and irascible Blaine Rawlings. Generally solid in period pieces, Franco falls short here and gives a sense of a free-fall performance without the benefit of a script or ensemble characters.
A Texan with a flawed Southern accent that comes and goes like an airplane going in and out of camera shot, this flaw follows him throughout the film and detracts from what could have been at least a more pleasing performance. Veteran Jean Reno takes on the esteemed roll of squadron leader Captain Thenault in what is undoubtedly the strongest performance of the film. The talents of Abdul Salis are wasted as the lone Black Flyboy, Eugene Skinner. In what could have been a well developed role, the writers just gloss over the character as if commonplace and like every other soldier. It’s not and shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. One of my long time favorites Mac McDonald is a standout of Sheriff Detweiler. Having appeared in everything from “The Young Indiana Jones” to “Fifth Element”, McDonald is never a disappointment and thankfully, stays true to form here. Casting made a good choice with Philip Winchester as Flyboy William Jensen. Cutting his “airchops” in Jonathan Frakes 2004 comedy “Thunderbirds”, Winchester provides an eager maturity befitting his character and the men of the Lafayette Escadrille.
The problems with this film start with script. Written by veteran scribe David S. Ward and newcomers Blake T. Evans and Phil Sears, based on a true life story, we have a mish-mosh of hodgepodge – something I would never have expected from Ward. And Evans, well known for his often lush cinematography in tv films such as “Au Pair”, fails to translate his visual acuity to the written or spoken word – although I give him much credit for the story concept on which this film is based. Cliched to the Nth degree, if there was ever a standout line or scene in any war movie ever made, you will find it mangled to death here. And the romanticizing of the airmen? Winding, dining and bedding refugees doesn’t really come across as a romanticized take on anything – especially given the current political climate of the world not just now, but then. There is no heart. No soul to the characters. A sense of “fly in, fly out” permeates the films and results in an inability to connect with any character or the film as a whole.
And then there’s director Tony Bill. A king among tv series direction (although, I will forgive him for Dirty Dancing – the TV show), the expected or anticipated magnitude of FLYBOYS may have proven just too much for him. While I applaud his initial efforts and desire to construct replicas of the WWI prop plane flying machines for actual air battle sequences, his fallback to CGI technology following an accident with the unstable prop-plane craft, is disappointing. With technology what it is, I expected more visually once he went to CGI. I must commend him, however, for the CGI sequence between a German zeppelin and the Flyboys. The most exciting and visually stimulating scene in the entire film, while passable, it unfortunately, still falls short and appears too “computer basic” and let’s face it, un-three-dimensional. And why, with his talents and expertise, Blake Evans didn’t at least salvage part of the film by stepping in as its cinematographer is something I will never understand. The one saving grace – Charles Woods’ production design – Outstanding!
You can almost see the dream, you can almost feel what, I believe, the filmmakers hoped to achieve – an authenticity, more genteel yet patriotic time, a more romanticized period, when men were men and Flyboys were idolized like celebrities or wannabes on “American Idol.” Unfortunately, all that I see for FLYBOYS is it flying into the sunset and away from the box office charts with its rudder tucked beneath its wings.
James Franco: Blaine Rawlings
Jean Reno: Captain Georges Thenault
MacMcDonald: Sheriff Detweiler
Philip Winchester: William Jensen
Directed by Tony Bill. Written by David S. Ward, Blake T. Evans and Phil Sears based on a story by Blake T. Evans. Rated Pg-13. (139 min)
