‘Blu-ray or Bust’ - AMERICAN MADE

‘Blu-ray or Bust’

AMERICAN MADE (2017, PG-13, 115 minutes, CROSS CREEK PICTURES/UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

I enjoy making fun of Tom Cruise sometimes.  He always seems to… well, tom-cruise-it-up whenever he stars in a movie.  By that, I mean to say that he has a natural knack of reminding you EVERY STINKIN’ TIME he’s onscreen, that he’s Tom Cruise, and you’re welcome.

In recent years, he managed to rein himself in a bit.  TROPIC THUNDER, EDGE OF TOMORROW, even the last couple of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE films—they all seemed more like movies that had Tom Cruise in them, rather than showcases for him to tom-cruise-it-up.  Then he did a remake of THE MUMMY, and I got to have a bit of fun again.  He produced and starred in it, and it was more of a vanity piece than it as a kick-start to a new Universal Monsters franchise. What sets AMERICAN MADE apart from the last flick?

He didn’t produce this one.

MADE succeeds—and I’m using that term generously—where so many other Cruise films have gone wrong (see: giving him too much say in the making of the film).  Sure, there are the usual Cruise touches: his boyish smile, his swaggering charm, seeing him fly an airplane.  But he isn’t given the chance to tom-cruise-it-up, and it saves the film from being a disaster.  Based on the true story of drug/gun/people smuggler Barry Seal, the film recounts the CIA whipping boy who wound up as a key figure in the Iran-Contra Affair.  At times, it plays out like so many other films that captured that seminal time period; you can usually pick out these “historical” pieces by their soundtracks, and this one uses music you have heard used before.  You also get the usual storytelling gimmicks ala GOODFELLAS, BLOW, etc.

Sarah Wright, while a fine actress (and boy, do I mean fiiIIIiinne), plays Barry’s wife Lucy, but she is not given a whole lot to do here.  This is, after all, a big story, and it has Tom Cruise in it, not to mention a whole lot of other characters.  Some of whom we don’t get enough time with, although we are expected to be familiar with despite their seeming lack of importance.  And perhaps that is where some of the finer points of this “historical” narrative become lost; we have seen so much of this before, in other films, that the outcome to some situations—even the resolution of Barry’s story itself—seems reused, and predictable.  The more shocking parts of this real-life story found their way into other films, so they don’t sit as heavily as they should.  Then again, one of the minor characters even points out at one point that violent deaths are in store for them for dealing with the Columbians, so we are left to ponder whether Barry is as smart as Cruise—or we, for that matter—wants him to be.

Which is another point to mention; there are moments where it seems Barry is the smartest person in the room, but those moments are too far between to convince that he is ever really in control.  More often than not, we are left to marvel at the low level of intelligence our main character actually possesses.  Early on, it is established that despite his job as an airline pilot, Barry’s level of education seems to be stuck in middle school.  Which makes you wonder how safe you really are flying the friendly skies.

There are several special features, including one on Cruise’s aerial stunt work, an interview with Barry’s real-life son, and interviews with other cast members.  All mentioning how this is an important piece of American history, which it is.  I just wonder if it couldn’t have been told more solidly, and with a bit more care for its minor characters; there are good performances here, but you shouldn’t have to seek them out. Or write a list of who’s who so they make more sense later.

Film Grade: B-

Special Features: B

Blu-ray Necessary: Recommended

-- T.S.Kummelman