Long a staple on television since its inception, sitcoms -- by their very definition -- are programs where humor is derived from their characters' reactions to events surrounding the specific situational premise. Whether they're a show about four characters doing nothing in New York ("Seinfeld") or the wacky adventures of a 50's housewife ("I Love Lucy"), such programs can be real gems, but conversely can also stink and disappear without much notice.
While there have been plenty of creative forces behind the successes, few are as well respected -- or for that matter, as successful -- as Glen and Les Charles. On early shows such as "M*A*S*H" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," the brotherly team honed their skills that then led them to create, produce and write for the fabulous ensemble sitcoms "Taxi" and "Cheers."
Now they've taken their formidable talent and skills to the big screen with the release of 20th Century Fox's "Pushing Tin." Based on writer Darcy Frey's 1996 New York Times Sunday Magazine article, "Something's Got to Give," that focused on the careers, related stress and personal lives of some powerful, but unseen and little respected air traffic controllers, the film feels like a sitcom that's been stretched a bit too thin trying to fill its near two-hour runtime.
Only occasionally funny but mostly interesting throughout, the Charles brothers and director Mike Newell ("Donnie Brasco," "Four Wedding and a Funeral") have taken a relatively unexplored subject/occupation -- which contains lots of understandable stress but seemingly limited comedic potential -- and mostly made it work, although at times some events feel a bit more manufactured than naturally occurring.
Even so, shows about cab drivers or bar employees and their customers didn't initially seem like they had much potential or would become such classics, but they still managed to work out for the best of everyone involved in the end.
Part of the reason for that, however, was that we the audience got a chance to get acclimated and familiar -- with each weekly episode -- to the premise, the characters, and the situational humor that subsequently arose. Here we're not allowed those luxuries. To further that problem, the supporting controller characters are not developed, are barely differentiated, and are mainly present just to fill seats.
As such, we neither know much nor care anything about them, thus causing a bodybuilding performance scene featuring Vicki Lewis (of TV's "NewsRadio") to fail to strike the proper chords as it might have had it featured the more familiar Diane "Cheers" Chambers or Elaine "Taxi" Nardo.
Another problem is with the film's tone as it never stays true to its course. Sometimes the scenes are occasionally goofy or far-fetched, such as when all of the air traffic controllers converge behind one operator to alternatively harass or support a harried colleague -- as if no other planes mattered at that moment, or bet on whether a former employee who had a nervous breakdown can even make it back to the front door.
At other times, such humor doesn't go far enough. Since these two guys are such deep-rooted competitors, and we see a few brief instances of their competitive nature -- in fact, that's when the film is the most fun -- one expects it will continue throughout the film.
Unfortunately it doesn't and what should have been the comedic pièce de résistance -- each trying to steal the other's wife -- instead becomes something of an accidental occurrence. That then spins the film around into an entirely different direction, and while this new route offers some limited comedic potential, the film never really survives the transition.
From that point on the events steadily become more contrived and include a peculiar suspense scene that comes out of the blue (which could have been acceptable had some foreshadowing preceded it), as well as a tack-on, supposedly audience pleasing finale that reeks of Hollywood good cheer.
Fortunately for the film, the presence and performances from the two leads and the actresses who play their wives lift this production from such tedium and otherwise mediocre "sitcom-dom." John Cusack ("Grosse Point Blank," "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil") is as good and enjoyable as ever and makes his character believable throughout the film, notwithstanding the later developmental problems.
Billy Bob Thornton ("Primary Colors," "Sling Blade") -- who's becoming such a chameleon-like performer that it's a blast just to see what he'll look like with each subsequent film -- is also quite good in a performance that's refreshingly subdued for such an otherwise competitive character.
Winning the award for the most amazing performance transformation from one film to the next, Cate Blanchett ("Oscar and Lucinda") confidently tosses aside the monarchistic trappings of her Oscar nominated turn in "Elisabeth" to convincingly play the increasingly distraught Long Island wife. It's a nice turn for her and good to see that she's not typecast in period roles.
Meanwhile the always compelling and stunning Angeline Jolie ("Playing By Heart," "Gia") delivers another intriguing performance as a boozing, minxish wife who serves as the catalyst for the film's unfortunate turning point. Other supporting performances are fine, but are hampered by sketchily drawn characters.
While the film isn't anywhere in the same ballpark as "M*A*S*H" -- to which it has and will continue to be compared since both deal with egotistical characters working side by side under extreme duress -- and doesn't have the successful character camaraderie it tries to evoke, the film is still interesting and different enough to make it worthwhile. Throw in the good performances from the leads and you've got a picture that mostly manages to transcend its lingering sitcom-like origins. While not quite as funny or wild as we would have liked or imagined, "Pushing Tin" is enjoyable enough to warrant a recommendation.
Regarding the DVD presentation itself, both the visual and aural components are of great quality, but the supplemental materials (a lone theatrical trailer) are comparatively lacking in today’s market of new DVDs loaded with additional supplemental bits.
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