As Good As It Gets

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

I've just seen this last theatrical cartoon directed by Bob Clampett, under the name Kilroy, on Thad's Animation Blog. It was made for the B-movie studio Republic and was a pilot of sorts for a new animated series there. It's a Grand Old Nag didn't do well enough for the movie company so Clampett's future would eventually be on television with Beany and Cecil in both puppet and animated form. Here, Charlie Horse dreams of movie star Hay-dy La Mare just as a director from Miracle Pictures ("If it's a good picture, it's a Miracle") picks him for his new film with the leading lady herself. Lots of very funny gags abound of Charlie's turns as a stuntman and his attempts at romancing Hay-dy. The print I saw turned black-and-white partly through but otherwise this was a very enjoyable short. Definitely well worth seeing for Clampett fans.

I've only seen a worn 16mm print of It's a Grand Old Nag, but even with that handicap the cartoon still shines. It's a very funny satire on Hollywood, about a horse named Charlie who dreams of meeting his dream girl (horse), Heddy La Mare. One can't help but compare this cartoon, which was produced for Republic Pictures, with the great work Clampett did while at Warner Brothers. (Clampett used a pseudonym instead of his real name in the credits; he is listed as Kilroy.) Surprisingly, the Republic cartoon is on par, in terms of pacing, timing, humor and quality of animation, with most of Clampett's Looney Tunes cartoons. While not quite up to masterpieces like The Great Piggy Bank Robbery or Baby Bottleneck, it is nevertheless still a very good cartoon. I was surprised at how good the animation was since Clampett did not have his great team of animators from Warners. Deprived of the excellent talents of Rod Scribner, Manny Gould and Robert McKimson, Clampett still managed to turn out animation that was strong and exaggerated. The cartoon is not in circulation on television or on home video, so it is difficult to see. However, if a rare opportunity does arise to view the cartoon, I recommend it highly.