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Arts & Entertainment Labor Day ™ By Jan Lisa Huttner SOMETHING OLD: moves to Atlanta in people who make her problems seem small, and 13 Conversations About One Thing search of a fresh by fighting for them, she learns the difference SOMETHING NEW: start. She lands in between brazen self-assertion and genuine self- Beauty Shop an uptown salon respect. The feminist lines in Beauty Shop are SOMETHING BORROWED: owned by a martinet ebullient, but the feminist lines in Erin Erin Brockovich named “Jorge” Brockovich were written earnestly and read with SOMETHING BLUE: (played with broad hard-won sincerity. Japanese Story comic zest by Kevin Bacon), but quickly (Curious about the “real” EB? Enter her full As we say a fond farewell to another summer and rebels, and then name “Erin Brockovich-Ellis” into your favorite head into Fall, here are four films about work- earns his full enmity search engine.) place identities in the modern world. by opening a rival shop in the ‘hood. In Japanese Story, an Jill and Karen Australian geologist Sprecher first attract- The Queen exercises her real-life powers as both named Sandy (Toni ed attention with star and producer by peopling Beauty Shop with Collette) plays tour Clockwatchers, their a diverse set of well-known actors like Andie guide to a Japanese 1997 feature about MacDowell, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Della Reese, businessman named four temps on the bot- Alicia Silverstone, Mena Suvari, and Alfre Hiromitsu (Gotaro tom rung of an enor- Woodard, all of whom play for laughs and get Tsunashima). mous corporation. In them. And then there’s Djimon Hounsou as Joe, Starting out, Sandy 2001, they released the “love interest” with a capital L: wow! and Hiromitsu see 13 Conversations each other as total About One Thing, a Warning: this is a movie to share with your girl- stereotypes. film with many of the friends. Guys who complain about Kevin Hiromitsu thinks same themes, but Bacon’s Eurotrash accent without realizing that Sandy is crude, with absolutely no feminine qual- broader and deeper. The sisters share screenwrit- screenwriter Kate Lanier (best-known for writing ities. Sandy, feeling the condescension beneath ing credits on both films, with Jill named director. the Tina Turner bio-pic What’s Love Got to Do his wealth and polish, thinks Hiromitsu is both with It) is just setting them up, will rain on the spoiled and rude. The anchor of 13 Conversations is Gene, a mid- parade. dle-aged, middle-manager in a large Manhattan Driving together into the enormity of the insurance company. Gene – exquisitely played Julia Roberts amazed Australian outback, Sandy is annoyed and by Alan Arkin – is a divorced workaholic, and everyone five years aggrieved, but Hiromitsu is mesmerized by the loneliness is slowly corroding all his interactions. ago in her Oscar-win- endless, empty vistas. As his concept of space One night he meets Troy (Matthew ning role as Erin begins to change, his personality begins to McConaughey). Their casual bar stool conversa- Brockovich. Her expand. Finding herself locked in the car with tion marks a turning point in both lives. When powerhouse perform- him for days on end and forced to relate, Sandy Troy leaves the bar, he has a tragic encounter with ance overwhelmed also begins changing her concept of space, and Beatrice (Clea DuVall), but when Gene leaves the fans and critics alike, she slowly opens herself up to intimacy. Sue bar, he has a brief encounter with Patricia (Amy and few people Brooks directed this cross-cultural masterpiece Irving) which, though wordless, is filled with focused on the details based on a screenplay by Alison Tilson. redemptive beauty. of this superbly-craft- ed piece of agitprop. Women’s roles were once narrowly proscribed, Beatrice is a house-cleaner, Troy is an attorney, But watch it again, but now many women are increasingly chal- Patricia is the wife of a University professor. Just and you’ll be unexpectedly moved by screen- lenged to craft their own destinies. Women film- like Gene, all three are initially defined by the writer Susannah Grant’s detailed character devel- makers, who must fight so hard to get their jobs that they do. But the filmmakers weave their opment, fact-based but also deeply empathetic. movies made, are great guides to this new reality. stories together in profound ways, so that, by the end, we know we have peeked into the lives of Grant plays on our prejudices, deliberately mak- Jan Lisa Huttner is the indelible individuals. ing it easy for us to underestimate Erin at the Managing Editor of FILMS beginning of the film. She’s larger-than-life in all FOR TWO: The Online Guide 13 Conversations is a wonderful film, but it’s the wrong ways, and the chip on her shoulder is for Busy Couples. A complete archive of Jan’s reviews for the serious and pensive. Beauty Shop, on the other so huge it’s no wonder she always eats alone. TM hand, is pure fun. Gina, the Queen Latifah char- Woman’s Newspapers can be acter from Barbershop 2, leaves Chicago and But Erin’s self-pity crumbles when she meets found in the “Treasures” section of www.films42.com.