I have the poster hanging on my movie room wall for Avengers: Age of Ultron. You might think that that means it’s one of my favorites in the MCU. However…it’s honestly not. I think the film is a bit of a mess, truly. It starts off in the middle of a battle that we don’t feel that much investment in, and there are so many flaws that if this film came out as a stand-alone, non-MCU film, I think it would have been more or less forgotten.
But that’s not the point of my blog entry.
I’d like to tell you why I was super excited for this film: James Spader.
See, when I was about 13 or 14, I was obsessed with James Spader. He had starred in a film I rented from my local small-town video store, Potomac Video, and it was just sitting there on the shelf, looking quite badass and grown up. My mom would pick out a “family” film, and she trusted me not to pick out something awful (or pornographic) that was just for me. I was into teen films because, as you know, when you are 14, you just want to be grown up. And I picked Tuff Turf.
This film was so great, and low budget, and so cheesy, but honestly, looking-back now, the outfits are cringe-worthy. As a kid, all I wanted was a hair crimper so that I could grow my hair long and crimp it like the super-cool Kim Richards. So in spite of the flaws, this film stuck with me, even through my teen years because in my teen magazines, I saw photos of James Spader and his co-star and BFF in the film all the time: Robert Downey, Jr.
They had such awesome chemistry, and you can see that RDJ is the same now as then—which is kind of eery. (Maybe he drinks from the same fountain as Keanu Reeves and Paul Rudd for long-lasting charm and looks.) They went to parties together. They later starred in Less Than Zero together. Heck, I even found out when they were doing PR for Ultron that RDJ named a cat Jimmy after Spader (https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/robert-downey-jr-once-named-a-cat-after-this-old-hollywood-friend.html/).
So my expectations were high for this film, not just because it was a new Avengers entry, but also because I thought it was wonderful that, years later, it seemed like my fantasy version of their relationship as life-long BFFs was partly true. It was RDJ who worked to get Spader the job. (He does have a great voice.)
I re-watched Tuff Turf a few years ago in my excitement for Ultron. Guess what I saw? A bit of foreshadowing in one scene where Spader stands in front of graffiti on a wall that reads, simply, The New Avengers. I guess that Tuff Turf predicted the MCU’s entry 30 years later (https://movieweb.com/1985s-tuff-turf-predicted-the-avengers-casting-of-robert-downey-jr-and-james-spader/).
So my expectations were high for this film, not just because it was a new Avengers entry, but also because I thought it was wonderful that, years later, it seemed like my fantasy version of their relationship as life-long BFFs was partly true. It was RDJ who worked to get Spader the job. (He does have a great voice.)
I re-watched Tuff Turf a few years ago in my excitement for Ultron. Guess what I saw? A bit of foreshadowing in one scene where Spader stands in front of graffiti on a wall that reads, simply, The New Avengers. I guess that Tuff Turf predicted the MCU’s entry 30 years later (https://movieweb.com/1985s-tuff-turf-predicted-the-avengers-casting-of-robert-downey-jr-and-james-spader/).
I just hope they make another movie again together that I could like a bit more than Ultron, though. But it definitely wouldn’t be as cool as James Spader’s hair and Robert Downey Jr.’s drum playing. Maybe I’ll look and see if I can find a hair crimper at Ulta!
Until their next movie, though, I’ll have Ultron happily hanging on my wall.
I now have to check out Tuff Turf just because of James Spader and RDJ and the foreshadowing. Cheesy as it may be, those two will certainly make it cool. But now to Age of Ultron. I generally like this movie, although I agree that it seems odd at times and there are flaws. I feel like until Ultron shows up, it is kind of awkward and doesn't really know what to do or how to get started. Jane and Pepper are just explained away with a sentence. We suddenly see this Nat and Banner thing that was apparently pretty obvious to the gang but not to viewers before this movie. But once we get Ultron, I think it starts to work itself out. I like some of the conversation between Ultron and Vision about human beings and how they will basically destroy themselves. And I like the comparison of Ultron to Tony and how Ultron doesn't know the difference between saving the world and destroying it and Wanda implying that sounds like Tony. It's interesting to see the growth of Tony's character throughout the movies, and then to see if contrasted with Ultron which ultimately means it's contrasted with Thanos. I also like seeing how it seems Tony and Captain America have changed and taken on each other's ideas of what is right and wrong, but that's a discussion for a post on Captain America Civil War which is probably my favorite of the MCU movies.
ReplyDeleteI really think that the whole Hulk-Widow thing strikes the wrong note, but it seems with the exit of Whedon, that thread isn't continued. (Maybe Betty comes back? Who knows?)
ReplyDeleteYou would find Tuff Turf very dated, but it's a great favorite of mine! Their friendship is amazing and it shows onscreen!
We are watching it on TV now, and I just made the comment about how other than Hulk seeing the video message of Black Widow in Thor Rangnarok and turning back into Banner, they never followed through with that story line.
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