Fall Movie Preview Spectacular! Part 4 – The Films of December

Hyde Park on Hudson

Release Date: December 7^th

Directed by Roger Michell; Starring Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Williams, Olivia Colman, Samuel West

How cool would it be if the world of historical fiction took its casting cues from Marvel Studios, and had one performer playing his or her iconic part across multiple movies?

I like the trailer for Hyde Park on Hudson. It’s intriguing and nicely atmospheric, but as I watched, I couldn’t stop thinking how cool it would be if Colin Firth reprised his Oscar-winning turn as King George VI from The King’s Speech here, with Helena Bonham-Carter by his side as Queen Elizabeth. That would be like The Avengers of early 20^th century historical dramas, right?

Ah, well. Olivia Colman and Samuel West will do just fine in the parts, and the real attraction here is Bill Murray as President Franklin Roosevelt, a casting decision too daft not to love.

The story here is a cool one: In summer 1939, King George VI became the first British monarch to visit the United States, and hoping to bolster American support for World War II, President Roosevelt greeted him with a stay at his comfortable estate in Hyde Park. I think there’s a lot of dramatic potential there, and given the size of the role, I would not be surprised to see Murray garner an Oscar nomination. This is one to look out for.

Playing for Keeps

Release Date: December 7^th

Directed by Gabrielle Muccino; Starring Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Uma Thurman, Judy Greer, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Dennis Quaid

Butler stars as a former Pro-soccer player trying to get his professional, personal, and paternal lives in order after his divorce to Jessica Biel’s character. The poster and promotional description implies Butler plays a womanizer getting it on with all the soccer moms of the team he coaches, while the trailer suggests a much sweeter story about a decent guy trying to be a better father and redeem himself as a husband.

I would not, normally, be inclined to watch either version of the story, frankly, as romantic comedies tend to underwhelm, especially when they go for semi high-concept premises like this one. But I like the trailer quite a bit, the cast is very strong, and Muccino is the rare director who can pull off commercial saccharine sincerely. I am definitely interested to check it out.

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