CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Film Review: ‘Land Ho!’ a Funny Film Driven by Memorable Characters
CHICAGO – The pure, character-driven film is as rare as a comic book movie with a bad opening weekend. “Land Ho!” is one of those celluloid treats, the simple story of “Odd Couple” senior citizens – portrayed unforgettably by Earl Lynn Wilson and Paul Eenhoorn – who take a trip to the country of Iceland, and learn how to, and how not to, get along.
Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
The Foghorn Leghorn machinations of Earl Lynn Wilson blend and clash purposely with the lower keyed Eenhoorn. They both tolerate and love one another, which is the best way to generate drama or comedy, even in the midst of such a simple story. Wilson is a hoot, it’s impossible to make up such a character, and indeed the surgeon-turned-actor will inevitably exclaim, “That’s me, baby!” The veteran actor Eenhoorn clings more to character, but even he gets sucked into the Earl Lynn vortex, and the irascible old coot and low key brother-in-law characters create beautiful and hilarious music together.
Mitch (Earl Lynn Wilson) is a retired, twice divorced surgeon. He gets an itch for adventure and invites his former brother-in-law Colin on an all-expenses paid trip to Iceland. Colin almost reluctantly agrees – he lives very modestly and doesn’t have funds for traveling since his wife died. The two sixtysomething fellow travelers board a plane for mysteries that only another country can provide.
The rest of the journey is basically what happens to them. Mitch starts the proceedings by inviting a much younger distant cousin and a friend to dinner (they are also traveling), and the generational clash is evident as they end up in a loud nightclub. That doesn’t stop Mitch, he loves partying and smoking pot. The more low-keyed Colin gamely tries to keep up, but their differences almost derails the trip. Can these two tourists stick together without driving each other crazy?
The Two and Only: Mitch (Earl Lynn Nelson) and Colin (Paul Eenhoorn) in ‘Land Ho!’
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Classics