Radiant City (A Junger-Witt/Thomas Production - that
about says it all)
"Radiant City" was one two-hour long Kodak
moment. Let's just say that our technical director, who is mildly
hypoglycemic, left the room for fear of having a blood-sugar spike.
This movie was filled with nice, happy, white people trying to work
hard to get out of the projects in the 1950's. As for what message
that relays to people in projects in the 1990's, well, I'm not gonna
go there.
Anyway, everyone in this movie sounded like they were related to The Nanny, with their Noo Yawk accents. Kirstie Alley looked a little too glamorous to be in the projects. In fact, she looked like Jackie Kennedy in a crinoline skirt. The two children were bratty, but not in the smart-ass way that TV children are in the 1990's. Although, if this was truly realistic, the 16-year-old daughter would have been sent to a convent before she had to get married.
And then there was Clancy. Boy, this was probably a real stretch for him to get into character - NOT! He was basically playing John Danziger without the shaggy hair and tacky shirt. Not that this is bad... He was playing the solid, working-class guy that was busting his butt on the night shift to make a living, and playing the ponies on the side. And, best of all, his character was still alive at the end of the movie! All of the Rabid Clancyettes probably enjoyed his wardrobe in this one. CB was either wearing a uniform, or was wandering around the house in his (sigh) boxers. Yes, we even had a brief SHIRTLESS shot! WOO HOO! My only complaint is that he had too little screen time. Whenever he was on camera, he was either going to work or going to sleep - until the end. He had more dialogue in the last 15 minutes than he did the entire rest of the movie.
To wrap this up, Radiant City was a two-hour advertisement for family values, probably scripted by Newt Gingrich. It was definitely a movie to watch if you didn't want to think on Sunday night. KOBA-TV gives it two and a half pillbox hats out of five.
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