Steven Spielberg is not really a director many would class
as underrated, and with good reason. The most successful filmmaker the world
has ever known has made some of the greatest films in history, and garnered
huge amounts of awards and critical acclaim. Yet his talents in one particular
field remain wholly underappreciated: comedy.
This largely stems from the few
weak links in Spielberg’s normally stellar back catalogue. His few unsuccessful
films, both in terms of gross and acclaim, are undoubtedly 1941, Always, and Hook.
Each of these is in some way most overtly comedic (with the possible exception
of Always, which is just dull), and
yet represent his few failings. Where 1941
excels is in madcap mayhem, the sheer amount of destruction and special effects
simply used in silly ways is commendable at the least, but crucially lacks
laughs. Similarly, Hook tends to only
be funny if you’re the kind of age where paint food fights and repeated use of
the word ‘barf’ are considered the height of hilarity.
Yet The Terminal remains one of Spielberg’s overlooked gems. One of his
latest films, his development in his handling of comedy has clearly matured
over time – this was his first film after the joyous romp of Catch Me If You Can for instance, and
retains that sense of innocent humour in the central characters. The plot
concerns Tom Hank’s Victor Navorski becoming stranded in New York’s JFK airport
following a coup in his fictional Eastern Bloc country while he is in mid-air. Subsequently,
he finds himself unable to leave the confines of the International Transit
Lounge, and becomes a folk hero to many who pass through its doors while
remaining a menace to the director of the airport (Stanley Tucci).
The film could pass as a brilliant
piece simply on artistic intent alone. The terminal itself is a perfectly
designed encapsulation of capitalism at work, a mass of Burger Kings and
Borders and designer clothing stores residing alongside the airport chapel.
Victor has to scrounge the money from the airport baggage carts just to be able
to afford a burger, and otherwise makes do with a sandwich of complimentary
crackers and condiments. He sleeps wherever he can, largely in the as yet
unfinished part of the departure lounge, and represents a fantastic metaphor
for the plight of immigrant workers in modern day America. Victor is a good
man, a skilled worker and a loving individual who refuses to bow to the
pressures of authority and beurocracy that trap him there, and ultimately wins
over those around him.
Yet for once Spielberg doesn’t
forget to have a laugh. Hanks pitches Navorski perfectly, a mix of sympathetic
and foolish but always kind-hearted, and with a laughable yet passable accent.
Virtually every line is as quotable as the best Spaced episodes, and have the added bonus of being done in a
faux-Russian accent (“You want to get eat to bite?”). Similarly the supporting
cast not only represent the average working class American or immigrant, as
well as the problems that come with those, but remain both hilarious and
touching. As Gupta the Indian janitor
spins plates and juggles at inappropriate times, we feel that he is not
a comic relief character but rather a fully rounded individual. Indeed, one of
the most touching moments of the film occurs when he stops a plane with his mop
and declares defiantly “I am going home!” He also hates Tuesdays...
Admittedly the film is not without
its weaker moments – it’s slightly too long, and the love story proves more
distracting than anything, but even that adds the furthering of the theme of
communication and connection in the modern world. The recent George
Clooney/Jason Reitman film Up In The Air is
essentially The Terminal without the
laughs, sharing as it does the same themes and preoccupations but never quite
reaching the joyous heights of Spielberg’s underrated masterpiece. Go and seek
it out and you will thank me for introducing you to a wonderful comedy by a
master of any genre he lays his finger on.
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