Intermission: 'Mr. Deeds' pales in comparison to original

"Mr. Deeds"

Directed by: Steven Brill

Starring: Adam Sandler, Winona Ryder, Peter Gallagher, John Turturro

Rated: PG-13

Hey, I have a great idea! Let's do a remake of "Citizen Kane." We'll get Tom Green to play Kane and have some hot music video director direct it. Oh, and Britney Spears can be Kane's wife.

Or how about redoing "Lawrence of Arabia" with Arnold Schwarzenegger as Lawrence, and we'll change the setting to ... let's see ... Mars!

It's not that bad yet, but Hollywood is finding it necessary to fiddle with the classics.

The latest offering in this trend is "Mr. Deeds." Unlike many Adam Sandler movies, it didn't make me run out of the room, but there's simply no reason for this film to have been made.

The original, "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," is an undisputed classic, and its director is one of the few movie makers to have an adjective formed from his name. "Capraesque" refers to films that are in the mold of Frank Capra's movies. He had an unmistakable vision in the stories he chose and the way he directed them. His films are morality plays. I seriously doubt if we're in danger of the term "Brillesque" (after director Steven Brill) being coined. On the other hand, on the NBC game show "Dog Eat Dog," a contestant said that Colin Powell had served as both vice president and president. So Brillesque may not be far behind in the dumbing down of popular culture.

(Please don't ask why I was watching "Dog Eat Dog." It was an accident. Also, Colin Powell would make a fine president, I just think it is something we might remember had it happened.)

"Mr. Deeds" is not "Little Nicky" or "Happy Gilmore," nor is it "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" by a long shot.

Sandler takes over the role of Longfellow Deeds, a character first played by Gary Cooper.

Deeds hails from the small town of Mandrake Falls, N.H. He owns a pizza parlor and aspires to write greeting cards for Hallmark.

The Hallmark reference is one of many product placements that run rampant in this movie.

Deeds inherits $40 billion in stock from a great uncle he never knew. The man was a media mogul, and Deeds goes to New York to settle up with the folks who run his great uncle's empire and get his $40 billion. Little does the seemingly naive Deeds know that the folks trying to buy his stock are going to sell off the company and put 50,000 people out of work.

Babe Bennett (Winona Ryder) is a producer for a sleazy tabloid TV show and poses as a hapless school nurse from a small town.

Her aim is to get close to Deeds, get the goods on him and scoop the rest of the media.

Winona Ryder is a fine actress, but the original role, as acted by the gifted comedienne Jean Arthur, is simply impossible to top.

Also on hand, and proving to be the best thing about "Mr. Deeds," is John Turturro as Emilio Lopez. Emilio was the late mogul's butler/valet and provides that service for Deeds. Emilio's character is well crafted by Turturro and ends up being very important to plot at the climax of the film. Besides his apparent foot fetish, Emilio has an uncanny ability to show up behind a person with no warning.

"You underestimated my sneakiness," he proclaims at one point.

While at first the hard-boiled Babe is out for blood, she gradually falls in love with Deeds and his inherent sweetness. She just doesn't know how to explain everything to him.

When Deeds finds he's been played for a fool, he decides to give all his money away and move back to Mandrake Falls without Babe, whom he was about to ask to marry him.

Babe follows him to explain, and this leads to one of the most embarrassing scenes in the film.

Winona Ryder and Conchata Ferrell, as a lady working in Deeds' pizza place, get into a bizarre fistfight/wrestling match that is stunning in its sheer stupidity.

The original courtroom scene in Capra's "Deeds" is one of the most powerful speeches on film.

In Brill's version, it's a little less effective.

All in all, as Adam Sandler vehicles go, "Mr. Deeds" is close to the top. I'm still scratching my head as to why someone found it necessary to remake something so inimitable.

Get the original from your local video outlet, it's a classic.

Here's an idea. We can redo "The Wizard of Oz," only make it a funky dance thing with Diana Ross in the Judy Garland role. ... Oops, I forgot, they've already done that one.

(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)