Fan Review by Joel Maran, Dec. 5, 2009
It seems like even though I still like to watch this movie, it's pretty dated and somewhat inaccurate in its mentality. Dated, that is to say that early 90s optimism has given way to the millenium apathy. Movies no longer strive to tell us anything, at least not the biggest and most financially successful of them.
This film reeks of the caucasoid consciousness from late 80s and early 90s that there was another world out there, the world of the "hood". A lot of messages about "increasing the peace" were coming from professional ex-gangbangers who became rap stars, and "DARE to say no to drugs" were coming out of the Reagan and first Bush administrations. A lot of people (mostly suburbanites who really had no idea about life in the hood) found this sincere, while others, knowing that until the root causes of society's problems are really addressed, the problems will remain forever, called these "family values" and "wars on drugs" a bunch of bullshit propaganda. the sincerity of these millionaire rappers also came into question, as they often perpetuated their own rivalries and 'gang wars" in the lyrics of their songs. The same commentary about sincere motives can be found in "The War Prayer", the newer Sisto short about about rabid patriotism, good ol' Christian thinking, and the beaurocratic crap that goes with the so-called "war on terror".
The early 90s love-thy-neighbor aura is captured forever in "Grand Canyon". It feels dated and even cheesy at times, with its family values and rap music, and lines like, "whateva baybeh!" At times undeniably brilliant and correct, it still, at other times, reeks insanely of the writing of a white couple who really has no inkling of what life in "tha early 90s hood" was really like. Even though it too is dated, the film Mari has mentioned in comparison, "Boyz In The Hood" seems to hit more squarely on the mark. Instead of seeming like "token" blacks strategically placed to give penitent whites something to use to better themselves, the cast of "Boyz" creates individuals closely and meticulously examined as they aspire to something better.
Still, with its fine talented cast and its engrossing tangle of interconnected characters and dilemmas, "Grand Canyon" remains at least a good entertaining movie. Long, but as my sister in law has said, not boring, even with very long sequences of banter about self actualization and reform: When Steve Martin gets shot in the leg and nearly loses it, he goes through a phase about wanting to stop producing violent films which have been his bread and butter. Once recovered though, Martin recants everything and chalks it up to a lot of bullshit. This is my favorite scene, and the most sincere one.
