Great films are in U.S. theaters now; why not here? - Columns

By Jane Holahan

Updated Feb 19, 2007 15:40

You know, the ones the critics are raving about.

The ones that have graced magazine covers and been the subject of long feature articles in newspapers.

The ones that will be getting all the Oscar nominations.

The ones declared the best movies of the year by critics other than Larry King.

The ones that are not playing here but should be.

�Dreamgirls.�

�Last King of Scotland.�

�Venus.�

�Little Children.�

�Notes on a Scandal.�

�Volver.�

�Sherrybaby.�

I�ve been reading about them for a while now. The luminous performances, the brilliant direction, the intelligent screenplays. The predicted Oscar nominations.

I guess Hollywood figures we folks here in Lancaster don�t want to see good movies.

Well, I do. Why is it we get dreck like �Unaccompanied Minors� and �Black Christmas� immediately but have to wait months and months for the good stuff?

I�ve known for several months that Forest Whitaker is destined to win the Oscar for his brilliant portrayal of Idi Amin in �Last King of Scotland.�

But wait, the always fascinating Peter O�Toole is amazing in �Venus,� a film about an old man who finds himself in love and lust well into his 70s. He just might grab that Oscar away.

Or so I�ve heard. I�d like to actually see the movies, but they�ve never played in Lancaster.

Will they ever?

Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett are supposed to be brilliant in �Notes on a Scandal,� but I wouldn�t know. And Penelope Cruz has been getting the kind of reviews actresses would kill for in �Volver,� but who knows? Pedro Almodovar movies rarely make it to Lancaster.

OK, movies like �Sherrybaby,� starring Maggie Gyllenhaal as a drug addict trying to get her life back together, might get rave reviews but not have wide commercial appeal.

But where is �Dreamgirls�? It is not a small, independent film. It�s big, it�s an Oscar contender and it�s got plenty of stars.

So where is it?

I used to be able to count on the Point of View in Millersville to bring smaller films to Lancaster, but the theater hasn�t been as adventurous as it used to be.

In recent months, it�s been showing movies that broke through and played at regular theaters earlier, like �Little Miss Sunshine� and �The Queen.�

Without the Point of View supplying the art and foreign films, Lancaster is in a very mainstream mode.

You can go to the Midtown in Harrisburg or the Goggle Works in Reading (which has a stunning theater), to see the off-the-wall movies, but they are both quite a drive.

Of course, I rant like this every January. That�s when the Oscar buzz gets started and the �Best Of� lists come out. And it�s when I realize I haven�t seen or had the chance to see a lot of the movies on those lists.

That�s when I feel the pain of living in Lancaster and I�m thankful for Netflix.

And every year I ask the same question: Why does Hollywood think people who live in smaller towns are only interested in big movies?

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