Seems like every other decade or so, somebody remakes Charles Dickens' "Nicholas Nickleby" for screens large or small or the stage. This time 'round, the film comes courtesy of writer and director Douglas McGrath, who also updated Jane Austen's "Emma," with Gwynneth Paltrow, in 1996.
McGrath also wrote Woody Allen's "Bullets Over Broadway" and has acted in other of the Woodman's films, including "Hollywood Ending." So, you know that there's bound to be a dose of comedy.
And thank goodness for the periodic laughs, as this "Nicholas Nickleby" is safe, urbane and pretty. The wit alone rescues it from the realm of well-meaning tedium.
The story, for those who spent high school English class smoking behind the maintenance shed is that of a young Devonshire family, which looses its loving, but ne'er-do-well father, Nicholas Nickleby, Sr.
This leaves an already financially-constricted family to London to beg the help of uncle Ralph Nickleby (Christopher Plummer), usurer, speculator and all-around crabby bloke. He's none too happy to help the offspring of his unlucky brother, but sees a chance to farm them out and perhaps reap some rewards.
Nicholas Jr. (Charlie Hunnam) is shipped off to a Yorkshire "school" for boys that is little less than a sadistic, torture chamber of a poor house, run by one-eyed, two-fisted Wackford Squeers (Jim Broadbent) and his even more severe wife (Juliet Stevenson).
There, horrified, Nicholas befriends the crippled and abused Smike (Jamie Bell). The two escape and make for Liverpool, where they meet a traveling band of actors led by Vincent Crummles (Nathan Lane).
After a successful stage debut as Romeo, Nicholas must hurry to London for he discovers his sister needs him. Uncle Ralph has been offering her up to his rich and dastardly clients.
From here on out, Nicholas and Ralph are engaged in a head-on battle to do each other in and the sparks really begin to fly as people are kidnapped, rescued, unhappily betrothed to cancel the debts of others ... you know, that sort of thing.
Broadbent is wonderful and Plummer convincingly sinister and hateful. Hunnam seems out of his element, more like a daytime drama star and delivers his lines, always smiling, with earnest aplomb.
Can't fault the story, which is time-tested, nor the screenplay, which moves along nicely and captures the spirit, if thankfully not the length, of the novel. Run time, incidentally, is about 10 minutes longer than two hours and this "Nicholas Nickleby" is rated PG and is family friendly. The childbirth scene which disallows the G rating, apparently, is nothing to get excited about. Sadly, none of the film is anything to get excited about.
"Nicholas Nickleby" opens Fri., Jan. 24 at Landmark's Downer Theatre.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
