Cradle Will Rock

I'll give a brief review of the forgotten 1999 film, Cradle Will Rock. I'd been wanting to check this out for a while, based on its cast list: both Cusacks, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Bill Murray, Hank Azaria, Cherry Jones, Vanessa Redgrave, John Turturro, the D (yes, JB and KG, in a hilarious cameo), Philip Baker Hall, Paul Giamatti, Emily Watson, Cary Elwes, and a host of other people you might recognize.

This is the story of a depression-era theater company trying to put on a production of a play about labor unions and revolution, along with the government plans to stop it, plus the rich people trying to take control of art. Since Robbins wrote and directed it, you might guess that it's full of political commentary, and it is, from red scares to Orson Welles being a pompous ass to Nelson Rockefeller and W.R. Hearst plotting to take over the art world. Robbins tries to weave a very Altman-esque tale of several stories, and it works on people recognition value and humor, but it's a little messy. An interesting piece, it doesn't really live up to its great cast name, but provides a look at the times.