Catch-22

Starring: Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Art Garfunkel, Jack Gilford, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, Orson Welles, Bob Balaban, Paula Prentiss, Charles Grodin, Bruce Kirby
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, War
1970

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Yossarian (Alan Arkin) tries to be declared mentally insane so he can stop flying dangerous missions. The only catch is, if he asks to stop flying, then he's not crazy.

Review:

Tim: I loved Joseph Heller's classic novel, "Catch-22". It is one of the best written, funniest books I have ever read. I was cautiously optimistic about this film. The story would be very difficult to adapt, as the novel is nonlinear, and completely insane. I was very, very curious to see how it translated to the big screen. However, this is such a great book, that I felt confident in the film based on the source material alone. While I can't say that I absolutely loved this film, it's a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the book. It is also a very good movie.

I must say that I was shocked at how much of the novel made it onto the screen. The book is a bit difficult to read because it jumps around from past, present, and future, with very little explanation, rhyme or reason. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the movie followed that same format. Like the book, it's very confusing in the beginning, but around halfway through, you start to make sense of the jumbled narrative. It takes some effort, but it works. When I thought back to the book, all the main storylines and even most of the subplots all showed up on screen. That's very impressive, and it was done in only 122 minutes. Shoving that huge book into 2 hours and making it not feel overly rushed is quite an achievement.

The cast is pretty incredible. Alan Arkin was just perfectly cast as Yossarian. Yossarian is such a hilarious, unforgettable character, and Arkin is absolutely terrific in the role. He perfectly embodies the stubborness, the borderline craziness, and the strange blend of strength and cowardice. Casting Arkin made this movie work, and I applaud his performance.

The cast is actually terrific. In addition to Arkin, we have some excellent supporting players. I really liked seeing Martin Sheen as Dobbs. Anthony Perkins is fine. Jon Voight is quite good as Milo Minderbender. I loved seeing Orson Welles as Dreedle- his screen time is quite short, but he's memorable, and fun to watch on screen. The rest of the cast is huge, so I won't go into specific detail, but overall, the cast is impressive.

Now, as much as I enjoyed the film, it does have some problems. The nonlinear story jumps around, and it's certainly difficult to stay focused on the story. The jumbled events take the audience out of the story just a bit. While it's true to the novel, it isn't the easiest film to watch. Now, my biggest complaint involves the comedy. The novel is one of the funniest books I have ever read- I was almost constantly laughing out loud. The book is so absurd, so insane, that all you can do is laugh. While some of this makes it to the screen, it just didn't make me laugh as much as I hoped. The movie missed some of the zaniness and ridiculousness, which really makes you think every character in the book is totally insane. I wanted more of this on screen, but the film didn't quite deliver.

So, while Catch-22 has some flaws, it's still a very, very faithful adaptation of one of the funniest, most thought-provoking novels I've ever read. Casting Alan Arkin as Yossarian was brilliant, and the film is an entertaining, enjoyable time. I really enjoyed this solid movie, and I'd highly recommend it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: For Whom the Bell Tolls, Platoon