Buddy (1997)

Curiously, it is Rene Russo's eyes and mouth--not Buddy the Gorilla's-- that emerge as the focal point of "Buddy", a Jim Henson Pictures production through Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope. Somehow, countless close-ups of Russo's face slipped passed in the post-production stages, and she literally fills the screen so many times the poor apes are upstaged. Unintentionally funny true story adapted from Gertrude "Trudy" Davies Lint's memoirs about a wealthy doctor's wife who turns their mansion into a menagerie for pets and wild-life. The movie goes beyond good intentions...it positively drips with earnest sincerity. The movie never sparkles with the kind of "family film" magic that it needed, and before too long both the people and the animals seem distinctly programmed (nothing here feels real). About ten minutes in, two chimpanzees are goofing around in Russo's kitchen and start throwing a butcher's knife back and forth (it misses Alan Cumming's head by inches); yet, no eyebrows are raised because it's all in a day's fun. Still, when full-grown gorilla Buddy gets crazy during a thunderstorm, the cops are called--and everyone stares at Buddy through the window while he busts up the living room furniture. The furniture should be the least of anyone's worries in this flabbergasting, do-gooder failure. But, at least we know Russo was in good hands: whenever director Caroline Thompson needs a good pick-up shot, she gives unstartled Rene another extreme close-up. I wonder what the lipstick budget was on this picture? ** from ****

I was lucky (?) enough to receive free tickets to Buddy during its opening week. I stood in a line with other people who were too cheap or too bright to spend money on this bomb.The question that came up in the movie most in my mind was, "Why?" Not, "Why did this woman try to raise a gorilla?" or, "Why did this woman dress chimpanzees in little outfits?" but rather, "Why was this movie released to the public?"If you want a rampaging gorilla movie, there's always any of the King Kong movies. If you want beautiful people, check out anything on MTV. If you want a fish out of water movie, check out any of thousands of other movies from roughly 1900 through today.

I was waiting for it to be over. There were a few scenes that evoked emotion but soon fell flat. It had a few moments that were a little funny. That, that's all I have to say about that.

My Aunt Gertrude did own a gorilla named Buddy, but she also owned another named Massa, and they combined the lives of the 2 together. First let me give you the true ending, Buddy was sold to the Ringling Bros circus, his name was changed to Gargantua, Massa was sold to the Philedelphia Zoo, and lived to be the oldest living Gorilla in captivity.The story was hollywoodized to the extreme. If they had stuck to the facts, maybe it would have been better.Gertrude also raised prize winning Saint Bernards, having over 100 on her estate in Brooklyn. She won the Westminster Dog show blue ribbon 5 times in a row. She helped to develop the "modern" pet foods. Since before then people just fed their pets scraps.Also just one more minor note, my family is Jewish, yet in the movie, she wore a cross, and as far as I know, no-body in my family was paid or had given permission for the movie to come out.