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Film Clips
AMERICAN PIE. This is like a traditional teen-sex comedy with a real film trying to break through its sticky surface. Unfortunately, the real film only manages to produce the occasional speech that is quickly contradicted by the action of the teen-sex film. The story focuses on a group of male high-school friends who vow to lose their virginity before the prom. Then at the prom, they make speeches about how that's maybe not such a cool idea. Then they do it anyway. On the way there one of the boys secretly films a female high-school student as she undresses, and broadcasts it over the Internet. And of course there are no repercussions for this--at least not for him. I found that pretty creepy. While this is basically an amoral version of Diner for horny teenagers, it's reasonably funny (thanks in part to a hilarious performance by Eugene Levy). -- DiGiovanna
ARLINGTON ROAD. This is exactly the kind of movie that New York Times critic Janet Maslin (who is probably America's worst movie critic) loves: it has an unchallenging and unoriginal plot that can easily be compared to some pre-existing format ("A Hitchcockian thriller!" "A Parallax View for the '90s!") and features a mediocre, older male actor in romantic scenes with a much younger actress (Maslin loves anything with Sean Connery or Clint Eastwood rubbing their flabby man-flesh against women who are too young to be their granddaughters). Arlington Road is ostensibly about the new wave of American terrorists, but it's less a political thriller than an action film. The ending is pretty good, but as it came after 90 minutes of cinema that sucked hard enough to draw a piano through a straw, it hardly seemed worth the wait. -- DiGiovanna
AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME. In the '60s, the television show Laugh-In pioneered the idea that if there were 20 gags in a minute, only one in four had to be funny for the audience to stay entertained. Austin Powers slavishly follows this formula, even going so far as to have the characters wince shamefacedly into the camera after the lamest jokes. The best part of this '60s spy-spoof is Heather Graham's bizarre "I can't believe I'm doing this" performance as Austin's sidekick, Felicity Shagwell. She seems like someone who just won a "You Can Be in a Movie" contest, and her inappropriate giggles and smiles during "tense" scenes are the perfect complement to the ridiculous plot, sets and characters. -- DiGiovanna
BIG DADDY. Adam Sandler plays his usual lovable loser in this collection of funny gags and annoyingly heartwarming father-son sequences. Notable for its praise of reviled rock group Styx and its casual gay-male kissing sequences. -- DiGiovanna
THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER. An older, fatter, but still damn sexy John Travolta stars in this well-paced, misogynist murder mystery set on a Southern army base. Madeline Stowe, James Cromwell, James Woods and Timothy Hutton all do face-time as more-and-less corrupt army officers, and Leslie Stefanson does beautiful naked-dead-body-raped-and-staked-spread-eagle-to-the-ground time as the exploitive and sleazily titillating element of the movie. If it weren't for the fact that so much of this film is about the graphic, visual depiction of the abuse of a young woman, this would be one of the year's better thrillers, but as it is it's more of a gussied-up anti-woman porn film. -- DiGiovanna
AN IDEAL HUSBAND. In this period piece based on Oscar Wilde's play, a ne'er-do-well (well-played by Rupert Everett) and a young parliamentarian are drawn into a web of evil by the cupidity of the lascivious and mendacious Mrs. Chevely (played with delicious wickedness by Julianne Moore). The film begins strongly and finishes well, but bogs down a bit in the middle. Still, lots of good fin-de-siecle style quips and decadence make this a reasonable divertissement, although it would probably be more fun to just sit around your drawing room drinking absinthe and engaging in witty banter with your cadre of illicit lovers. -- DiGiovanna
LAKE PLACID. Big alligator eats people in lake in Maine. Do you think the snooty, New York scientist will fall in love with the rustic, New England forest ranger? Do you think they'll be able to capture the alligator before it kills again, or is killed by the heartless Feds? Do you think there are any ideas left in Hollywood? I know--let's combine Jaws, Born Free, Scream, and The African Queen and make a thrilling, animal-rights horror movie about how opposites attract. Yes, do that. -- DiGiovanna
LIMBO. Decidedly not about the dance, director/editor/writer John Sayles' latest effort investigates the stunted growth of residents of a fishing town in Alaska. The first third of the film aimlessly introduces the emotionally crippled main characters and a number of inconsequential and overly symbolic others. Joe (David Strathairn), an ex-fisherman, and Donna (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), a nightclub singer, attempt a love connection, while Donna's daughter (engagingly portrayed by Vanessa Martinez) exists largely in a self-created fantasy world. The three are stranded on an island for much of the film, and this physical isolation from civilization underscores the confining solitude each feels. Maddening folk music adds to a New-Agey feel, but the unexpected and satisfying ending helps level out the limbo bar. -- Higgins
MUPPETS FROM SPACE. Don't be surprised if this latest muppet caper is next in line for denouncement by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, as its existential opening scene portrays Noah in a rather unsympathetic light: he hands the purple, crook-nosed Gonzo an umbrella and slams the arc door in his face. What's worse, the film's star is a heathen alien who shares a suburban house with two inseparable old men (former art critics, no less), plus a gaggle of monsters, hippie rock stars and barnyard animals; and his best friends are a frog, a rat, and a cagey Creole crawfish. Hardly a role model for our nation's precious youth! But if you're either a 6-year-old or a longtime fan of the muppets, you'll likely enjoy this Great Muppet Caper meets Close Encounters adventure about Gonzo's search for his true identity. Only the muppets could turn government conspiracy, animal experimentation and the least trusted profession in America (i.e., news media) into a lighthearted romp culminating with a cat fight between Miss Piggy and Andie McDowell. Best of all, there's lots of funky music which nevertheless features very little singing by the muppets themselves. -- Wadsworth
THE RED VIOLIN. Perhaps in response to the vast amounts of dead wood in many Hollywood films, director Francois Girard casts a violin as the star of this Canadian production that follows an instrument through various owners. The violin is cleverly animated through the voice of a 17th-century tarot card reader who tells its future and lets it serve as tour guide across four centuries and five countries. The narrative structure is similarly engaging as a contemporary auction is the touchstone from which flashbacks of its travels emerge and converge. Also, sound and image are harmoniously fused together as the score dictates and justifies much of the pacing. Kudos to you, Red Violin, and also to your supporting actor, Samuel L. Jackson, who courts you without shame. -- Higgins
RUN LOLA RUN. Perhaps because Hollywood films are so plot driven, this style-heavy German film is being incorrectly marketed in the U.S. as a thriller. It's not. It's an amazingly beautiful 83-minute music video which reduces story to a simple premise so that visuals and soundtrack serve as catalysts for the characters. Techno music, quick edits and a fast pace accompany Lola as she runs frantically to get money to her boyfriend, with this scenario playing out three times with varying outcomes. The people she encounters on her jog, as well as Lola herself, are merely components manipulated to interesting effect by engaging camerawork that emphasizes the aesthetic capabilities specific to the cinematic medium. -- Higgins
SOUTHPARK: BIGGER, LONGER & UNCUT. A touching musical comedy about the coming of age of four young boys, Southpark is most directly comparable to Stand By Me, except instead of a dead body the boys discover that Satan is having a homosexual affair with Saddam Hussein. In an effort to stop the Dark Lord from taking over the world, the boys must defend the rights of Canadians to sing songs like "You're An Uncle Fucker." Moving, growthful and intelligent, Southpark may be the best adaptation of Little Women ever put to the screen. -- DiGiovanna
SUMMER OF SAM. The Oxford English Dictionary defines "to sam" as "verb, transitive: to join together, as two pieces of wood." I have no idea what that has to do with this meticulously crafted re-creation of the Bronx in the late '70s, but there is a lot of love, including that which dare not speak its name, in this psychological drama. John Leguizamo turns in a career performance as Vinny, the womanizing husband of Mira Sorvino's Dionna, who gets caught up in the hysteria surrounding the Son of Sam serial killings. As the summer heats up, Vinny's neighborhood goes crazy and a group of vigilantes begins to suspect everyone of being the deranged killer. Most notable for director Spike Lee's unerring visual sensibility, Summer of Sam stands out amongst the blockbusters and cartoons as the most adult movie of the summer. -- DiGiovanna
WILD WILD WEST. (Editor's note: Since this flick, like much of Hollywood's product, is aimed at the male teenage demographic, we asked 14-year-old Michael Peel, TW Junior Critic, for a review.) I went to the screening of this incredibly disappointing "blockbuster" expecting another quirky movie in the style of Men in Black. Instead, we are given both Will Smith and Kevin Kline in drag, mostly unfunny jokes and a script almost as bad as The Avengers. Still, Smith and Kline give good performances as usual, and the special effects are better than average. This is an instantly forgettable gimmick movie designed to sell soundtracks and toys. -- Peel
THE WOOD. MTV Productions hopes to cash in on those who listened to rap and R&B artists in the 1980s, rather than the New Wave music defining most recent films about the decade. This mildly entertaining fellowdrama about three teenage boys who grew up in Englewood, California, is narrated in flashbacks by Mike (Omar Epps) as he and Slim (Richard T. Jones) attempt to get their commitment-weary friend Roland (Taye Diggs) to the altar on his wedding day. The contemporary sequences adequately establish their ties, but those set in the past are poorly paced, awkwardly acted and simplistically written. Thankfully, this male bonding film is true to the genre and includes the obligatory naked group-showering sequence. Though Mike assures us that "the Wood" refers to his hometown, I know what I saw. -- Higgins
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