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Film Clips
Reviews by James DiGiovanna and Linsay Hernon.
BEDAZZLED. A remake of the Dudley Moore/Peter Cook classic (yes, Dudley Moore actually made a comedy classic), Bedazzled is the story of a nerdy, love-sick man offered seven wishes by the devil. While the original's script was only occasionally hilarious, and the story dragged at times, what made it run was Cook's dead-on performance as Satan. He was stylishly, nonchalantly evil as a heart surgeon in an Armani suit. With the screenplay as its weakest element, and the acting as its strongest, there seems no reason to remake Bedazzled, and it's puzzling that Harold Ramis, usually one of the smarter American comedy directors, would choose to do so. Since Cook's evil wit was unavailable, Ramis substituted Elizabeth Hurley in a variety of fetish outfits. While certainly a charming concept, it hardly makes a movie. Brendan Fraser, who has given a fine series of performances, is nonetheless hopelessly miscast in the Dudley Moore role. It's hard to believe someone as big and handsome as Fraser is having so little luck in his love life that he'd sell his soul for a date with a woman he barely knows. And, of course, the hopeless ending and metaphysical sophistication of the original are tossed out in favor of a sappy, upbeat finale and your basic New Age/capitalist feel-good stuff. Still, Bedazzled manages to be relatively diverting due to its visual sophistication, which comes off like a cross between Koyaannisqatsi and The Matrix. --DiGiovanna
BEST IN SHOW. Funnier than watching Strom Thurmond deny his racist past, Best in Show is the long-awaited follow-up to the most hilarious film of the '90s, Waiting For Guffman. The Guffman cast and crew reassemble here to present a mockumentary about a dog show (Best in Show's working title was Dogumentary). Director Christopher Guest, perhaps best known for playing mentally deficient guitarist (or is that redundant?) Nigel Tufnel in Spinal Tap, puts together one of the tightest comedies ever made. Every scene has laughs, and no scene is merely a setup for a later gag. Guest also stars as Harlan Pepper, Southern dog fancier and fishing shop owner. His dead-on performance is matched by Eugene Levy as nerdy suburbanite Gerry Fleck; Catherine O'Hara (the greatest living comedienne) as his wife and erstwhile slattern Cookie Fleck; Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock as a grating yuppie couple; Michael McKean and John Michael Higgins as a gay couple whose love for each other is matched only by their love for Shih Tzus; and scene stealer Fred Willard as the local anchorman who's been horribly misassigned as an announcer at the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. And hey, sorry about that guitarist gag. --DiGiovanna
BRING IT ON. My friend Amy, whose favorite thing in the world is watching the national cheerleading championships on TV, thought that this was a nearly perfect film. As far as I could tell, the audience of adolescents agreed with her. In fact, Bring It On is witty enough to withstand adult viewing, and self-conscious enough to announce that "cheerleaders are dancers who've gone retarded," though the faults in that line are pretty much the faults of the movie. It's got the standard teen film stock characters (the rebel girl, the catty girls, the evil jocks, the cute gay boy) and never becomes so self-aware as to defeat its main goal, making money off 13- to 17-year-olds. But so what. I mean, succeeding at hitting the side of a barn with a shotgun is still success. Plus, Bring It On features some excellent, well-photographed choreography. It's kind of like Busby Berkeley for really, really, really horny teenagers. --DiGiovanna
THE CONTENDER. In the wake of President Clinton's sex scandal, writer/director Rod Lurie re-examines the controversial public vs. private debate in The Contender. Joan Allen earnestly portrays Senator Laine Hanson, whose private past is put under a microscope when she is chosen by President Jackson Evans (Jeff Bridges) to replace the recently deceased Vice President. Congressman Shelly Runyon, passionately played by Gary Oldman, strongly disapproves of the President's choice, and thus guides the inquisition by cold-heartedly dredging up undeniable proof of the candidate's previous promiscuity. The accusations intensify, an intriguing Chappaquidick-like subplot is intertwined, and the all-star cast shines, all with the exception of Bridges' lackadaisical leadership; he is more interested in his hazelnut pudding and bowling average than in his occupational duties. Nonetheless, this film makes a strong and poignant argument about how much the public should know about a political leader. --Hernon
DANCER IN THE DARK. The Icelandic pop singer Björk makes her sensational acting debut in Lars von Tier's riveting tearjerker. Björk plays Selma, a Czech immigrant who grapples with her diminishing eyesight as she works countless hours in a basin factory so she can afford the corrective surgery necessary for her son to elude this tragic hereditary disease. Though there is a shaky home movie-like quality, a horrendous and tangential final act, and endless torpid musical numbers, Björk's emotionally rich performance is enticing, making it clear why she won Best Actress at this year's Cannes Film Festival for this role. --Hernon
DIGIMON: THE MOVIE. Digimon is 89 minutes of ear-splitting, mind-numbing, chaotic torture that will drive you absolutely Digi-crazy! Bubble-blowing balls of black lint hatch from giant Digimon Easter eggs and later transform into fire-spitting pigmy dinosaurs and iron-clad totem poles, or, as the ultra-savvy Digidestine Club would say, they "digivolve into megaform." But when one Digimon hatches in cyberspace and mutates into a dreaded digivirus that short-circuits all computers, pubescent cybergeeks battle the destructive Y2K bug with the help of their own pleasant pet Digimons. But in three tiring episodes of over-amplified video game-like digivolving, inappropriate Top-40 hits filling the soundtrack, and more characters than even die-hard Digimon fans could keep track of, this TV-based film boils down to a lame marketing ploy for tinkertoys that will be out of fashion by the end of the year. --Hernon
DR T AND THE WOMEN. A bizarre, male supremacist fantasy, in which a gorgeous gynecologist spouts bathetic platitudes about how special and delicate all women are. The gyno, Dr. T (Richard Gere, in his usual role as the unselfconscious a-hole), is so inundated with women who want nothing more than to love him and do woman things, like gossip and hen-peck and wear frilly clothes, that he nearly goes nuts. And he is so good and loving that he actually does drive his wife insane with his wonderful goodness and excess of perfect love. This movie, while expertly executed by director Robert Altman, is either the most cunningly sexist movie to hit the screens since Tootsie, or a cunningly clever commentary on the subtlety of sexism in cinema. Either way, it's pretty interesting and, well, disturbing. I mean, half the scenes occur while Gere's character is giving gynecological exams to his friend's wives, his daughter's lesbian lover or the wide variety of woman who have mad crushes on him. That is just plain creepy. --DiGiovanna
THE EXORCIST. The epitome of modern horror films hits the big screen again after 27 years in a digitally remastered version with an additional 11 minutes of footage and an enhanced soundtrack. Linda Blair's portrayal of Regan MacNeil, the spider-walking, head-spinning, green-vomit-spewing 12-year-old girl who is possessed by the devil, still sends chills down the spine. Ellen Burstyn and Jason Miller also deliver highly intense performances, which helped the film gross, so to speak, $150 million at the box office its first year, plus 10 Oscar nominations. Though the reception might not be so grand at this go-around, it still will be a horrifying and hair-raising time at the movies. --Hernon
THE LADIES MAN. Another Saturday Night Live skit is stretched into a feature length film. Tim Meadows stars as Leon Phelps, the cognac-guzzling poster boy for sexual harassment with a retro '70s fashion sense, whose racy mouth gets him and his producer fired from their offensive radio show. Karyn Parsons has left the Fresh Prince in Bel Air to play the susceptible producer who leads the two on a citywide job hunt that ultimately fails, since the gutter-talking DJ cannot tame his tongue. When all hope seems lost, Phelps receives a timely letter from an anonymous past fling offering financial prosperity, and so he conducts a search of his own for this mysterious magnate. However, a deranged support group, pickled delicacies and a homoerotic wrestling match slow his search. Recent films like Superstar and Night at the Roxbury have proven that the big screen no longer is a place for SNL skits, but The Ladies Man provides an infectious charm and basic entertainment. --Hernon
THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE. Director Robert Redford remains at the top of his game with this film about persuasion, destiny, redemption and magic. Matt Damon stars as Runnulph Junah, an acclaimed golfer from Georgia who loses his swing and becomes a reclusive drunk after enduring heartache and war. Yet misfortunes are reversed when a mystical sage (Will Smith) suddenly appears to help the wayward soul drive out his demons with a nine-iron in a 72-hole marathon. Charlize Theron plays the defiant debutante with golden locks who organizes the promotional golf tournament by inviting Junah, her ex-lover, to challenge two extreme golf pros: Bobby Jones, a straight-laced golden boy, and Walter Hagen, an egotistical trash talker. Though these supporting characters seem underdeveloped and the chemistry between Theron and Damon lacks sparks, Smith's profound performance, the Field of Dreams-like wonderment and the philosophical poignancy make this inspirational film a hole in one. --Hernon
THE LEGEND OF DRUNKEN MASTER. With his alcohol-induced, action-packed whirlwind of fast-footed, carefully choreographed kung fu, Jackie Chan saves China's honor from a thieving British ambassador in the spruced up re-release of the 1994 film Drunken Master II. The highly energized martial arts expert portrays a true Chinese legend, Wong Fei-hung, who popularized "drunken boxing," the very effective yet extremely comical self-defense method in which alcohol is the source of power and agility. This enables Chan to use moves like the "Pied Piper Plays the Flute" in order to protect valuable Chinese jade artifacts from the Western filchers. But this petty plot falls secondary to the dynamic fighting sequences that capitalize on Chan's remarkable talent to use every prop, muscle and terrain to his advantage. --Hernon
THE LITTLE VAMPIRE. The fate of vampires is at stake in this screwball bargain-basement kids' flick. Johnathan Lipnicki stars as Tony Thompson, the cherubic-looking 9-year-old mortal whose sleep is riddled with nightmares after moving to Scotland. There, his father, played by Tommy Hinkley with Bob Saget-like cheesiness, is building a luxurious golf course. But instead of becoming the next Tiger Woods, Lipnicki befriends a young vampire named Rudolph, and together they battle a maniacal vampire hunter who is searching for a mystical amulet that will damn the bloodsucking nightcrawlers for all eternity. Director Ulrich Edel follows the usual gruesome ghoul conventions, tacks on a predictable ending and adds lame special effects, leaving viewers with nothing to sink their teeth into. --Hernon
LUCKY NUMBERS. No one's lucky number is called in Nora Ephron's convoluted black comedy that strings one erratic misadventure after another. John Travolta plays Russ Richards, a defeated snowmobile shop owner by day and an uppity meteorologist by night whose claim to fame is his personal booth at Denny's. But because the unusually warm Pennsylvania weather has ruined his winter sport business, and his aspirations of becoming an illustrious game show host are diminished, Travolta easily is persuaded by cool-as-a-cucumber Tim Roth to rig the state lottery. Lisa Kudrow plays Crystal Latroy, the sex-crazed Vanna White of the lottery, who teams up with Travolta on this illegal endeavor. But she's not the only money-grubber who wants a piece of the pie; writer Adam Resnick throws countless characters into the script to create endless nonsensical situations that are neither funny nor methodical. Travolta, Kudrow and the rest of the star-studded cast, including Bill Pullman and Ed O'Neil, deliver promising performances, but they are wasted on the scattered and unpolished script. --Hernon
MEET THE PARENTS. In 1773 Oliver Goldsmith published his most famous play, She Stoops to Conquer. In it, a series of misunderstandings leads to an endless run of slapstick jokes and double entendres. Essentially, Goldsmith had invented the basic formula for Three's Company. Now, in the year 2000, to celebrate the 227th anniversary of She Stoops to Conquer's first public performance, Universal/Dreamworks has remade a cult comedy classic from 1992 called Meet The Parents. Creatively re-titling it Meet The Parents and updating it for the new millennium by casting stars Robert DeNiro and Ben Stiller in place of the unknowns in the original, Meet The Parents is essentially a drawn-out farce of the sort pioneered by Goldsmith. Only, you know, dumbed down for Americans. If you can pass this quiz, you should pass on the movie: Early in the film, DeNiro notes that a precariously balanced and clearly fragile urn contains the ashes of his precious mother. Does that urn fall over and break later in the film? If you answered "yes," you're probably too sophisticated for this movie. Nonetheless, DeNiro and Stiller turn in great performances and manage to get a few real laughs out of this tired material, so it might still be worth seeing if you need something to do while your methadone is kicking in. --DiGiovanna
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2. It's cuteness and more cuteness and Jesus Cute Incarnate as the incredibly photogenic Tom Cruise and the photogenically incredible Thandie Newton team up to stop some not-as-cute people from destroying the world. Well, from destroying Australia, which is really not quite so bad, and might even be welcomed by some, but is still the kind of thing that the forces of goodness and cuteness must act to stop. The perfect movie for people who like watching other people who are pretty, and who also like to look at things, at least when those things are exploding.--James DiGiovanna
PAY IT FORWARD. The realm of possibilities is explored by an Oscar-bound film, cast, and crew in Mimi Leder's latest project. Kevin Spacey plays Eugene Simonet, the social studies teacher with sparkling white sneakers, who motivates his seventh grade class to change the wretched world of hookers and hoodlums, violence and vagabonds into a utopia. Trevor, an altruistic 11-year boy played by child prodigy Haley Joel Osment, has an idea to "pay it forward" by doing three big favors for three other people, including playing matchmaker for his emotionally and physically scarred teacher and his alcoholic trailer-trash mom (Helen Hunt). As the magnanimous movement spreads, it reaches Jay Mohr's character, an intrigued LA journalist who tracks down the originator and sees how people truly can surprise you. Pay It Forward mirrors American Beauty in its somber subtexts; it even shares the same composer and practically the same soundtrack. But just like last year's multiple Oscar-winning film, the poignant message and sheer inspiration make this one a must-see. --Hernon
PSYCHO BEACH PARTY. A buxom blonde in go-go boots attempting to do a Tina Turner shimmy with Amazonian flair introduces Charles Busch's adaptation of his own gender-bending play. The sex-crazed premise lurches through a cheesy '50s time warp following Chiclet, a Gidget-like teen with multiple personalities, who wants to break the gender barrier by becoming a surfer. She befriends the Great Kanaka (Thomas Gibson), a sadomasochistic surf god who speaks in Dr. Seuss rhyme and is worshipped by homoerotic beach wrestlers and psychoanalytic squares. As if this motley crew of characters were not enough already, Busch throws in a pseudo Swedish exchange student, a Barbie doll with a brain, and even a police officer investigating the Malibu Beach murders--there's a serial killer on the loose, too. Busch incorporates too many ludicrous characters into a hokey setup while attempting to weave a complex slasher subplot through a premise that just does not work from the start. --Hernon
REMEMBER THE TITANS. The true story of racial integration in Alexandria, Va. during 1971 is taken to the field in Jerry Bruckheimer's latest production. Denzel Washington plays Herman Boone, the defiant black high school football coach called in to replace the white head coach and Hall of Fame qualifier Bill Yoast (Will Patton). The burdens of bigotry ignite; even Yoast's daughter Cheryl, who is played prodigiously by Hayden Panettiere, displays her festering prejudices toward the new recruits. But Washington's drill-sergeant ways and poignant pep talks unite the players, the school, the town. No wonder Washington accepted this role; who wouldn't want to portray a Martin Luther King Jr. and Bill Parcells combination, despite a weak script and stock game footage? --Hernon
SCARY MOVIE Gross-out humor meets Airplane!-style parody in this body-fluid drenched spoof of I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream. If you didn't see those films, stay away from this one. If you're likely to be offended by jokes so gross and obscene that I can't even describe them here, stay away. If you think Masterpiece Theater has gotten a little too low-brow of late, stay away. If you have none of the above problems, and want to see something that's incredibly trashy, often stupid, but also pretty f***ing funny, check this one out. It's got Wayanses! --DiGiovanna
TWO FAMILY HOUSE. Another award winner at this year's Sundance Film Festival hits the big screen; it's a warm and touching look at the lifestyle of a 1950s blue collar Italian-American underdog. The Sopranos star Michael Rispoli plays Buddy Visalo, a frustrated factory worker who strives to achieve his entrepreneurial dream despite his wife's constant discouragement. Along his rocky path to success, Rispoli meets a struggling Irish mother (Kelly MacDonald) who provides a surprising chemistry and needed clarity in the despondent protagonist's life. Writer/director Raymond DeFelitta creates genuine and multidimensional characters who whole-heartedly deal with infidelity, charity, bigotry and determination in this emotional charmer. --Hernon
THE YARDS. Wish for a fast-forward button because The Yards feels like a mile. With odd tranquility and intense voyeurism, Mark Wahlberg plays Leo, who is fresh out of prison and on the road to redemption by caring for his ailing single mother (Ellen Burstyn) and by becoming a productive citizen. However, the ex-con quickly detours when reacquainted with greaseball Willie (Joaquin Phoenix), a longtime friend who leads Leo into the corruption and betrayal behind the commuter rail industry. This tiresome premise drags from one celebrity actor to the next, all of whose characters have soap opera-like connections: James Caan plays a conniving entrepreneur and recent husband to Leo's aunt (Faye Dunaway); Charlize Theron portrays Willie's fiancée and Leo's incestuous cousin. Writer/director James Gray provides a carefully planned plot with complex characters, but it meanders at an excruciatingly slow pace before arriving at the rushed, inevitable ending. --Hernon
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