Welcome to the "closet issue" of the film newsletter; as promised, this one is mostly reviews that have been sitting around for a while and as a direct result concern movies that are now sitting on the shelves in your local video store. So, without further ado (since we've already had enough):

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS. The "circle" in the title is a trio of young women who have grown up together and are finding their way in the romantic/sexual world in 1950's Ireland with little guidance from the repressive society around them. The protagonist (played superbly by Minnie Driver), who is supposed to be the fattest and therefore least desirable of the three, takes a chance and goes after the best-looking boy at college, the star soccer player (Chris O'Donnell, whose acting isn't too bad). Driver is actually rather attractive, which makes the whole "ugly duckling" thing a little puzzling; however, this isn't a fatal weakness to the film's credibility, and the three keep us interested as the story twists and turns, becoming almost soap-operatic (and it may lose some of you along the way). Colin Firth, playing an oleaginous and thoroughly gross suitor with designs on (among other things) Driver's character, constantly threatens to steal the show. (On the way out of the theater, I heard a woman mutter to her date: "Every woman's known a man just like that!")

THE SUM OF US (Australian). I thought that Jack Thompson, the well-known Australian hunk/leading man (although he isn't nearly as well known outside his home country as that other Australian hunk/leading man) was absolutely terrific in Breaker Morant. In this movie, however, he is just terrifically irritating. A widower whose only child (played earnestly by Russell Crowe) lives with him and happens to be gay, he goes out of his way to be tolerant--so far out of his way, in fact, that he can't seem to leave his son alone when the young man brings dates home! This is meant to be funny and engaging, but it ends up being just unpleasant to watch. From there, the plot turns corny and scatological, then soap-opera predictable, then tragicomic, without ever getting very involving or saying anything deeper than "everybody needs somebody to love." That would be acceptable if the goings-on were at least funny or witty, but they aren't. (A subplot, involving what happens when the date's parents find out that he's gay, is actually much more intriguing.) To advance the plot line in ways the script can't, the director resorts to the tired old device of having characters (especially Thompson) talk directly to the audience through monologues; for the most part, it doesn't work.

STRAWBERRY AND CHOCOLATE: David, an earnest young Communist in 1970's Cuba, has a perfect party line but a less-than-perfect manner with women. Just after he flubs another ham-handed attempt at seduction, a gay gallery manager (and political dissenter) named Diego makes an equally clumsy attempt to get him in bed. These two men's lives--and a woman's life, that of Diego's neurotic neighbor and friend--become intertwined in entirely unpredictable ways, and they can't help but entwine any open-minded audience as well. The film is a direct attack on the Castro regime's repressive anti-homosexual policies, and, by extension, an attack on the way that totalitarian regimes waste people's talents and lives in general. Don't let this make you think that you will get beaten over the head if you see it, however; this is not a tract, but is first and foremost a sexy, engrossing, and thoroughly human story. Come to think of it, the story of how the heck a film that questions Fidel Castro this much got made in Cuba at all is probably almost as interesting as the one in the film! (Besides this movie, I would recommend anything with Jose Perrugoria, who does a stellar job, and has a lot of fun, playing Diego.)

I LOVE TROUBLE: I must confess to having something of a soft spot for Julia Roberts; I think it started about the same time it started for everyone else--while she was in the bathtub, singing that Prince song. It pains me, therefore, to have to write a lukewarm review about one of her movies, but...Our heroine plays a "cub" reporter (now I finally know what they mean by that!) for a major Chicago newspaper, investigating the mysterious circumstances behind a train derailment; Nick Nolte is a cynical, crusty old columnist for the other major Chicago newspaper, competing with her for a "scoop." They're both up to the task acting-wise--Nolte, of course, is very much in his element any time he is cynical and crusty--but somehow, their rivalry, while sometimes fun to watch, never completely involves me. I think it may have been because there are only rare flashes of any great chemistry between the two of them, and they don't come until near the end. Furthermore, the facts they find behind the accident and the details of their investigation never quite fire up the imagination. Matters are not helped by the bad habit that writer/director Charles Shyer and his collaborator Nancy Meyers have of cutting away from a complicated scene, instead of showing us how Roberts and Nolte got out of it. Still, there are some great details that will be especially appreciated by fans of the two lead actors--it was fun seeing Julia performing legerdemain, firing pistols, and generally surprising Nolte at every turn. "Frazier" fans will be amused to see Dan "Bulldog" Butler in a small but important role; two stars bigger than Butler make cameos that you'll miss if you get up and leave the room without pausing the VCR.

DIM SUM (A LITTLE BIT OF HEART): Before he made Joy Luck Club and became famous, director Wayne Wang made this beautifully subtle and understated comedy about a Chinese-American family in San Francisco. The family's stern old first-generation immigrant matriarch, haunted by her past in China, is determined to see her thoroughly Americanized daughter marry--and the inevitable tensions ensue. Wang took a chance and cast a real-life mother and daughter (Laureen and Kim Chew) in these roles, and it works quite well. He also moves the film along slowly and deliberately to reflect the mother's pace of life, a device I have seen used to equally good effect in movies as diverse as Scent of Green Papaya (see review in the first newsletter), Babette's Feast, and two African films. The best characterization, however, is neither of these two, but the incredibly likable Victor Wong as a brother-in-law and business partner. Charming and pleasantly simple, he comes across as a great Everyman, sort of the Chinese-American equivalent of John Mahoney--someone you wish you could meet in real life. Ida F.O. Chung is the only tiresome character in the ensemble; she's supposed to be a chatty neighbor, but ends up being just kind of aggravating (i.e. the chatty neighbor from whom you're always trying to escape). I heartily recommend it.

OBJECT OF BEAUTY (English/American): This one is rather hard to classify, which, I am pleased to report, is almost always an indication of a rather novel movie. It can't really be called a comedy (although there are moments of utter hilarity) nor is it exclusively a mystery, although we do spend a good bit of time wondering. John Malkovich and Andie MacDowell play a pair of reckless gamblers who are now in love and living in a posh London hotel that they can't even begin to afford. As their money troubles mount, so does the pressure to auction off the MacDowell character's prize possession, a small sculpture by Henry Moore (the "object"), or, better yet, claim it was stolen and get the insurance money from it. Then, it actually does get stolen--and the first person the two lovers suspect is each other! From that point, the movie never quite lets you go, keeping you wondering what is going to happen to the statue--and to the two lovers when the hotel catches up with them. (The English actor Bill Patterson is terrific as the hotel's pompous old manager.) Michael Lindsay-Hogg's unobtrusive direction certainly helps. There are only a few flaws apparent--an important character, a young Deaf woman, is played well by Rudi Davies, but is never fleshed out well enough by the script. In addition, while MacDowell does a believable enough job in her role (and the pairing with Malkovich is inspired), her characterization is just a little too much like the one she did in Sex, Lies, and Videotape, even to the point of having a similar Southern accent and neuroses. Malkovich, of course, is great as always, and, quite surprisingly, is responsible for some of the funniest moments. I hate to give two hearty recommendations, but sometimes it's unavoidable...

In addition to all this house-cleaning, I am pleased to report that they did actually let me out to see one new movie in the theater in the past few months, so here it is:

SABRINA: Two brothers in a rich family (Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear) are polar opposites in every way; Ford's character is the callous but brilliant businessman who runs the family megacorporation, while Kinnear is the playboy who just enjoys its fruits. Julia Ormond, playing the daughter of their family chauffeur, longs to be a part of their world instead of hovering at its margin, and nurtures a hopeless love for Kinnear's character. Then, she gets a chance to go to Paris, work as a fashion photographer, and become wise in the ways of the world; when she gets back, they suddenly find her much more intriguing than before...Almost everything that a romantic Hollywood movie should be, Sydney Pollack's film is, and without being nearly as predictable or cliched as many of the others. Ormond is really quite skilled and well-cast, but no one can stop Ford; this is not the first time he has played a cynical materialist with more than that going on under the surface (in an odd way, he'll always be piloting the Millennium Falcon to me...) A love song by Sting, playing over the closing credits, is icing on the cake. The only warning I would give you about this movie is that it is consummately a creature of its genre, and not a "something for everyone" film; if two hearts coming together doesn't stir you up as much as two machine guns in Arnold's mechanical hands, proceed with caution! (And no, I have not seen the original with Audrey Hepburn--but this movie made me want to see it, not because it was in any way below par, but out of curiosity.)

SIGNING OFF DEPT.: As you may have noticed, most of what I promised to include in this issue isn't in it; here are the lame excuses: first, I can't say anything about Fellini yet because I haven't yet seen the copy of 8 1/2 I bought; when I get around to it, I assure you that I will be in top pontificating form. Second, I haven't seen a movie yet for the new column, but I assure you that that is coming as well. What will be its contents? You'll see next issue...Oh, and by the way, if you don't know what "oleaginous" means, look it up!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

TONY