SN was quite possibly the worst movie I have seen in the last ten years. I have never wanted to slap anyone as hard as I wanted to slap Charlize Theron's character. Keanu, normally adorable, was slightly less engaging than usual and needs maybe to hit the weights a bit harder before he takes off his shirt next time. However, Greg thought it was sweet and romantic. Split decision.
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Julius Caesar
TheAnniversaryParty
The Anniversary Party
January 22, 2002
I suppose Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh should be commended for a searing look at Hollywood vacuousness and the insecurity of artists, but the revelation of the fault lines and scars of their six year relationship (he being a writer/director, she being a film actress) makes for very dull, and often excruciating viewing.
The concept is simple. They have been together six years, he is just off a fling and separation, and they are confronting a future, a move to London, attempts to have a child, and her faltering career, all in the framework of immense distrust.
So, they have a six year anniversary party
attended by Kevin Kline, Phoebe Cates, Parker Posey, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Beals, and others
all of whom celebrate not only their longevity, but their recent reunion. What appears to be a tense and uncomfortable look at two very self-destructive, inward looking people (and their friends, most of whom exhibit some malady or another) becomes really uncomfortable when they each take Ecstacy.
In order to let viewers in on a different world convincingly, there has to be a token offering for what makes them a part of that world. But here, we are made to accept on faith the talents of the attendees.
It is not enough. Everything unmoors. Soon, all repressed feelings are unleashed, and what we get is a different, more esoteric version of one Dynasty catfight after another. Leigh and Cumming appear so miserable even during the moments of tenderness and before the hell breaks loose, that when it does, it is no revelation or shock or even an understanding. They started off at full rev, aimed right at each other. Moreover, both actors are so tic-laden (she generally, he in this role) that they appear to be plagued by a bad rash throughout.
Grade: D.
