1 3 , 2002
D eath to
S moochy
Like previous Danny DeVito films
(T hrow M om m a from the Train, T he W ar o f
the R oses), his latest project brims with
inspired lunacy, dark humor and inventive
situations. Publicly disgraced kiddie show
entertainer Robin Williams plots to destroy
his successor, Sm oochy (Edward Norton,
brilliant as always), who meanwhile attempts
to reform the corrupt and dangerous world of
children’s entertainm ent. Harvey Fierstein’s
amusing appearance as a charity fund racke
teer is not the only “gay them e” here.
— Kevin M oore
<£§> <£> <£%> H ollywood E nding
N o surprises here; it’s vintage Woody
Allen. He’s a neurotic New York hypochon
driac whose filmmaking career is essentially
over. His producer ex-wife (the ravishing
T èa Leoni) wants to help him make a com e
back with a new script, but, alas and alack,
her new fiancée (Treat W illiams) runs the
studio and can’t stand him. T h e question is,
who could? Tired is the notion that beautiful
young women would continue to fall for this
annoying old man. Still, he’s hilarious and so
is the film.
— Lisa Bradshaw
girls become gay? W hat could have been a
homophobic embarrassment isn’t in this adap
tation by Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juer-
gensen o f their stage play. Fortunately the pair
insisted on playing the leads, too, which is
largely why this film is so dam endearing.
— LB
L antana
Director Ray Lawrence orchestrates a com
plex cast of couples in writer Andrew Bovell’s
riveting examination of adultery, trust and
deception. W hen therapist Barbara Hershey
counsels a gay patient, she begins to get sec
ond thoughts about her distant husband, G eof
frey Rush. Is he or isn’t he?
— Jim Radosta
LV
Mk
O h my gosh, an embarrassing social situation!
Hollywood Ending is vintage Woody.
K issing J essica S tein
<£> <&> P anic R oom
Two attractive women find love in the
personal ads, but can essentially straight
In the “for what it is" category: For what it
is— an action suspense thriller, basically—
Panic Room is a
success. Direc
tor David
Fincher
(Seven, Fight
C lub) offers the
usual showy,
technophilic camera
tricks, and it’s filmed in his
patented slick, dark Dank ’n ’ Damp-
ovision (which actually does befit the story). We
also get to see Jodie Foster display the fiercest
maternal instincts this side of Linda Hamilton in
Term inator 2: Judgm ent Day.
— Christopher M cQ uatn
W ilt's pipped
lid whit's flopped,
Il i theater le ir yon.
T rembling B efore G - d
Sandi Dubowski’s must-see documentary, which
runs only through May 5 at Hollywood Theatre,
follows the extremely varied lives of a group of les
bian and gay Orthodox Jews, each with a unique
experience of the grossly unfair struggle and suffer
ing that occurs when an individual’s sexuality is
pitted against faith. These stories, in their realness,
are as painful as they are compelling; not everyone
gets a happy ending, but everyone in front of
Dubowski’s camera earns our empathy.
— CM
W orld T raveler
In order to work, an unoriginal idea needs a
unique spin. Writer/director Bart Freundlich tries
quirky ensemble characters in this film about an
unsettled husband and father on a road trip to “find
himself,” but they’re not quirky enough to save
V
dud, bottom of the bag
only if you’re really hungry
<*£> <§><$£> good effort, pass the salt
<5> < 3 ^ ¿S'*
<yyb <£§>
»
mmmm, tasty!
< £ > < § > < £ } get the big tub o com
the script. World Traveler is predictable, is too long
and never works up the sympathy for the protago
nist you get the feeling you’re supposed to have.
Freundlich did cast his lover, the inimitable
Julianne Moore, though, which helps— a lot.
— LB
m
Y T u M ama T ambien
Using storytelling quirks similar to those in
A m élie, director/co-writer Alfonso Cuarôn
somehow achieves the impossible: A teen sex
comedy that actually shows sex. A buddy
movie in which one friendship’s limits truly are
put to the test. A coming-of-age road trip
where the characters arrive in a much
different place by the end of their
journey. D on’t miss it.
—JR