Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 1, 1993 TAG: 9305030248
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
On one hand, it's an off-beat story of quirky, likeably flawed characters - the kind of people you don't often see in Hollywood escapism. On the other hand, the film never sustains a consistent tone. At various times, it's trying to be a romantic comedy, a look into the grimy world of sex for sale and a slick bit of eroticism. As often as not, it wanders uncomfortably among those styles.
As the story begins, Joey (William Baldwin) is indulging in a phone sex fantasy with one of his female clients. He's interrupted by a call telling him that a vengeful gangster just released from jail is looking for him. At the same time, Ellen (Sherilyn Fenn) has decided to rethink her lesbian relationship with Connie (Kelly Lynch). Though Connie is still passionately in love, Ellen is moving out.
Then fate brings Connie and Joey together. She needs an escort to a family wedding. Joey proves to be so charming that she gets a brilliant idea. If he seduces Ellen and then dumps her, she'll come back to Connie. In return for this little favor, she - Connie - lets Joey share her apartment.
With a few changes in sexual orientation, that could have been the kind of gimmicky plot that Doris Day and Rock Hudson might have found themselves in back in the 1950s. But director Yurek Bogayevicz never seems to know what he's up to.
Much of the film was shot on location in New York City, and it has a seedy, often threatening look. The three leads have been deliberately de-glamorized, too. These aren't "beautiful people." They floss their teeth and live in small cluttered places. But when Joey drops in on a class that Ellen is teaching, the students could have come straight from a fashion magazine.
In another scene, the characters will indulge in lengthy self-absorbed monologues that could have been lifted from a serious (i.e. bad) Woody Allen movie. "Do I love him? Did I love her? Why do I feel the way I do? Can I live with all these lies?" And that will be followed by some more overheated verbal eroticism.
Those reservations not withstanding, the three stars hold your attention, particularly Kelly Lynch. Her character challenges stereotypes and even though some of her dialogue doesn't ring true, she's emotionally realistic.
Those who are strongly partisan about the various sexual matters that are being debated now will probably find much to object to in "Three of Hearts." Everyone else can judge it on its own terms.
\ Three of Hearts **1/2 A New Line release playing at the Valley View. Rated R for subject matter, strong language, some violence. 100 minutes.
by CNB