Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 1, 1995 TAG: 9504040028
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHERINE REED STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
As Gwyn, she stammers, stutters and agonizes over the institution of marriage. Is remaining single an act of courage, or of selfishness? Can she be happy with one person - her fiance Matt (Gil Bellows) - for the rest of her life?
Marriage, she reasons, is like Miami: a little hot, a little dangerous. But if it's so awful, she asks, why is there still so much traffic?
And why, she might ask, are there so many people in her immediate family driving recklessly?
First, there's her mother (Farrow) who is having an affair with Gwyn's grandmother's nurse, Antonio (Antonio Banderas).
Then there's her brother Jordan (Kevin Pollak), who leaves his pregnant wife to have an affair with his partner's wife, Kaia (Naomi Campbell).
And then there's Gwyn's newlywed sister Leslie (Carla Gugino), who gave everyone a BIG clue when she wrote her wedding vows to rhyme with "Green Eggs and Ham." ("Til death do us part. In a house. With a mouse. In a box. With a fox," etc.) Leslie's "falling in love" with an old high school flame turned dentist named Mitchell. In Gwyn's bed, no less.
Finally, there's Gwyn's father (Paul Mazursky) - who got involved with his travel agent Zelda (yep, she's a kook) and was struggling to become uninvolved when he realized that his wife was fooling around.
It's all more than enough to make Gwyn doubt the advisability of making a lifelong commitment. And there are more than enough clever lines and funny scenes in this movie to make it a pleasant enough two-hour commitment.
What's surprising is that it isn't better. Written and directed by David Frankel, who is best known for the short-lived TV show "Grapevine," the scenes are snappy and fun, perfectly timed for greatest comic advantage.
But it lacks the impact that it ought to have because although Gwyn SEEMS to have so much at stake in the outcome of the chaos that surrounds her, she is veiled in a comic mist - like a Greek chorus with a penchant for one-liners.
Sure it's funny. But it ought to also be a little sad. There ought to be some relief in the laughs, as respite from the pain the characters are causing each other. A little more like real life, or a good movie.
And a little less like a TV sitcom.
** and a HALF,
Miami Rhapsody
** 1/2
(PG-13 for adult situations and language) showing at the Grandin Theatre, 100 minutes, a Hollywood Pictures release.
by CNB