THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 27, 1995 TAG: 9504270030
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
A TROUBLING WORLD as seen through the eyes of children is the theme of ``The Cure,'' a movie that has its heart in the right place but lacks credibility or logic.
The setting is a small town in Minnesota where two loners, age 11, become close friends. One, a newcomer from the South, is an extroverted fighter who has not been accepted by the local boys (all of whom seem to be ignorant bullies). The other is suffering from AIDS and has been shunned by the boys, whose parents uphold the bigotry.
The two misfits set off by raft down the Mississippi when they read that a doctor in New Orleans has discovered a cure for the disease.
Directed by Peter Horton (an alumni of TV's ``thirtysomething''), the movie looks dangerously like a disease-of-the-week TV movie. It is largely saved by two fine performances from the youngsters. Brad Renfro displays the ultra-thick Southern accent he had in ``The Client.'' He seems determined to steal the picture, just as he did ``The Client.'' There is some interest in seeing just how close to the edge he will go. Joseph Mazzello (dinosaur prey in ``Jurassic Park'' and the kid in the rapids in ``The River Wild'') is more low-key as the afflicted Dexter. He brings just enough feisty toughness to the part to avoid the usual sweetness of such tragic characters.
A lack of details, however, makes much of the film's logic questionable. The boys seem too smart to fall for the tabloid ``cure'' story. Perhaps their youth and a desperation can explain it.
At the outset, we are told little or nothing about the boys' missing fathers.
The friendship between the two develops so suddenly that it seems no big challenge. Renfro looks and acts much older than Mazzello, although they are supposed to both be 11.
When Mazzello is almost poisoned by herbs the boys concocted as their own makeshift cure, Renfro's mother doesn't even blink an eye that her son might have murdered someone. She's only enraged that he's associating with ``that AIDS boy.'' It's moments such as this that undercut the film's well-intentioned aim.
Mazzello's mother (Anabella Sciorra) is so likable and sensible that you wonder why he would have so quickly agreed to run off with no regard to her feelings.
Even more questionable is Renfro's mom, played by Diana Scarwid. She is bitter about her divorce and holding two jobs. (Scarwid, who played Joan Crawford's much put-upon daughter, gets her own chance to play ``Mommie Dearest'' here). The character disappears for half the film, returning when a villainess is needed. Scarwid is always an interesting actress. She doesn't get a chance here.
The film almost falls totally apart with the rather far-fetched raft trip down the Mississippi - in Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn style. Modern shipping would make this a less bucolic adventure, and one that would be quickly discovered by searchers.
Most questionable is the film's often-repeated emphasis that young Mazzello's character contracted the AIDS virus by blood transfusion and, consequently, doesn't deserve the disgrace that other AIDS victims suffer. The film (intentionally or unintentionally) suggests that other AIDS victims are not worthy of the same compassion. The early scenes contain homophobic slurs that children may imitate more than criticize.
The performances of the two boys ultimately compensate for much of this fuzzily sketched script. This is a four-hanky picture that will make adults realize how the world seems different when viewed through eyes this young.
In spite of the film's TV look and occasional lack of focus, it is impossible to sit through ``The Cure'' without being touched emotionally. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
MOVIE REVIEW
``The Cure''
Cast: Joseph Mazzello, Brad Renfro, Annabella Sciorra, Diana
Scarwid, Bruce Davison
Director: Peter Horton
Screenplay: Robert Kuhn
MPAA rating: PG-13 (language, homophobic slurs)
Mal's rating: 2 and 1/2 stars
Locations: Chesapeake Square and Greenbrier in Chesapeake;
Circle 4 and Main Gate in Norfolk; Lynnhaven Mall, Pembroke and
Surf-N-Sand in Virginia Beach
by CNB