THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505090437
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
IS ``STUART SAVES His Family'' meant to be a comedy?
As you get 30 minutes or so into this latest spin-off of a ``Saturday Night Live'' sketch, the question becomes more and more pertinent. There are no laughs. Instead, the film switches to a sentimental, almost bitter, treatment of Stuart Smalley's dysfunctional family.
It is either a laughless comedy or a maudlin drama. Whatever it is, it isn't worth your time.
Al Franken plays the lisping self-help TV talkster who spouts what he calls ``daily affirmations.'' His favorite is something like ``I'm Good Enough. I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me.'' In a five- or 10-minute TV sketch, the character could be a spoof of current, ever-increasing ``experts'' offering advice for living. They are a particularly spoofable lot, but stretching the character to a feature length film is a little too much.
Franken's Stuart is fired from his Chicago public-access TV show when he insults the station manager. He goes home to try and save his family in Minnesota. The film then takes a serious turn, with some very fine actors apparently going for drama.
Shirley Knight plays the doormat Mom. It's almost impossible to realize that this is the same woman who played Tennessee Williams' Heavenly opposite Paul Newman in ``Sweet Bird of Youth.'' Harris Yulin is the alcoholic father. Vincent D'Onofrio is the hopeless drug addict who is his brother. (This is the actor who was the fat recruit who committed suicide in ``Full Metal Jacket'' - a performance that should have won him an Oscar.)
The cast works hard, to no avail.
Director Harold Ramis, perhaps, was trying for the mixture of sentimentality and humor that sparked his ``Groundhog Day'' to become a surprise hit. He should have forgotten the pretension and tried for the laughs.
It is particularly sad that Laura San Giacomo, a veteran of Virginia Stage Company, made the mistake of getting involved. Giacomo, who starred in ``The Tempest'' on the Norfolk stage, has since gone on to near-stardom in the movies - sparked by a memorable debut performance in ``sex, lies and videotape.'' As Stuart's sponsor, she is wasted. Being associated with this muddled mess could easily put the brakes on her film career.
``Stuart Saves His Family'' is, perhaps, the worst spin-off of a ``Saturday Night Live'' character - and that's saying a lot. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
MOVIE REVIEW
``Stuart Saves His Family''
Cast: Al Franken, Laura San Giacomo, Vincent D'Onofrio, Shirley
Knight, Harris Yulin
Director: Harold Ramis
Screenplay: Al Franken, based on his book
MPAA rating: PG-13 (so boring who could be offended otherwise?)
Mal's rating: 1/2 star
Locations: Janaf in Norfolk
by CNB