USA Films Matt Dillon and Liv
Tyler star in Harald Zwart’s "One Night at McCool’s."
“One Night at McCool’s”
Starring Liv Tyler, Matt Dillon, John Goodman, Paul Reiser
and Michael Douglas Directed by Harald Zwart
Eve has once again wrongly tempted man, but this time
she’s five-foot-ten, blue-eyed, pouty-lipped, and her
brassiere is showing. Among the recent portrayal of powerful women
in such movies as “Erin Brockovich” and
“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “One Night at
McCool’s” reveals a different kind of strength women
possess ““ their power to manipulate men by using only their
sexuality and beauty. Liv Tyler ingeniously plays the role of
Jewel, a temptress who offers her body instead of an innocent
apple. She is perfectly sensual with her seductive smile and
flawless image, making her a knockout. She is the secret weapon in
this film, the first to come from Academy Award-winning producer
and actor Michael Douglas and his new production company, Further
Films. Along with co-producing, Douglas also plays a small role as
hit man Mr. Burmeister. The film is about three unsuspecting men
who lust after a woman whose only desire is to have a house of her
own. It all started one night at McCool’s with the
bar’s owner, Randy (Matt Dillon); Randy’s uncle Carl
(Paul Reiser), who is also a lawyer; and a detective, Dehling (John
Goodman). They get involved with each other after a crime is
committed at the bar and end up getting manipulated by the same
woman, Jewel. She has the ability to take Randy’s house away
from him, make Carl forget about his wife, and Dehling forget about
the memory of his wife. She refuses to let anyone or anything come
in between her and her home-decorating dream, especially not her
conscience, since a few dead bodies do come up. Although it is a
typical story of men all fighting for the same woman, an
interesting twist comes from the radically different perspectives
of Randy, Carl and Dehling, as each man creates his own version of
the story according to the way Jewel has manipulated him. Along
with the three different versions comes three different images of
Jewel, three different personalities and even different styles of
the same dress, so that the real Jewel is never portrayed. In his
feature film directorial debut, Harald Zwart has fun portraying
Jewel in so many contrasting ways and uses the camera inventively
in order to create the desired images. Not only does Zwart make Liv
Tyler shine on screen, but he also allows the other actors to be so
convincing that the audience has no choice but to feel outright
pity for how they are so easily played. The screenplay by Stan
Seidel is well-written, the plot is humorous and the characters are
amusingly very human. It is also a clever idea to have a woman,
Jewel, capable of more sex and violence than all the men combined
can handle. The abundance of sex and violence, however, is highly
unnecessary, and the film would be all the more charming if some of
its current content were removed, appealing to a larger audience.
The film will entertain and evoke laughter, but more should be
expected of a Michael Douglas production. So disregard the big name
before going to see this one.
Sophia Whang Rating: 7
“The Golden Bowl”
Starring Nick Nolte, Uma Thurman and Jeremy Northam
Directed by James Ivory
Based on Henry James’ novel, “The Golden Bowl”
tells the tale of the twisted love affair between Prince Amerigo
(Jeremy Northam) and his poor American lover Charlotte Stant (Uma
Thurman). Amerigo is a poor Italian aristocrat engaged to Maggie
Verver (Kate Beckinsale), the daughter of American billionaire and
art collector Adam Verver (Nick Nolte). Amerigo ultimately severs
his love affair with Charlotte. Charlotte, the daring and
relentless protagonist and old school friend to Maggie, joins the
two in London shortly before the wedding. She manages to win the
exclusive company of Amerigo in her search for a wedding present,
when they discover what appears to be a flawless golden bowl.
However, she does not purchase it. Thereafter, the plot thickens as
Charlotte marries Adam Verver, and the peaceful marriages of the
couples become only a mirage belying the surreptitious and
betraying love affair between Amerigo and Charlotte. The quiet
reunion of the two is in part due to the exclusive father-daughter
relationship between Adam and Charlotte. The audience watches a
lonely Amerigo give in to the passions inflamed by Charlotte while
seeing little of the naive and innocent Maggie, who devotes much of
her time and care to her father. Maggie is but a shadow until the
golden bowl provides an avenue of truth to her. She then becomes a
dynamic character whose once pale and fair complexion finally
becomes animated and flushed with powerful emotions. Immediately,
the audience falls in love with the strong and forgiving heroine,
as does Prince Amerigo. All the while, Charlotte sinks more and
more into a frenzy for fear of exposure and chokes in despair as
Amerigo professes and declares his love for Maggie. Bound by her
marriage to Adam, Charlotte loses the independence she once
represented with her bold, passionate adulterous advances and
leaves for America with her husband. The cluttered and symbolic
mise-en-scene and the choppy jumps from scene to scene work well
together to allude to a sort of thrilling and chaotic plot.
However, despite the performances given by the actors, especially
Thurman as the frantic Maggie, the plot itself is not very
intriguing. What seemed to be a rather good build-up of a complex
plot stagnates at the point of the golden bowl’s rediscovery.
The highly unlikely connection made through the golden bowl that
ultimately leads to the discovery of Stant and Amerigo’s love
affair is a weak culmination, rendering the turning point of the
film disappointing.
Jinjue Pak Rating: 6
“Freddy Got Fingered”
Starring Tom Green and Rip Torn
Directed by Tom Green
Tom Green is weird. Viewers who watch his crazy shenanigans on
“The Tom Green Show” and his brief appearances in
various movies will agree. His latest film, “Freddy Got
Fingered,” is so incredibly strange that it seems as if this
Canadian hooligan will not stop until audiences have no doubt that
he is a crazy, crazy man. Directed and co-written by Green,
“Freddy Got Fingered” tells a story about Gord (Green),
a 28-year-old man who lives with his parents and dreams of one day
creating a television show from his wild cartoon drawings.
Gord’s father (Rip Torn) cannot handle seeing his slacker son
still living at home and insists that he find himself a real job
and move out. Gord will not budge. A wild family dispute erupts
that results in many wild antics committed by both father and son.
Each of these absurd antics, however, is so random that the movie
seems like a gruesome group of haphazardly-placed sketches thrown
together without any real kind of relation to each other ““ a
format similar to that of “The Tom Green Show.” One
disturbing scene consists of Gord licking the exposed bone of his
injured friend. A few scenes later, Gord aids a pregnant woman in
giving birth and then bites off the baby’s umbilical cord as
blood sprays everywhere. He then proclaims loudly to have saved the
day as he is escorted out of the hospital. Nonetheless, this is
what viewers have come to expect from Green. Wild on-screen antics
that are both insane and unusual are the foundation of his career.
His craziness was central to his television show’s success.
Viewers were captivated by this young man who paraded around on
streets wreaking havoc with megaphones, microphones, fecal matter
or any combination of the three. What made the show so intriguing
was the fact that it was real. Viewers watched real people’s
reactions to this crazed lunatic and his nutty shenanigans.
Everything seemed spontaneous and fun. On the big screen, though,
these antics just aren’t the same. When Gord licks his
friend’s wound, viewers know the hideous gash is just fancy
makeup work. When Gord makes a mess of the cheese factory, viewers
know the cheese factory is a mere movie set and those reacting to
this havoc are just acting. Unscripted, random and real-life
weirdness can be funny, but scripted weirdness is just plain weird.
“Freddy Got Fingered,” however, is beyond weird. Though
occasionally funny, it is disgusting, stupid, demented and painful
to watch.
Suneal Kolluri Rating: 3