New Line Cinema Garry Shandling (left)
and Warren Beatty star in the disappointing comedy
"Town & Country."
By David Holmberg
Daily Bruin Staff
If there was any belief that actors age like fine wine,
“Town & Country” lays that myth to rest. Perhaps
box wine is a more appropriate analogy, with it providing just
enough flavor to be worth the cost, but leaving you sadly
unsatisfied.
From the first scene, the film exposes all that is to come. A
naked cellist, played with air-headed wonder by Nastassja Kinski,
sits strumming her instrument while architect Porter Stoddard
(Warren Beatty) watches from bed.
Porter, however, is married, and his infidelity is made
apparent.
He is happily married, too, or so it seems. His wife Ellie,
played by the ever-blasé Diane Keaton, is a normal, successful
middle-aged woman living in New York with her husband of 25
years.
Their kids are the expected byproducts of the rich and
liberal-minded, each with their own racially represented
significant other and “save the world” views. They all
live in one happy family, maid included, with no problems except
maybe keeping the hardwood floors pretty.
So why would Porter want to mess up a perfect life?
Unfortunately, this is never explained, except by the raging
uncontrollable male hormones that drive all men to lust after every
living and moving object.
Yeah, right.
Nevertheless, this is what the audience is led to believe, with
all the male characters giving every passing woman a long, lusting
glance. It does not help, either, that all women, other than the
leads, are 25 years old and beautiful.
Women are not the only object of fancy. Porter’s best
friend Griffin, played unenthusiastically by Garry Shandling, is
also cheating on his wife Mona (the pleasant but dull Goldie Hawn)
““ but not with a woman.
It does not take long for Mona, too, to get in on the fun of
extra-marital adventures.
Eventually, everyone is in the sack, on the floor or in the
snow, living the words of Marvin Gaye’s famous anthem,
“Let’s Get It On.” Andie MacDowell shows up as a
neurotic architect lover, and Jenna Elfman arrives to play a pure
and simple country girl. Affairs, attempted and otherwise, rampage
and no one is the worse for it. Indeed, all appear to enjoy
themselves, except for that nagging reminder of that spouse back
home.
Only one woman does not partake, and it is not surprisingly
Ellie. Work is her excitement, and deciding which fabric to choose
for her interior decorating display is of more relevance than the
multiple affairs all around her. But clearly, she is not having
much fun either.
The comedy’s premise sounds well and good, just like
buying that $4.99 box of wine instead of the $23.95 bottle right
beside it seems like a smart idea. But all wines are not created
equal, and neither are comedies.
At primary fault is the film’s utterly contrived plot.
Just because all of the characters having affairs are past their
primes does not inherently imply comedy. Yes, men and women in
their 50s still have a sex drive. This may be slightly amusing
““ especially to those of us under 30 who would rather not
imagine our parents even sleeping in the same bed ““ but
it’s not enough to make the movie worth watching.
The actors, while all decent and well-respected in their
profession, are not suited for such dismal parts. “Town &
Country” is like watching a Dom Perignon-drinking wine
connoisseur have a Boone’s wine cooler poured down his
throat; it is obviously not pleasant for anyone.
No one needs to see Beatty hanging from a window sill trying to
avoid getting caught cheating on his wife, nor do they need to
watch him roll around in the forest in a bear suit. These are the
antics Ben Stiller and Tom Green thrive on, and are barely funny
when it is them.
Given the pretentiousness of the film, it is still occasionally
amusing. While admittedly uneven, it has moments of
lightheartedness that are funny despite the flaws. Charlton Heston
appears as MacDowell’s gun-toting, Hemingway-loving father,
and is comical simply because he is Charlton Heston.
There is also no reason to care about the outcome of any of the
characters’ lives. They are all disposable, so even the
potentially disastrous situations are funny because there is no
need to worry.
The finale brings the entire ensemble cast together for one big
comedic coincidence. To arrange for all 10 or more characters to
simultaneously arrive at the same location is unquestionably
forced, but a sporadic laugh is inevitable due to the absurdity.
Plus, Heston appears again with his gun.
The one pitfall the film does nimbly avoid is the “Curse
of the Ensemble Cast.” A film with this many main players and
big stars can be unwieldy, but Peter Chelsom’s direction and
Michael Laughlin and Buck Henry’s script fare remarkably
well.
The conclusion thankfully does not tie everything up into a
trite Hallmark card banality, but there is no reason even to care
if these people live or die when all is through.
This box-of-wine cheap film will not induce vomiting, but that
is not much of a recommendation. Lowbrow laughs and cheap alcohol
both have their pros, but when Italy’s finest turns out to be
Safeway’s Select, there is no help in being a bit
disappointed.
FILM: “Town and Country” is now
playing in theaters nationwide.