Revolution Studios John Cusack,
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Julia
Roberts star in the romantic comedy "America’s
Sweethearts."
“America’s Sweethearts” Directed by
Joe Roth Starring: Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta-Jones and John
Cusack Flashback to a gawky and overweight Julia Roberts.
Don’t worry, it’s just Hollywood’s pretty woman
donning a fat suit for “America’s Sweethearts.”
What’s even more unbelievable than Roberts in her
plus-60-pounds scenes is that the Oscar-winning actor turned down
the lead in the film to play a supporting role. In “Notting
Hill,” Roberts was the unattainable starlet, the woman that
everyone admired. In “America’s Sweethearts,”
Catherine Zeta-Jones is the nation’s darling, Gwen Harrison.
John Cusack plays her long time on-screen and offscreen partner,
Eddie Thomas. And Roberts is Kiki, Gwen’s loyal and servile
personal assistant. It’s a tabloid journalist’s dream
come true when Gwen and Eddie call it quits in complete Hollywood
fashion. She dumps him for Hector, the Latin lover (played by Hank
Azaria) and with a broken heart, Eddie checks into a spiritual
wellness center to treat his raging depression and jealousy. (But
they’re still very close, says the quotable couple.) Written
by Billy Crystal and his “Analyze This” partner Peter
Tolan, the film is a laughable love story ““ think
sentimentality of “When Harry Met Sally” fused with the
dysfunctional Hollywood cynicism of “State and Main”
““ that reminds audiences why romantic comedies are meant to
be predictable. As soon as the characters are introduced, it is
clear that Kiki is not going to spend the entire movie loveless and
lonely. This underdog will have her day, and before you know it,
Gwen is playing second fiddle to a new and improved Kiki. You can
see the schmaltzy outcome of the movie in contrived shots of Eddie
and Kiki, enjoying a genuine chemistry that Eddie and Gwen so
obviously lacked. The predictability of the story enables the film
to draw attention away from trite love clichés, focusing it on
the colorful characters and clever humor. The movie gives audiences
a first-hand look at the media circus known as the press junket.
(Even moviegoers who aren’t versed in the show-biz shop talk
will enjoy the hilarious caricatures of Tinseltown). When an
over-the-top publicist (Crystal) needs to stall the national press
screening of the latest Eddie and Gwen flick, as a diversion he
convinces the media hordes that the once hot Hollywood item is in
the process of reconciliation. Crystal plays a greasy city slicker
who checked his soul at the door of his public relations firm. His
groveling intern (Seth Green), can only hope to become half the
deceptive spin master that his mentor is. Standing apart from the
media circus of the movie is Kiki and the killer scene-stealing
Roberts smile. Christopher Walken easily slips into the
unpredictable Hal ““ a director who’s a few frames short
of a reel. Zeta-Jones pulls out all the stops for her ego-crazed
diva character and Cusack is a funny man even in Eddie’s
scenes of desperate hopelessness. “America’s
Sweethearts” may be a predictable romp through the ups and
downs of love, but it takes on new relevance by placing it in the
context of the biggest carnival ride of them all ““ the
media.
Emilia Hwang Rating: 7
“Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” Directed
by Hironobu Sakaguchi Starring: Ming-Na and Alec
Baldwin
Will Smith had to fight them five years ago on Independence Day,
Mulder and Scully deal with them on a regular basis and just last
year humans had to deal with a dreadlocked John Travolta trying to
take over the planet. Those aliens just never give up. That’s
right folks, aliens are invading Earth once again. Only this time
it’s the year 2065 and the computer-generated scientist Aki
(Ming-Na) is here to keep these alien creatures from killing off
what’s left of the human race. And she’s trying to do
it in a completely computer-generated world that is unlike anything
viewers have ever seen before. Animators of “Final Fantasy:
The Spirits Within” spent countless hours and $115 million
creating the most eerily realistic characters and breathtaking
scenery ever made with ones and zeros. But what would a truly
engaging storyline do to enhance these amazing special effects?
Sadly, viewers won’t find out by watching this film. The
plot, while exciting and interesting at times, is not nearly as
awe-inspiring as the computer animation. Aki and her scientist
mentor, Dr. Sid (Donald Sutherland) have been studying the invading
phantom-like extra-terrestrials for a while and are slowly
beginning to understand how to correctly combat the vicious aliens.
One of the alien creatures has also found its way inside of Aki,
and, while providing her with clues on how to defeat the aliens, it
is also slowly killing her. Meanwhile, a bitter General Hein (James
Woods), wishes to take a more destructive approach by utilizing a
state-of-the-art laser beam that has never been used before. What
he doesn’t understand, however, is that using this
high-powered laser beam will only worsen the situation and may kill
off the earth itself without having any effect on the alien life
forms. Aki and Dr. Sid must embark on a race against time to
complete their quest before the general fires the laser at the
earth or the creature inside Aki kills her. On their mission,
numerous battles erupt between the aliens and the humans. These
thrilling, realistic battle sequences are definitely the most
redeeming aspects of the movie. Viewers, however, will eventually
get so lost in the story’s convoluted complexity that the
film will become incredibly strange and uninteresting. Perhaps the
most vague and confusing aspect of the plot is how Aki, Dr. Sid and
the team of soldiers intend to defeat the alien creatures. They
search the earth for eight spirits that, when combined, Aki and Dr.
Sid believe will defeat the invading creatures. It really makes no
sense. This is largely due to the fact that the movie never
explains why or how the combination of these spirits will destroy
the creatures. This lack of explanation and clarity will alienate
even the most avid of sci-fi fans. “Final Fantasy: The
Spirits Within” reminds viewers once again that even the
fanciest special effects and most thrilling action scenes
can’t make up for a sub-par storyline.
Suneal Kolluri Rating: 5