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movies-digest        Saturday, August 15 1998        Volume 02 : Number 064



[MV] Where Was It Filmed?
Re: [MV] Where Was It Filmed?
Reading is Fundamental (was Re: [MV] What was his last word?)
Re: [MV] Movie News - 08/13/98
RE: [MV] Movie News - 08/13/98
[MV] Movie News - 08/14/98
[MV] Coming Monday, 8.17, to The Flick Filosopher...
[MV] Movie News 2 - 08/14/98
[MV] WARNING
Re: [MV] Who said it?
RE: [MV] different ratings?
[MV] The Film.com Weekly Newsletter
[MV] Avengers review
[MV] So how did The Avengers do?
[MV] REVIEW: THE OPPOSITE OF SEX

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 13 Aug 98 23:01:18 EDT
From: Pat Casey <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Where Was It Filmed?

Can anyone tell me where/what resort the film My Father The Hero was filmed?




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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 11:38:51 +0800
From: Blacknight <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [MV] Where Was It Filmed?

Pat Casey wrote:
>
> Can anyone tell me where/what resort the film My Father The Hero was
> filmed?
>

Locations:
  Paradise Island Resort, Nassau, Bahamas
  New York, USA


- -blacknight

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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 00:31:04 -0400
From: Mel Eperthener <[e-mail]>
Subject: Reading is Fundamental (was Re: [MV] What was his last word?)

At 08.34 PM 13/08/98 -0500, you wrote:
>how do i  unsubscribe?
>
>
>[ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ]
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This is a joke, right??

Geeze, I wish the bloody newbies would learn to bloody read!!!!!

Regards,

- --Mel


- --Mel Eperthener
president, Gowanna Multi-media Pty

email: [e-mail]
          [e-mail]

http://www.webz.com/gowanna

419 Butler Street
PO Box 95184
Pittsburgh, PA 15223-0184
[phone]
[phone]
1-888-45-GOWANNA -- TOLL FREE
(1-888-454-6926)
____________________________________________
"Mulder, if you had to do without a cell phone for
two minutes, you'd lapse into catatonic schizophrenia"

- --Dana Scully
______________________________________________


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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 14 Aug 98 19:21:20 +0100
From: Garrett Winters <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [MV] Movie News - 08/13/98

>
The Reporter writes
>[ My cat's breath smells like cat food ]
Ah Ralph Wiggum strikes again :) from Lisa's Rival I think
Garrett
I'm wondering is there any news about the XMen film, is it still in
preproduction or has it been bounced again, any out there know?

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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 11:35:29 -0700
From: "Romero, Leticia" <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [MV] Movie News - 08/13/98

RE: XMEN --  I have inside knowledge!  The movie is still having script
problems, Brian Singer doesn't want to proceed until it's done. They still
believe that it can be released summer of 99, but don't hold your breath.
Since APT PUPIL will be released soon, and it had it's first screening on
tuesday, Brian's going to try to tweek it alittle more, which puts
everything else on the back burner for now....

> -----Original Message-----
> From:    Garrett Winters [SMTP:[e-mail]]
> Sent:    Friday, August 14, 1998 11:21 AM
> To:    Movies
> Subject:    Re: [MV] Movie News - 08/13/98
>
> >
> The Reporter writes
> >[ My cat's breath smells like cat food ]
> Ah Ralph Wiggum strikes again :) from Lisa's Rival I think
> Garrett
> I'm wondering is there any news about the XMen film, is it still in
> preproduction or has it been bounced again, any out there know?
>
> [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ]
> [ movies (without the quotes) to [e-mail]           ]

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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 12:59:41 -0600 (MDT)
From: The Reporter <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Movie News - 08/14/98

Surf's up for Tom Hanks. The star of "Saving Private Ryan" has hired
"Into Thin Air" author Jon Krakauer to write the script for his
project about late Hawaiian surfer Mark Foo and his fellow daredevil
wave-riders. Hanks will serve as one of the producers of the untitled
Universal project. He could potentially play a role in the picture,
but he's not currently attached as an actor. The story will be about
the discovery by surfer Jeff Clark of the now-legendary big-wave
haven in northern California called Maverick's. It will also explore
the death of Foo, at Maverick's in December 1994.

                        -=> * <=-

Meryl Streep will add another string to her bow by replacing Madonna
in "50 Violins." Madonna exited the Miramax project in July due to
creative differences with director Wes Craven. "50 Violins," which
was several months into pre-production when Madonna quit, now has a
tentative start date of mid-October in New York. The picture is based
on the Oscar-nominated documentary "Small Wonders" about Roberta
Tzavaras. The East Harlem violin teacher trained a number of
inner-city hopefuls, some of them reaching Carnegie Hall standards.

- -=> Disco Stu doesn't advertise <=-

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------------------------------

Date: 14 Aug 1998 19:00:26 -0000
From: The Flick Filosopher's Coming Attractions <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Coming Monday, 8.17, to The Flick Filosopher...

The Flick Filosopher's Coming Attractions - http://www.flickfilosopher.com/flickfilos

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Join this moderated discussion focusing on web site promotion and driving
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The Flick Filosopher: Today we have a special guest, Miss Emily Litella,
who will tell us all about Monday's featured actress, Uma--

Emily: Yuma! Let me tell you about Yuma! It's hot -- I mean really hot.
It's in Arizona, which is in the desert, for goodness sake. I don't
understand these people who would want to live in where there's nothing
but sand and cactuses and snakes. There's probably bandits and wild
Indians still, too.

The Flick Chick: Ah, Emily...

Emily: It never rains and the sun is always beating down, so you'd have to
stay in your house and keep the air-conditioner on all the time. Imagine
what your electric bill would be! You'd try to cool off with ice cream,
but I bet it would melt before you got it home from the store.

The Flick Chick: No, Emily, *Uma,* not *Yuma.*

Emily: Uma?

The Flick Chick: Uma Thurman, the actress? Star of "The Avengers" and
"GATTACA," this week's featured movies? Perhaps you've heard of her?

Emily: Not Yuma?

The Flick Chick: Not Yuma.

Emily: Never mind.

+++++++++++++++++++++
Link back to The Flick Filosopher with a gorgeous banner or button.
http://www.flickfilosopher.com/flickfilos/banner.html
+++++++++++++++++++++

Hasta la vista!

MaryAnn


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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 14:00:59 -0600 (MDT)
From: The Reporter <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Movie News 2 - 08/14/98

Reports that "The Avengers" is dead on arrival are slightly
exaggerated. The movie version of the sublime '60s TV spy
spoof may be heavy-handed and lacking in consistent pace,
but it does have its charms. Chief among them is a sly
performance by Ralph Fiennes as John Steed. (Sadly, Uma
Thurman's Emma Peel only looks the part. Uma's monotone
delivery throughout the picture is deadly -- and she plays
two roles!) There's also something to be said for a movie
that casts Sean Connery as a James Bondian villain intent on
controlling the world's weather, that outfits its evildoers
in teddy bear outfits and that offers original TV Steed
Patrick Macnee in a clever cameo. Besides, for once it's
good to see London destroyed in a summer '98 movie instead
of New York.

                        -=> * <=-

Mike Myers will step in for the late Chris Farley and do the
voice-over for the title role in "Shrek," an animated
feature from DreamWorks based on a book by cartoonist
William Stieg. "Shrek" also features the voices of Cameron
Diaz, Linda Hunt, John Lithgow and Eddie Murphy in an
off-beat fairy tale in which an ugly ogre shows up where
you'd normally expect to see a handsome prince.

- -=> I hope I didn't brain my damage <=-

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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 04:00:59 -0400
From: "Meyers, Megan" <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] WARNING

Now that I have everybody's attention. Maybe I should tell you the
movies I have seen in the last week or so.  Saving Private Ryan. Lethal
weapon 4, Dr. Dolittle and the worlds famous revised Parent trap....

 Is something about Mary good? what about Ever after or Disturbing
Behavior??  I fear that I am doomed to a life of watching "On the way
home" or " Lamb of God" forevermore.............. ( not that there is
anything wrong with it)

 How many movies can you pack into one day, when you have your farewell
and have to pack more stuff? Wonder if the Bishop will let me skip out
early to catch a flick???

Megan

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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 16:02:35 -0700
From: "C J" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [MV] Who said it?

Yepper that sure did come from the movie "A Few Good Men" The I want the truth is from a character played by Tom Cruise to Jack Nicklson.
- ---
C.J Parker

  _________________________________________________
 | "Cats seem to go on the principle that it       |
 |  never does any harm to ask for what you want." |
 |_________________________________________________|
              /\_/\
            =(=^*^=)=
              / ~ \
             ( | | )
              ~^ ^~(_
                 *_)




On Fri, 14 Aug 1998 02:00:24   Michael Allen Jr wrote:
>Well I don't know what movie its from (so this is real helpfull) ... but
>Homer Simpson said it... hehe
>
>Mike Allen (aka Dahrin)
>
>Meyers, Megan wrote:
>
>> I heard this line somewhere, maybe my sister said it. But it is from a
>> movie and for the life of me I can't recall which one.
>>
>>  The line is " I want the truth" Reply " YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH"
>>
>>  is this from a few good men???
>>
>> Megan
>>
>> [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ]
>> [ movies (without the quotes) to [e-mail]           ]
>
>
>
>
>[ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ]
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>


Free web-based email, Forever, From anywhere!
http://www.mailexcite.com

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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 01:33:34 -0400
From: "Meyers, Megan" <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [MV] different ratings?

Hmmm.... You do have a good point. I hear that US movies are rated in a
different manner than Canada. Movies that are rated 14a in the States
are PG here. I guess the next government will have to vote!!

Megan
>----------
>From:     Romero, Leticia[SMTP:[e-mail]]
>Sent:     Tuesday, August 11, 1998 10:25 AM
>To:     '[e-mail]'
>Subject:     RE: [MV] different ratings?
>
>>Producers shouldn't be allowed to do ANYTHING except sign the check!!  If
>>they were to do the rating, all movies would be PG or R to make sure all the
>>young men between 15-30 will come to see it again and again.  It's because
>>of producers that we were blessed with Fire Down Below and Whit Stillman...
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From:    greuel [SMTP:[e-mail]]
>> Sent:    Tuesday, August 11, 1998 8:35 AM
>> To:    [e-mail]
>> Subject:    RE: [MV] different ratings?
>>
>>
>>
>> > Politics are just crazy. Why don't they let the producers of the movies
>> > rate them. I can understand how the Netherlands can be so free minded. I
>> > grew up there, but what I can't understand is how people lose their
>> > moral values over things like movies. If you all had to make your own
>> > rating system for movies... what would yours be like??
>>
>> Well, a country needs to protect those that need protection (children), so
>> if they
>> think that particular films or scenes can be harmful, they need to make
>> sure that
>> kids are not exposed to them. Obviously the boards differ in their
>> estimation what
>> is and what is not harmful. In the end that is a matter of culture and how
>> highly
>> you value free speech as opposed to the protection of individuals. It's a
>> tricky
>> matter, but  the ratings are merely concerned with children and young
>> adults. It gets
>> unpleasant when countries start to decide that even adults are not allowed
>> to see a
>> particular film or scene.
>>
>> thomas
>>
>> ---
>> http://greuel.notrix.de/ - abomiNation
>> "One must still have chaos in one
>>  to give birth to a dancing star"
>>               Friedrich Nietzsche
>>
>> [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ]
>> [ movies (without the quotes) to [e-mail]           ]
>
>[ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ]
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>

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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 18:47:42 -0700
From: "Film.com" <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] The Film.com Weekly Newsletter

Welcome to the Film.com Newsletter  - a weekly mailing
of the news and reviews from www.film.com.

This mailing is distributed to the Film.com mailing list and to
new members of Film.com. For information on how to
subscribe/unsubscribe, please scroll to the bottom of this message.

Contents - 8/14/98

1. The Avengers: No, No, No
2. How Stella Got Her Groove Back: Bassett as Wonder Woman
3. Return to Paradise: So What Would You Do?
4. Slums of Beverly Hills: The Agony of Puberty
5. Air Bud: Golden Receiver: Yes, It's  a Dog
6. The Best Man: My Best Friend's Wedding, Italian Style
7. Gadjo Dilo: Return of the Gypsies
8. Weekend Box Office
9. Preview: Blade
10. In the Screening Room . . .
11. Video news: New releases
12. Video specials from Reel.com
13. Movie Music
14. Do You Have G2?
15. Next week on Film.com

1. THE AVENGERS
Review excerpt by Robert Horton
http://www.film.com/reviews/index.jhtml?review_url=/film-review/1998/10694/1
8/default-review.html

" . .. "No point in setting out half-shod." No, this isn't an average
Hollywood blockbuster.
This is The Avengers, and John Steed is advising Mrs. Peel on the efficacy of
wearing the proper footwear. The movie has its share of clever, dry-gin
dialogue,
much in the spirit of the sixties TV series on which it is based.
Unfortunately,
Steed and Mrs. Peel are no longer played by Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg,
but by Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman. And therein lies the secret to this
sometimes imaginative film's failure. . . ."

2. HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK
Review excerpt by Moira Macdonald
http://www.film.com/reviews/index.jhtml?review_url=/film-review/1998/10801/1
11/default-review.html

" . . . And the fabulous Bassett, sadly, has little to do but wear a series
of
bikini tops and sarong skirts and stare wistfully out of windows. (Just
once, she gets outraged - at her pasty-faced boss - and scoffs at him,
storming out of his office. That moment has more life than anything
else in the movie.) And, ironically, her stunning looks undermine the
film's message. Bassett looks barely 30; Diggs appears to be in his
mid-20s. When a puffy-faced 60-year-old woman (i.e. Warren Beatty
in Bulworth) can walk into the sunset with a twentysomething man
beside her - that will be progress. I'm not holding my breath. Or
waiting to exhale, you might say."

3. RETURN TO PARADISE
Review excerpt by Robert Horton
http://www.film.com/reviews/index.jhtml?review_url=/film-review/1998/10802/1
8/default-review.html

" . . . Don't leave the hashish lying around. That's the mistake three
American buddies make in Malaysia, on the very day that two of them,
Sheriff (Vince Vaughn) and Tony (David Conrad) head back to the states.
The guy left behind, Lewis (Joaquin Phoenix), is busted for the stash and
thrown into a Third World hellhole. It gets worse. After two years of
rotting away, Lewis is going to be executed unless the two other men return
to Malaysia and do their time - a three-year sentence. . . . That's the
premise
of Return to Paradise, a movie that would very much like to press hard on the
what-would-you-do-if-you-were-in-this-situation audience button. The urgency
of the plot, and the strengths of the actors, create some potent scenes.
There's
enough good work in the movie to make you wish the problems might just
disappear. But they don't . . ."

4. SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS
Review excerpt by Elizabeth Weitzman
http://www.film.com/reviews/index.jhtml?review_url=/film-review/1998/10803/1
470/default-review.html

" . . . The '70s were unlike any other era. It's hard to be a teenager.
It's harder
to be a teenager with new breasts. These are things I think we can all agree
on, and director Tamara Jenkins knows it. So to make her movie about a
teenager with new breasts in the '70s, she had to come up with a gimmick.
The gimmick here, as in so many unsatisfying films, is sheer quirkiness.
Vibrators as dance partners. Manson t-shirts. Rita Moreno. All potential
draws, maybe, but are they enough? . . ."

5. AIR BUD: GOLDEN RECEIVER
Review excerpt by Sean P. Means
http://www.film.com/reviews/index.jhtml?review_url=/film-review/1998/10800/2
7/default-review.html

" . . . If a children's car seat is shoddily made, it gets recalled. So why
not
the same treatment for awful children's movies?

The first that we can send back to the factory is Air Bud: Golden
Receiver, an inept sequel to last year's film about a basketball-playing
dog. This time, the dog has taken up a new pastime: directing movies.

OK, so the credits say the director is Richard Martin, the son of
"Laugh-In" host Dick Martin (who makes a cameo appearance). But
the evidence - the stupid humor, bungled editing and camerawork,
and hackneyed storytelling - has the dog's pawprints all over it. . . ."

6. THE BEST MAN
Review excerpt by Tom Keogh
http://www.film.com/reviews/index.jhtml?review_url=/film-review/1998/10804/2
3/default-review.html

" . . . The film is a bit similar to what is perhaps Avati's best-known work
in the U.S., the 1989 The Story of Boys and Girls (released in America in
1991), which also concerned an assemblage of families over a celebration.
As with that film, profound observations come gently and themes build with a
subtle grace. Deep into the third act of The Best Man, a feeling of
transcendent
liberation, of lives rising singly and collectively past false assumptions
and
toward a visionary integrity, seems almost to have come from out of the blue.
But it is there and it is real, a terrific achievement on Avati's part. . . ."

7. GADJO DILO
http://www.film.com/reviews/index.jhtml?review_url=/film-review/1998/10805/2
3/default-review.html
Review excerpt by Robert Horton

" . . . At times one might wonder if the story isn't simply a convenient
device
to allow Gatlif to make another arty, quasi-documentary in the vein of Latcho
Drom. But for the most part the director's anthropological tendencies serve
the
narrative and are more interesting for it. . . . Still, what really turns a
viewer's head
is the currency of boldness that permeates so much of the lives of the
gypsy characters.
Sex, music, dance, grief, celebratory rituals - everything is right out
there, no holds
barred. It's understandable how a wanderer could fall in love with this
world, and it's
to Gatlif's credit that one wouldn't mind joining Stephane there for awhile."

8. BOX OFFICE RESULTS
Weekend of  August 7-9
http://www.film.com/reviews/rev_box/

1. Saving Private Ryan
2. Snake Eyes
3. Halloween: H20
4. There's Something About Mary
5. The Parent Trap
6. Ever After
7. The Negotiator
8. The Mask of Zorro
9. Armageddon
10. Lethal Weapon 4

9. PREVIEW: BLADE
http://www.film.com/reviews/rev_coming/previews/1998/10739/
Excerpt from preview, written by Jeff Shannon

" . . . The Internet's all abuzz with speculation about which of 1998's
vampire
movies will drip the most box-office blood. Will it be John Carpenter's
Vampires, a highly anticipated thriller from the auteur of Halloween
appropriately set for release October 30th? Or will it be Blade, the
action/horror vehicle for Wesley Snipes due to arrive at the multiplexes
August 21? Either way you cut it (or bite it, or slice and dice it), it's a
sure
bet that fang-ful vamp-fans will happily be seeing crimson on the big screen,
so read on to whet your nocturnal appetite . . . and don't forget your
wooden stakes . . ."

10.  IN THE SCREENING ROOM
http://www.film.com/screen/

This week: new trailers for Blade, Air Bud, Slums of Beverly Hills, and
Your Friends and Neighbors. Love. Plus, check out our "Film
Clips"  room, loaded with scenes from current films, and the
RealShorts Film Festival, our online collection of 31 short films
from the Seattle International Film Festival.

11. NEW VIDEO RELEASES
http://www.film.com/reviews/rev_video/

In Sean Axmaker's video column, read all about this week's new
releases, including The Apostle, Kundun, Capitaine Conan, The
Newton Boys, A Self-Made Hero, and a special edition of It's a
Wonderful Life. Be sure to send the "Print and Go" page to your
printer, to take along as a handy guide to the video store.

12. VIDEO SPECIALS FROM REEL.COM
http://www.film.com/store/

As many of this summer's big-studio releases continue to disappoint
(the latest offender: The Avengers), why not take a look at the independent-
film world. This week, Reel.com offers 25 percent off their best-selling
independent film titles, including The Full Monty, Waiting For Guffman,
Box of Moonlight, The Moderns, and more.

10. MOVIE MUSIC
http://www.film.com/reviews/rev_wild/stc/
http://www.film.com/reviews/rev_wild/tfs/

Next week on Soundtrack Cinema: "Hollywood's Golden Age." Ford
Thaxton presents scores from classic 20th Century Fox films, from such
masters as Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Newman.  And on the Ted Fry
Show, music from 75 years of Warner Bros. films, including everyone's
favorite piano music from Casablanca.

12. DO YOU HAVE G2?
www.film.com/reviews/smil

Check out the Film.com and Screening Room channels on the new
G2 Player - and don't miss the Talking Picture Show, in which Film.com's
critics debate the movies of the week.

NEXT WEEK . . .

Watch Film.com for reviews of Blade, Dance With Me, Your Friends and
Neighbors, Next Stop Wonderland, Dead Man on Campus, Wrongfully
Accused, and Regeneration, as well as a special RealVideo interview with
Jason Patric and Neil LaBute. And stay tuned for our fabulous Fall Movie
Preview, coming September 8.

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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1998 02:54:04 -0700
From: Jason Cormier <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Avengers review

If you ever hear that a studio is not giving the press a preview screening
because they want the press to "discover the film with the rest of the
audience" then do NOT see that movie.  It spells disaster - and disaster is
now spelled A-V-E-N-G-E-R-S.  Not the absolute worst movie I've ever seen.
To say something good - the visuals were really interesting.  That kept me
awake from scene to scene - wondering what new visual we would be treated
to - men dressed as teddy bears seated around a table, Big Ben blowing up,
mechanical bees attacking etc...  The major problem was that it felt so
disjointed.  Nothing fit together here - it was as if they took a lot of
cool ideas and threw them into a movie and then created a story around it.
But the story is minimal, transparent and weak.  Ralph does a fine job but
the script is at fault for not letting his character develop at all.  And I
don't want to even talk about Uma - whew - talk about being cast by the
look only.  I have to fail this movie (although I was pleasantly amused by
seeing an M.C. Escher painting acted out!).
Jay the Movieman
[e-mail]

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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1998 16:39:47 -0600
From: "Gregory A. Swarthout" <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] So how did The Avengers do?

From: Jayson <[e-mail]>

Anyone know how it did on its opening day? And any reviews out there?

Jayson
- -----------------
I've been down this road walkin' the line
That's painted by pride
And I have made mistakes in my life
That I just can't hide
Oh I believe I am ready for what love has to bring
Got myself together, now I'm ready to sing.
I've been searching my soul tonight
I know there's so much more to life
Now I know I can shine a light
To find my way back home

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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1998 16:41:51 -0600
From: "Gregory A. Swarthout" <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] REVIEW: THE OPPOSITE OF SEX

From: Scott Renshaw <[e-mail]>

THE OPPOSITE OF SEX
(Sony Classics)
Starring:  Christina Ricci, Martin Donovan, Lisa Kudrow, Ivan Sergei,
Lyle
Lovett, Johnny Galecki, William Scott Lee.
Screenplay:  Don Roos.
Producers:  David Kirkpatrick and Michael Besman.
Director:  Don Roos.
MPAA Rating:  R (sexual situations, profanity, adult themes, violence)
Running Time:  100 minutes.
Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.

     THE OPPOSITE OF SEX may actually be too limiting a title for
screenwriter Don Roos' tart-tongued directorial debut.  After winding
its
way through relationship comedy, road picture grit and a dozen genre
stops
in between, it turns out to be the opposite of nearly everything it
first
appears to be, including:

     1) The opposite of sincerely-narrated coming-of-age drama.
Long-time
readers know of my disdain for voice-over narration as a substitute for
effective film storytelling.  THE OPPOSITE OF SEX opens with a warning
from Dedee Truitt (Christina Ricci), the 16-year-old vixen at the center
of the story:  "If you're one of those people who don't like movies
where
some person you can't see talks the whole time and covers up the holes
in
the plot...then you're out of luck."  Like most of Dedee's comments,
that
one isn't particularly trustworthy.  The narration provides crucial and
often hilarious peeks into the troubled character, who runs away from
home
to stay with her gay half-brother Bill (Martin Donovan), then proceeds
to
seduce his lover Matt (Ivan Sergei), steal $10,000 of his money and hit
the road again with Matt in tow.  Roos turns Dedee's bitchy,
politically-incorrect narration into an effective tool for understanding
characters and subverting expectations, enough to make me soften my
absolutist anti-narration stance.  That's not to say that the film is
all
about caustic indifference.  In fact, it's...

     2) The opposite of cynical.  Roos has little interest in wallowing
in
indie-pic nihilism.  Despite the multitude of quirky touches, THE
OPPOSITE
OF SEX is a surprisingly human story of people for whom sex is either
frightening, or manipulative, or a substitute for something more
substantial.  Ricci plays deftly both with and against Dedee's
bile-filled
dialogue, giving her a sympathetic edge as she journeys towards some
measure of maturity.  Even better is Lisa Kudrow, cast brilliantly
against
type as Lucia, the deeply-repressed sister of Bill's deceased lover.
Playing a character so profoundly disappointed by life that everything
and
everyone similarly disappoints her, she moves and speaks like a
perpetually constricted sphincter muscle.  It's a brutally funny and
quite
touching performance, one of the year's best.  It also makes it clear
that
THE OPPOSITE OF SEX is...

     3) The opposite of a "guy movie."  Photos of a scantily-clad Ricci
on
the promotional posters notwithstanding, THE OPPOSITE OF SEX is only
moderately successful at getting inside the male head.  For some reason,
Roos (SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, BOYS ON THE SIDE) has generally written much
more compelling female characters than male characters through his
career.
That's true again here, where Ricci and Kudrow steal the show from their
male co-stars in less-developed roles.  Erstwhile "Roseanne" co-star
Johnny Galecki, as a body-pierced, mincing youth infatuated with Matt,
is
less a character than gay comic relief; William Scott Lee offers yet
another Christian character who's ignorant and violent.  Even Lyle
Lovett,
as the gentle sheriff with a crush on Lucia, is given too little shading
for the important role he ultimately plays.  Only Martin Donovan, always
adept at fleshing out minimalist characterizations with piercing
glances,
emerges fully-formed.  Roos covers up several weaknesses with his sharp
dialogue, but he can't hide the sketchy male roles, nor the fact that
THE
OPPOSITE OF SEX is...

    4) The opposite of flashy independent film-making.  Every once in a
while, Roos gets overtly cinematic on us -- a slow pan after a gunshot
is
heard, a sentimental montage of Bill after Matt leaves.  Otherwise, THE
OPPOSITE OF SEX might as well be a stage play, a collection of static
medium compositions of characters in conversation.  Fortunately, those
conversations are full of quotable lines and keen insights into the way
we
use and abuse sex, and vice-versa.  Don't expect dumb comedy, gratuitous
titillation or cheap sentimentality from THE OPPOSITE OF SEX.  You're
going to get the opposite of all that.

     On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 opposites attracting:  7.

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