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Directed by: Terry Gilliam Starring: Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Mercedes Ruehl Is it a drama? Sort of. Is it a comedy? Yeah, it's funny. Is it a horror movie? Well, some pretty horrific poo poo happens in it... I chose fantasy because the film centers on a quest for the holy grail, nevermind that it takes place in New York City and is undertaken by a schizophrenic homeless man. That man is "Parry" (Williams), a former college professor who has taken to sleeping naked in Central Park and occasionally doing battle with or evading The Red Dragon. Eventually, he finds a companion in Jack Lucas (Bridges), a once-popular radio host who went on hiatus and start a relationship with a working-class video store owner (Ruehl) after an on-air remark inspired a neighborhood crazy to go berserk on a crowded bar. I don't want to spoil the surprise of the story, but fair warning: Other movie critics do spoil it. I guess they figure since it happens around the one-hour mark, it's not really a surprise, but that's like spoiling "The Truman Show." I like this film for the same reason I like Gilliam's other films—namely, his sense of whimsy (which shows up even in his post-apocalyptic nightmare epic "12 Monkeys" in his perverse use of camera angles and mentally ill characters). I haven't seen "The Brothers Grimm" or even (shock shock horror horror) "Brazil," but "The Time Bandits," "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen," "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" and "12 Monkeys" all had this sense of life, even in the bleakest of circumstances. I don't usually get a pleased smile and a body full of warmth from motion pictures—a film makes me feel good when it laughs and makes me feel bad when it scares me, but rarely can one tap into my middle range of emotions—but, watching "Parry" hallucinate a Grand Central Station filled with dancers a-twirl or seeing him act clumsy just to relieve another character's embarrassment in a crowded restaurant, I felt that inner joy, a rare feeling indeed. The movie is not without its faults, but Gilliam makes up for them with this urban fantasy, which not only runs the gamut from shocking to hilarious but spends a lot of time toward the middle, where the viewer can become emotionally invested in the characters instead of merely laughing at or reviling them. Also, Ruehl won an Academy award for her performance, and, about three quarters of the way through, it's easy to see why. Until that point, she delivers a subtly nuanced character who, to be honest, plays to a T the Jewish-woman stereotype that seems to only live on in bad PG-13 comedies, but then she delivers one hell of an admonition to the man who done her wrong. This isn't an endorsement for Comcast digital cable, but if you happen to have it, just a tip: It's one of the free VOD movies for this month, so watch it while it's free. RATING: 4.5 PROS: Terrific acting, great tone and story, Ruehl and Williams show off their chops CONS: Uneven, overlong ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101889/
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Mar 21, 2006 07:37
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