In the Cut. This is a sleazy murder mystery with pretensions of being a work of art. It's filled with cardboard characters mumbling and reciting absurdities. They all seem to be high on some brain-cell-destroying drug. There's Frannie (Meg Ryan), who pretends to be an English teacher, but acts as if she's been smoking crack on a regular basis over the last decade. Frannie's favorite pastime is to lay in bed nude and masturbate. She meets police detective Malloy (Mark Ruffalo) who really knows how to talk dirty to a lady. Soap opera necessity has them getting it on quicker than you can say "copulation." Oh, he's also investigating a serial killer who decapitates his female victims. Plus Malloy drinks a lot. God knows what narcotic Frannie's sister, Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), is taking.
One can only wonder what Australian director Jane Campion ("The Piano") was thinking when she made this grizzly and malevolent obscenity. From the crude start, the hand-held camera shots are annoying cliches. The controversial French film "Baise-moi" had more sensual erotica in it than the tiresomely sordid affairs depicted here. Campion fills the screen with artsy-fartsy curlicues to make up for the lack of any substance.
Do you need a gratuitous peek at Ryan's scrawny nakedness or some violent graphic images devoid of any redeeming value? If your answer is "Yes" then don't miss "In the Cut." But this reviewer felt a great deal of embarrassment for all those involved and cheerfully awards them the prize that they undeniably deserve - their very own personalized guillotine.
Even Ryan's surgically altered lips can't save "In the Cut" from being offensive and lacking in any artistic merit. Some people are ready, willing and able to have the wool pulled over already blind eyes, ranting and drooling what a great piece of work it is, but not this living and breathing human being. If it's some new form of dark satirical humor, I'm not laughing. I
Duplex. You would think it would be fairly simple to take gifted talents such as Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore and make an uproariously funny movie. Then again, maybe not.
All the elements for hilarity are there. Stiller and Barrymore look positively great, while delivering their lines with vigor and believability. The plot revolves around a seemingly funny situation just ripe for exploring with giddy insight. But even the rarely seen Eileen Esselis pernicious old-lady shenanigans can't prevent Danny DeVito's directed lark from rising above being a decidedly mediocre effort as far as laughs are concerned. II
Alex and Emma. Once again, two likable actors are brought together with high hopes of creating some interest and laughs. In this case, Kate Hudson's perky charisma is unable to salvage Rob Reiner's latest spin in his directorial chair. Particularly when it is combined with the gnawing inequities of Luke Wilson's inadequacies. The super sugarcoated cornpone script falls flat on its unfunny face. There are no signs, rumors or hints of any sparks ever flying between Wilson and Hudson now or in the afterlife. They just don't connect; perhaps they are acting in different movies in other dimensions. You won't get a wild case of the loonies watching this flick - never in 1,000 years. But without a doubt, Hudson is a real trooper and comes out of this mess unscathed.
II
IIIII Excellent. Don't miss it!
IIII Very good. See it!
III Good. It's up to you.
II Average. Nothing special.
I Waste of time. Forget it.
