AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS 1997
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1998 Timothy Voon
2 :-( :-( for the hairy beast
What started out as promising, spoofy fun took a turn for the worse when the werewolf started getting nasty. You can't keep laughing when there's an arm hanging here, a leg hanging there and a bit of blood splattered everywhere. So what was I expecting? I wanted a tale as tragically romantic as BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, as touching as BORN FREE and as carefree as HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS. Too much to ask you might say, but a subject as overdone as werewolves deserves only the utmost attention. I was disappointed, not so much because it wasn't original, but because it didn't carry any heart except within the jaws of the beast.
So I grimaced as I witnessed this blood bath reminiscent of hyenas ripping apart prey on the Savannah. These mythological men who turn to beasts at full moon, awaken to feast on the hearts of humans was too difficult to swallow, even with popcorn and coke on hand. Remember the Christians being fed to Lions in the Colosseum, well this time round it's the Americans who get fed to werewolves at numerous night clubs. Somehow, the French werewolves prefer American blood. This may be pure coincidence, a subtle hint that Americans aren't welcome in Paris or more likely that the over-friendly Americans make the easiest prey for partying wolves. Anyway it was quite amusing to see werewolves massacring Americans in Paris. It's not a sight you'll find at the zoo.
The cast includes Julie Delpy who talked too much with Ethan Hawke in BEFORE SUNRISE. In this movie she says less but carries a lot more bite. She is otherwise charming when she tries to calm the hallucinating Tom Everett Scott (THAT THING YOU DO) post wolf bite. Her idea of helping him through the difficult transition from man to wolf is to keep his hands on her breasts. I've heard that this particular naturipathic treatment is also effective for insomnia, anxiety and good for rebuilding finger strength. Unfortunately, this is as enchanting as the movie gets. Gone are the days when only a silver bullet will kill a werewolf, now any bullet will do the job. Three cheers for modern technology, but an overall unhappy movie experience.
Timothy Voon e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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