KISSING A FOOL
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING: ** OUT OF ****
United States, 1998 U.S. Release Date: 2/27/98 (wide) Running Length: 1:35 MPAA Classification: R (Sexual situations, profanity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: David Schwimmer, Jason Lee, Mili Avital, Bonnie Hunt, Vanessa Angel, Kari Wuhrer Director: Doug Ellin Producers: Andrew Form, Rick Lashbrook, Tag Mendillo Screenplay: James Frey and Doug Ellin Cinematography: Thomas Del Ruth Music: Joseph Williams U.S. Distributor: Universal Pictures
KISSING A FOOL is yet another obligatory romantic comedy with dumb characters trying to plow their way through a morass of contrived situations. From that ringing endorsement, you might assume that I hated the movie. Actually, given my expectations, I didn't think it was too bad. Sure, I would have appreciated a little more originality, but, on the whole, KISSING A FOOL delivers just about what I thought it would. In the process, it annoyed me slightly less than another recent entry into the genre, THE WEDDING SINGER.
There are three problems that make KISSING A FOOL marginally less enjoyable than the average, formula-driven romantic comedy. None have anything to do with the cast, but can be fixed firmly on the shoulders of writer/director Doug Ellin and his co-scribe, James Frey.
The first is that the dialogue is boring. It isn't cringingly awful, nor should the actors have been embarrassed to say their lines, but there's nothing special in the words. Apparently, Ellin and Frey were attempting to capture the feeling of the kind of stuff written by Kevin Smith or Quentin Tarantino, but they have the texture and the rhythm all wrong. The result -- forgettable dialogue that reminds us how talented the screenwriters are who can make viewers savor the way characters speak.
Flaw #2 is the painfully inept way KISSING A FOOL is structured. For some unknown reason, the entire thing is told in flashback. Not only does this saddle the audience with a narrator (Bonnie Hunt), but there are so many cut-backs between the past and present that any romantic tension is completely destroyed. What's more, it's an unnecessary tactic. This film would have been significantly better had it been presented in a strictly linear fashion.
Finally, the third problem is that the audience is always at least two steps ahead of the characters. Not only are they stupid (one guy thinks Australia is in Europe), but they're blind as well. The director apparently believes that fault extends to the audience, because he actually thinks there's some suspense about who the girl ends up with at the end. Movies of this sort add to my appreciation of the likes of MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING, where there's real doubt about how things will work out.
What KISSING A FOOL offers is an old-fashioned romantic triangle done without much old-fashioned style. Max (David Schwimmer, effectively playing a jerk) is an self-centered TV sports caster who falls head-over-heels in love with pretty Sam (Mili Avital, who was in STARGATE and now has a number of films on the way). But Max's best friend, sensitive Jay (Jason Lee, who isn't nearly as good here as he was in CHASING AMY), also loves her, although a recent relationship that ended badly has left him tentative about romance. Eventually, Max and Sam become engaged, but Max wonders about Sam's fidelity. So he enlists Jay to test her by trying to seduce her. Jay is reluctant, because he doesn't think it's right, but his attraction to Sam is so great that he can't help going out on long romantic walks with her. Guess who ends up marrying whom?
Needless to say, audiences get the happy ending they expect. All hard feelings are forgotten, the narrator gets to dance with the best man, and everything turns out the way Screenwriting 101 has decreed that romantic comedies must end. This leaves but one question. Who's the fool: the film maker who thinks we'll buy all of this or those of us who actually do?
Copyright 1998 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net
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