MR. JEALOUSY
Reviewed by Harvey Karten, Ph.D. Lions Gate Films Director: Noah Baumbach Writer: Noah Baumbach Cast: Eric Stoltz, Annabella Sciorra, Chris Eigeman, Carlos Jacott, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Brian Kerwin, Peter Bogdanovich, Bridget Fonda, John Lehr
The most sparkling line in Noah Baumbach's follow-up to "Kicking and Screaming" is a retort by Ramona (Annabella Sciorra) to her boyfriend Lester (Eric Stoltz): "You're jealous of yourself." It's no wonder the name of his new movie is "Mr. Jealousy." Lester, an immature and neurotic thirty-one year old who was never married and is still playing the dating game is overcome with resentment toward all his girlfriend's past and present lovers. And isn't this an emotion that quite a lot of us feel, one which few of us would own up to?
Baumbach, who has cast a some of the actors he used to good effect in his 1995 film--Eric Stoltz, Chris Eigeman and Carlos Jacott--improves upon his earlier work, which was one of those "we just graduated: what do we do now?" 20- something, angst-ridden feats of which some of us have becomes justifiably tired by now. This time the folks are past thirty, and while they have had a succession of relationships, they each have flaws that prevent them from permanent commitment.
We should say that Lester is not jealous of himself, as his current love believes. Disturbed, in a way, that Ramona slept with him on their first date, he wonders just how many other men had met with the same good fortune. This is reasonable enough, and is perhaps the principal basis for women's conservatism when they enter new relationships. "Mr. Jealousy" is narrated throughout, a feature that interferes with the smooth flow of the action but which has been justified by director Baumbach as a way to dispense with tedious exposition so that he can get right down to the essence of the story.
The tale centers on Lester, who drifts from job to job and is currently a substitute Spanish teacher who does not speak or understand Spanish. He has been accepted into the prestigious University of Iowa writing program but simply does not want to go back to school. In short, he's the laid-back sort we've become used in movies featuring Eric Stoltz, agitated only by the thought that Ramona has been with other men--26 by her own count. Suspicious that she is still seeing a published writer, the insolent, full-of-himself Dashiell Frank (Chris Eigeman), he follows Dashiell around and discovers that he attends a psychotherapy group presided over by Dr. Poke (Peter Bogdanovich). Enrolling himself in their company, he intends to find out just how much influence this Dashiell has in Ramona's life, but to do so without revealing much about himself, he registers with the name of Vince, who is actually his best friend (played by Carlos Jacott), who is also unsure of himself and unable to commit to his girlfriend, Lucretia (Marianne Jean-Baptiste). Much of the humor of the movie comes from Stoltz in a double role as himself and as his friend. As he works out Vince's problems, Vince himself becomes increasingly eager to hear about "his" psychotherapy.
Baumbach seems always to be holding back as though afraid of off-the-wall humor, and as a result his plot, though satisfyingly complicated, never really rises to flat-out good laughs. The concept is such a good one--that of a guy so obsessed with finding out the nature of his girlfriend's loyalty that he will impersonate another in his psychotherapy group-- that we are surprised when the scenes peter out. Stoltz and Sciorra appear too old for their roles, though in fact Stoltz is just six years older than his character, but they come across as too naive for their age. Annabella Sciorra is splendid in her part, a slightly wacky woman who dashes around the Brooklyn Museum giving lectures on the artworks there, while Chris Eigeman, in particular, shines as the arrogant writer who drops hints about the professional people chasing after him with offers and options.
As urban comedy (provided that you accept Brooklyn as a hip, urban location), the picture will remind you of many of Woody Allen's creations, though the omnipresence of the narrator and the overuse of film techniques like irises call too much attention to themselves. The most puzzling bit of casting involves Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Vince's fiance. The English actress Ms. Jean-Baptiste, who was wonderful in "Secrets and Lies," adopts an American accent but simply does not fit in with her current role. Bridget Fonda, who cannot do wrong, knocks out a cute little role as the shy, stuttering girlfriend of Dashiell, yet another character who seems not suitable as the soulmate of a pompous and outspoken writer. Rated R. Running time: 105 minutes. (C) Harvey Karten 1998
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