THE PARENT TRAP (Walt Disney Pictures - 1998) Starring Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson, Elaine Hendrix Screenplay by David Swift and Nancy Meyers & Charles Shyer, based on the novel DAS DOPPELTE LOTTCHEN by Erich Kastner Produced by Charles Shyer Directed by Nancy Meyers Running time: 127 minutes
**1/2 (out of four stars)
Alternate Rating: B-
Note: Some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers. Be forewarned.
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The remaking of classic films, always a risky artistic proposition, is under scrutiny more than ever these days by the cynical and savvy masses -- consider the current sentiment of disapproval at Gus Van Sant's ongoing recreation of Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO, prompting cineastes to collectively shake their heads and wail in dismay. "Don't remake masterpieces!" thundered Roger Ebert on a recent episode of his weekly television program. "If it works, don't fix it!"
While film buffs passionately rail against remakes, it's easy to understand why studios continue to churn them out at prodigious rates. There's a certain name recognition carried over from the earlier versions which reduces the effort involved to sell the new flicks to the public -- no longer is there a need to enticingly sketch the movie's elements ("There's a guy, see, and he *really* loves his mother...") when everybody's familiar with the original -- and a nostalgic fondness that's culled from audiences' memories of the tried-and-true predecessors. Even skeptical cynics are counted upon to grudgingly drag themselves to the theatre to partake remakes of old favourites, if only to witness how the new version bastardizes their beloved original. Remakes aren't always risk-free commercial endeavours -- witness, for example, at the crash-and-burn of Jeremiah Chechik's edition of DIABOLIQUE (that he's behind the helm for the upcoming cinematic adaptation of THE AVENGERS is suddenly not particularly reassuring) or the decidedly mediocre performance of Andrew Davis' recent A PERFECT MURDER -- but there's a bit of a safety buffer.
No studio in recent years has been cannibalizing its past hits as much as Disney. Admittedly, none of the revisited originals would classify as masterpieces -- I feel safe assuming THAT DARN CAT! didn't *just* miss the cut on the AFI list -- but Team Mouse is meddling in a particularly tempestuous kettle: beloved family classics. I suspect that the public would scarcely bat an eye should a half-assed version of CITIZEN KANE churn out the pipe, but a filmmaker who desecrates iconic crowdpleasers like THE WIZARD OF OZ had better assume a new identity and move to the tropics. So far, Disney's faring remarkably well -- among others, FLUBBER, DR. DOLITTLE, and THE NUTTY PROFESSOR have been unqualified box-office hits -- but with the release of the Nancy Meyer-helmed version of THE PARENT TRAP they're treading on especially shaky ground. (The 1961 original, a cross-generational hit starring Hayley Mills, was so revered by the younger set in its day that this edition's top-billed actor, Dennis Quaid, freely admits that his involvement in the project was due to his child.)
Avowed curmudgeons would do best to avoid the newest version of THE PARENT TRAP, a film so sunny and cheerful that extended exposure will cause surly audience members to undergo allergic convulsions. A rare picture whose photobook conclusion feels truly earned rather than obligatorily appended, its slick, high-spirited nature and eager, almost desperate willingness to please is winning, and the film benefits from its great casting (Mr. Quaid, charming; Natasha Richardson, luminous; Lindsay Lohan, darling), but in terms of fundamental filmmaking and storytelling it's sometimes irritatingly uninspired.
Obviously, there's a requisite of faithfulness to the original film, and one hardly expects inventive or groundbreaking filmmaking in a carefully-crafted family picture, but novice director Ms. Meyer has the frustrating tendency to repetitively go for the most obvious gag possible, making the entire two hour-plus experience vaguely tedious. If there's a blatant establishing shot of a needlessly perfunctory swimming pool, you can bet that somebody's going to fall in. Likewise, even sly visual send-ups aimed at older audiences are similarly telegraphed; Beatles fans should spot the film's quick homage coming a mile away. Most of the humour is similarly impaired: breezily pleasant but not particularly witty. (I did like one line regarding the villainess' spelling aptitude.) It's all competently helmed, but not particularly engaging.
I found the film's first half hour to be especially worrisome. It starts off well enough, with both separated twins Hallie Parker (Ms. Lohan) and Annie James (ditto) arriving at summer camp to inevitably reunite, but when Annie and her mother's trusty butler Martin (Simon Kunz) spontaneously burst out into a choreographed hand-slapping, hip-swiveling dance, it all seemed a bit Too Precious. Later scenes including Hallie arriving for a late-night poker session, decked in black leather and sunglasses and backed by a rock guitar soundtrack, and an insanely elaborate camp prank staged like a Wile E. Coyote scheme weren't very reassuring. Fortunately, the picture does pick up when the two girls finally realize their blood ties and set out on their grand master plan to reunite their long-divorced parents. (And I enjoyed the scene where naughty Hallie and Annie are banished to the camp's clearly-labelled Isolation Cabin, which is probably bigger and better furnished than my house.)
The bulk of the film rests upon the capable shoulders of Ms. Lohan, who seamlessly plays both twins (often opposite "herself") and imbues Annie with a reasonably credible British accent. The lively young freckled redhead is great fun to watch and makes for a wonderfully charming set of protagonists, full of spunk and sly spirit, although ultimately her dual roles act simply as a device to set up the rekindling romance between Nick Parker (Mr. Quaid, who's given a great introductory shot and whose wide grin is disarmingly likeable) and Elizabeth James (Ms. Richardson). He owns a vineyard; she's a bridal gown designer; they're obviously made for each other, and it's just a matter of time before all the pieces fall into place. As a dramatic obstacle, a vampy fiancee named Meredith Blake (gamely played by Elaine Hendrix) is introduced, and the film provides comic relief in the form of the kooky help -- the aforementioned Martin as well as Nick's straight-shooting nanny Chessy (Lisa Ann Walter) -- but it all boils down to the romantic core of the picture, whose spectre dominates the final third of the film and is played out with warmth and simplicity.
Overlooking some of the story's implications -- what sort of parents would shield their daughters from the knowledge that they have a twin sister? -- it's interesting to examine the basic appeal of this story. I think it's derived not from wacky hijinx, but from the empowering notion that the twins are able to right a wrong and against all odds succeed in reuniting their parents; in this case, Daughters Know Best. This film has a bit more of the former than I'd prefer, but thanks to fine performances by the cast, the latter aspect shines through with good-natured amiability.
- Alex Fung
email: aw220@freenet.carleton.ca
web : http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/
-- Alex Fung (aw220@freenet.carleton.ca) | http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/ "...a first screenplay unaccompanied by a powerful agent or industry sponsor is generally a pathetic fetus of a film, nothing more." - Andrew Sarris
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