Maybe there's some kind of secret universal law that says if you bring together several unlucky people and make them work together they'll each be blessed with a happy reversal of fortune. Certainly the film careers of George Clooney ("Batman and Robin," "The Peacemaker"), and Jennifer Lopez ("Anaconda," "U-Turn") could safely be called unspectacular, and director Steven Soderbergh has mostly floundered since his "sex, lies and videotape" took the world by storm nine years ago. "Out of Sight," a sensational crime drama and black comedy, should go a long way toward cleaning up the soiled reputations of everyone involved. Never has Clooney seemed more alive and appealing than he does here as bank robber Jack Foley, perhaps because Soderbergh managed to keep him from doing that irritating chin-drop which has become his much-parodied trademark. Lopez, who has often seemed like she was operating well below full power in trash like "Money Train," finally gets a part worthy of her as Karen Cisco, a sharp U.S. marshal who gets her man in more ways than one. For his part, Soderbergh incorporates his usual bag of tricks - freeze-frames, zooms, jump cuts - into an engrossing storyline with the same kind of pretzel logic "Pulp Fiction" had. Like last Christmas' "Jackie Brown," "Sight" is based on a novel by Elmore Leonard. The films share at least one principal in common, and, in a bright touch, he's played (uncredited) by the same actor who originated the role in "Jackie." While "Jackie" writer-director Quentin Tarantino seemed hard-pressed to capture the zestiness of Leonard's characters and still keep up with his outwardly spiraling plot, Soderbergh, working from Scott Frank's lightning-fast screenplay, pulls off the trick with ease. At heart, "Sight" is an unorthodox romance between prison escapee Foley and Cisco, who pursues him from Miami to Detroit. Both Foley and Cisco take a secret pleasure in playing with fire - he's constantly fooling around with a Zippo lighter, while she's had past flings with dangerous guys - and their mutual obsession creates sparks galore. Surrounding this potentially fatal attraction is a plot by a crew of Foley's associates to shakedown ultrawealthy ex-con "Dick the Ripper" (Albert Brooks) at his Bloomfield Hills estate. Snoop (Don Cheadle) is the mastermind of the operation, since cohorts Glenn (Steve Zahn) and White Boy Bob (Keith Loneker) are perilously low on brain-power. Meanwhile, Foley's loyal partner Buddy (Ving Rhames) feels compelled to confess his sins by phone to his God-fearing sister, a dangerous habit for a career criminal. With a savory score by Cliff Martinez complementing its every move, "Sight" serves up a cornucopia of great moments, lines and performances. Brooks and Rhames once again prove they can do no wrong, and if the hysterically funny Zahn doesn't move up to star status after this, you'll know Hollywood has lost its wits. The movie also has genuine sizzle, as Clooney and Lopez flirt with an intensity most screen couples can only dream of. A wonderfully edited encounter between the two in a lounge high above the Motor City may turn out to be the single sexiest scene of the year. In short, "Out of Sight" more than lives up to its title. Who says there's no truth in advertising?
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