`Living Out Loud' - I am Woman, Hear Me Roar by Homer Yen (c) 1998
Judith (Holly Hunter) has been a devoted wife who was comfortable with her life even if it meant sacrificing her friends and, for the most part, being invisible to everyone except her husband. But after 15 years of marriage, it's finally over. He leaves her for a younger woman. She tries to suppress her anger like so many of us would, and tries to pick up the pieces of her vulnerable life. But, as you can imagine, with all that hate and confusion simmering inside of a soul filled with charity and love, it can be an immensely traumatic time for her. Judith is a genuinely kind person who routinely goes out of her way to make others feel better, whether it's the bed-ridden patient that she cares for or the elevator man in her apartment co-op who has just recently experienced a death in the family. But now she is alone, and she needs to break free of her self-imprisonment.
She meets up with two individual that help to soften her hard edges and help her to realize that there's more out there than remorse and anguish. One is Pat, the elevator man working in her 5th Avenue apartment co-op (Danny DeVito). He has gambling problems, a ruined marriage and a dying child. The grief that he experiences is not all that different from Judith's. Misery loves company, and they begin to share some of their thoughts over cups of coffee, wine and precious moments in the elevator. A second influence is torch singer Liz Bailey (Queen Latifah), who befriends her in a way a guide would when you're on vacation. She has a weakness for gentle, beautiful men who, to her dismay, always turn out to be gay. But that doesn't mean that she will stop searching, and this philosophy is something that Judith begins to pick up on. There's no reason to live if you're only going to live safe. And Judith takes small but deliberate steps to expand her world. Among other things, she calls in a masseuse to give her an erotic massage and also accompanies Liz to a lesbian nightclub that looks like a German Expressionist's wet dream where Judith discovers that her fantasies are not entirely beyond her reach.
Holly Hunter turns in a nice performance as a meek woman looking for a chance to forgive, break out and recapture her identity. DeVito and Latifah also turn in competent performances as they bring Judith more in touch with herself as well as follow through on personal plans of their own. Yet, the movie never really achieves any kind of dramatic oomph. I also question some of the dialogue in the film, which sparingly used the `F' word and gay bashed a little too much. This film seems to cater to a 40+ crowd, but these elements, which left a strange taste in my mouth, will probably be greeted with greater disdain among that group. Nonetheless, I appreciated the all-around performances and am convinced that `Living Out Loud' is not such a bad thing to do.
Grade: B-
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