CLEOPATRA'S SECOND HUSBAND A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Robert Marrs (Paul Hipp) finds his life a little complicated lately. His wife, Hallie (Bitty Schram) is about to drive him crazy with her obsession about finally getting pregnant. And they are having trouble getting their friends of friends, who have been housesitting for them, to leave.
CLEOPATRA'S SECOND HUSBAND, a mixture of IN THE COMPANY OF MEN, BABYFEVER, and PACIFIC HEIGHTS, is a sharply written and partially autobiographical black comedy by writer and director Jon Reiss. Reiss was at our screening and said that the first, and sunniest of the three acts, is based on his life while the second two acts are fictional.
A photographer with a nice house, thanks to a little money and some good investments, Robert Marrs is a wimp who's easy to push around. His wife knows this and commands him like a lap dog. "I'm ovulating! Come on! Come on!" she barks frantically at her husband from across the house. Now is the one time a month that they do it, so she needs him to get in the bedroom fast. Having sex with Hallie is about as much fun as doing the laundry and is only allowed once a month because she wants him at maximum potency when her ovulation test stick turns blue.
Besides being tyrannical, "middle-aged" Hallie is quite cynical, since she says she "is about 35" -- 32 to be exact. Pregnancy is her one goal, and she's going about it with a vengeance. "Your chances go down ten percent every year until you reach 40, when your chances are better of getting hit by a bus," she explains.
The dynamics of Robert and Hallie's relationship gets further complicated when their housesitting couple does not leave after the Marrs return from vacation. Boyd Kestner plays an IN THE COMPANY OF MEN-like character named Zack Taylor, who sits in the Marrs's house while letting their fish die. HIGH ART's Radha Mitchell plays Zack's girlfriend, Sophie, who lives with him. You can immediately tell the other couple is bad since Zack smokes like a chimney and they don't recycle. All four of the actors in the purposely-claustrophobic tale are well cast.
Radha Mitchell is terrific as the alluring female guest. While Robert lies bored and sleepless in bed with his DOA wife, he is forced to listen to Zack and Sophie's enthusiastic and erotic grunting in the next room.
Sophie makes no secret of her sexual desires for Robert. The two female characters are nicely contrasted. Both are attractive, but the wife is dominating and bitchy toward Robert whereas Sophie is supportive and seductive. Robert's conundrum then is choosing between his safe, good-looking and boring wife and his no better looking but much sexier and exciting houseguest. What happens next is obvious even if the reactions aren't.
When Hallie catches her husband in an extramarital act, she doesn't say quite what you might expect. "I can't believe you can do this to me, Robert," she yells quite naturally, but then throws in a zinger, which reveals her true feelings. "I'll be ovulating in a few days now." Hallie always knows what is most important to her, and it isn't Robert.
>From this long setup, the body of the movie takes several twists, some surprising and some predictable, but all quite satisfying. The sophistication of the production belies its modest budget. Shot in a house in an 18-day shoot, it still backs the wallop of a movie with much bigger stars and budget.
Most reviews end with the critic telling you what the movie is about. This time let me quote from the writer and director who summarizes it well. "The movie is about personal responsibility," Reiss said. Robert lets himself be drawn into a hellish web, and it is his responsibility and no one else's. (Reiss also explained the film's goofy title, which makes little sense and still doesn't after you've heard his rationale. The good news is that he is willing to change it before the movie is released later this year if someone can come up with a better one.)
CLEOPATRA'S SECOND HUSBAND runs a fast 1:32. It is not rated but would be an R for sex, profanity, and violence and would be fine for older teenagers.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: www.InternetReviews.com
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