O.K. GARAGE A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
Everyone has their specialties. Unfortunately, Rachael, an inner city teacher, has the bad luck to have taken her car to a garage, the ironically named "O.K. Garage," which specializes in not fixing cars. The garage does little or nothing and then charges inflated prices for the work they claimed to have done. Needless to say, anyone getting their car "repaired" there will need it worked on again, and Rachel with her meager income, takes her car back to the same place, hoping that they will finally solve the problem. Instead, the owner, a slimy character named Yannick (Olek Krupa), keeps trying to extract more of Rachel's hard-earned money.
In writer and director Brandon Cole's sweetly quirky and nicely cast O.K. GARAGE, the characters warm your heart even if the script doesn't exactly dazzle your brain. Cole, a better director than a writer, gets the staging and the bizarre mood just right. His characters are inviting and charming, more by the way they act than by what they say, their lines having little punch or vibrancy.
ARMAGEDDON's Will Patton plays Sean, a quiet, distant character who keeps pet lizards in his pocket. A writer by profession, Sean loves Rachel, but he's such a loner that he has trouble connecting with anyone.
Sean's friend Johnny is a painfully shy welder who doesn't cash his checks because he's in love with the teller at his bank. Close proximity to her is just too much for him; he can't stand the pressure. Well regarded actor John Turturro, who has been in a host of good supporting roles from QUIZ SHOW to HE GOT GAME, is perfectly cast as Johnny.
Lili Taylor, first seen in the delightful MYSTIC PIZZA, plays the sweet teacher, Rachel. She will have two shy guys contending for her affection when Johnny gives up on his married teller in favor of the more accessible Rachel. The love affair between the two of them shows the most promise, but the story, regretfully, doesn't develop it as it should -- a great missed opportunity.
The story really doesn't amount to much, nor does it try to. It's a small character study of two awkward guys who are lost in the world, especially when it comes to love. Still, the movie has appeal as it speaks to the loner part of all of us.
O.K. GARAGE runs 1:30. It is not rated but would be an R for some profanity, sexuality and violence and would be fine for teenagers.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: www.InternetReviews.com
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