THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
Martha (Monica Potter from PATCH ADAMS), who hails from the home of the Mall of America, is off on a one-way ticket to London because the price was right. With less than $200 to her name, the penniless Martha snagged a bargain ticket. She's left behind her drug-dealer infested tenement building, and she's off now to live in London on the $32 she has left in her purse.
In a movie that never rings true, Martha is the most unbelievable character of the lot. Although writer Peter Morgan would have us believe that this woman, who has been turned down for a dozen jobs in the past year, is destitute, she appears nothing of the sort. With fashion model looks, make-up, clothing and jewelry, Martha doesn't appear to have ever come any closer to poverty than an overcharged American Express Platinum card.
A supposedly unsuccessful woman, she has an unrealistically simplistic outlook. "All of my life I was told that if I worked hard and stayed out of trouble, my life would be a fairy tale." She's depressed because she's never met her Prince Charming.
In a story of overlapping chance encounters, Martha ends up being the would-be girlfriend of three English buddies.
The first of these we meet is Laurence (Joseph Fiennes from SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE), a champion bridge player, who makes his living teaching the game to flocks of middle-age women. The slow paced movie has him telling the story in flashback to his psychiatrist neighbor, Dr. Pederer (Ray Winstone). Fiennes isn't given much to do other than mope around with a single sad sack expression. Still, his dour look is so exceedingly handsome it almost makes up for his character's lack of energy.
The first of these childhood buddies to fall under Martha's spell is Daniel (Tom Hollander). A fabulously wealthy record producer, he's used to hitting on every pretty woman who comes within flirting distance. A proudly shallow bloke, he had his library filled with second-hand books by his interior decorator in order to create the illusion of an enhanced intellectual capacity.
The other friend in this male trio is Frank (Rufus Sewell), a cynic who wears his obnoxiousness on his rumpled sleeve. He likes nothing better than showing off his crude behavior by obscene verbal jousting with his buddies. Like Laurence, Frank, with his 2-day beard and disheveled clothing, always looks like he just woke from a long drinking binge.
In The World According to Frank, art galleries exist solely for men to find women to lay. His ideal partner, the egotistical Franks boasts, is himself. Or more precisely, himself "with breasts."
As ploddingly directed by Nick Hamm, the movie is a romance without much genuine chemistry and a comedy without any laughs. Best viewed as a small, melancholic drama, the by-the-numbers story takes few chances. Why couldn't the writer introduce some ambiguity and real mystery into the tale and not make the outcome so obvious?
The movie's saving grace, to the extent it has any, is a nice but completely predictable conclusion. The ending's few fun twists add a little spice to an otherwise bland film.
THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU runs 1:28. It is rated R for profanity and would be acceptable for teenagers. [We saw the film abroad without the aid of an MPAA rating and suspected, incorrectly, that it was a PG-13 film.]
My son Jeffrey, age 10, didn't think much of the movie, giving it just * 1/2. He didn't like Frank's language and found the story confusing at times. He was, however, enthralled with Monica Potter, saying "man, she was gorgeous."
The film, which is playing now in Australia, will open later this summer in the United States. It was released last year in Britain with the title of MARTHA, MEET FRANK, DANIEL AND LAURENCE.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
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