MUMFORD RATING: 4 / 10 --> This movie sucks
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Writer/director Lawrence Kasdan had a hand in penning some of the biggest film successes of the 1980s. Yes, that's right, he co-wrote RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (9/10), THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (8.5/10) and RETURN OF THE JEDI (8/10). Now with this film, it looks as though he has decided to test his skills at mediocre screenwriting and bland directing. And guess what? He succeeds once again!
PLOT: A man with a shady and regrettable past decides to run away and into a small American town, where he pretends to be a licensed psychologist to an open-armed swarm of people with problems. It isn't long before he befriends the small-town billionaire, folks become suspicious and he falls for one of his own patients.
CRITIQUE: This film is not a comedy! It is a drama. I say this right up front because from the looks of the trailer, you would think that this film secures its base in humor, but unfortunately for us, it does not. It is a serious film (seriously flawed if you ask me, but I digress) which offers a couple of witty quips to keep you awake, but overall, just sits there. Now on to my review. This movie sucks because it was slow and boring, starred an uninteresting protagonist with an unbelievable past, included extremely dull patients whose problems left me indifferent at best and pissed at worst, and certified it all with many a predictable ending. I have no idea what Lawrence Kasdan was trying to accomplish with this picture, but whatever it was...he missed! Anyone without his name could never have made this film because it is an extremely generic puff-piece, which on a good day, might be described as predictably digestible. It's no wonder that the studio is trying to sell it as a comedy! It sucks as a drama, and bored my movie cohort right to sleep.
I've given it four points on four extremely shallow yet distinguishable marks. First of all, I couldn't help but think about how much the lead actor, Loren Dean, looked like a young Charles Grodin. He even acted like him, save for the dry, sardonic wit. This kept me interested in watching him at least. Number two, and this one is really shallow (seemed to be geared that way as well), there were quite a few "titshots", as they would say back in high school. And God help me if I can't get enough of those in an aimless drama. And three, and this one surprised me the most, actor Ted Danson's cameo (yes, he will always be Sam Malone to us real fans!) was the best part about this movie and actually made me see him as a different person. A different asshole, but a different person nonetheless. If ever you rent this movie one day (promise you won't throw away your hard-earned money at the theaters?!), wait for his scene because it's actually pretty good. Other than that, drab, drab, drab and drab. Even Jason Lee, a personal favorite of mine, was left out to dry with lame dialogue and one of the phoniest romances to hit the big screen in a while. Well, at least he finally "came out" and did some real skateboarding in this movie! Oh yeah, and I guess that's the fourth point in my rating.
Anyway, if you enjoy watching boring patients babble on about their boring problems to an uninteresting psychologist...this film's your bag! Otherwise, skip it and see ANALYZE THIS (8/10) again...now there's a great shrink movie!
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: "Three's Company" fans alert!!! Terri from the TV show, also known as actress Priscilla Barnes, plays a small but pivotal part as the landlady in this film. The scene is actually a fantasy sequence and does feature cleavage, so stay tuned, kids! Also, it is to note that the actress was once named "Penthouse Pet of the Month" in March of 1976. She was known as one Joann Witty back then. She's originally from Jersey. Who the hell is Loren Dean, the dude who plays Mumford in this film? You got me, but all I know is that he was born in Las Vegas in 1969 and played the character of Billy Bathgate in the 1991 film of the same name. Jason Lee was born in the state of California in the year of 1971. He was a professional skateboarder before his acting career took off after MALLRATS (6/10), and even owns his own skateboarding company called Stereo Manufacturing Corp. He's been in every Kevin Smith film except for CLERKS (8.5/10). Listen closely and you will hear the pharmacist in this film (the ballooning actor formerly known as Pruit Taylor Vince) make a reference to the "lost ark", which is obviously an in-joke, considering that it is the writer/director of this film, Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (9/10). Kasdan also played the part of Dr. Green in 1997's AS GOOD AS IT GETS (8/10). Ted Danson also played the role of lawyer Peter Lowenstein in Kasdan's 1981 directorial debut BODY HEAT starring a sexy Kathleen Turner and William Hurt.
Review Date: September 22, 1999
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Writer: Lawrence Kasdan
Producers: Lawrence Kasdan and Charles Okun
Actors: Loren Dean as Mumford
Hope Davis as Sofie Crisp
Jason Lee as Skip Skipperton
Genre: Drama
Year of Release: 1999
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(c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
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