THREE TO TANGO A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Over the years I've gotten numerous letters from people infuriated at me for not liking one of their favorite films. One of the frequent complaints is that it is clear to them that I would never like the film in the first place, so why did I bother to go?
Damon Santostefano's THREE TO TANGO, starring Matthew Perry, Neve Campbell and Dylan McDermott, provides one answer to those questions. (The other answer is that I review everything for my readers.) Going into this movie, I had extremely low expectations. The last time I saw the two male leads, FOOLS RUSH IN (Perry) and 'TIL THERE WAS YOU (McDermott), I hated the pictures in general and their performances in particular. Moreover, THREE TO TANGO's theme of a gay guy who really isn't was not something that sounded at all promising.
What a pleasant surprise it turned out to be. A sweet little mistaken identity story in a whimsical style reminiscent of Shakespeare's "As You Like It," THREE TO TANGO doesn't have a pretentious bone in its body. Its high-spirited swing music matches perfectly the happy tone of the production. (The show is neatly bracketed with two energetic song and dance numbers in the opening and closing credits.) And lensed by Walt Lloyd with a neon gloss of bright blues and greens, the picture looks terrific.
As Amy, an upcoming, modern artist, Neve Campbell (WILD THINGS) gives an adorable, pixyish performance that could charm the paint off the walls. As superrich cad Charles Newman, Dylan McDermott turns his usually unlikable demeanor into an attribute. Rodney Patrick Vaccaro's wryly funny script is tailor-made for Matthew Perry as Oscar Novak, a struggling architect. Nicely rounding out the cast is Oliver Platt (BULWORTH), an always-funny actor, as Oscar's partner, Peter Steinberg.
When we meet the architectural firm of Novak and Steinberg, they are about to make their proposal to Charles Newman for the renovation of The Telford Building in Chicago. They find that they are hopelessly outclassed in their presentation by a high-powered rival firm led by two other architects, played by Bob Balaban and John C. McGinley.
Novak and Steinberg turn out to have one advantage. Oscar is mistakenly assumed to be gay. (His partner is believed to be straight, when in reality it's the other way around.) Oscar, being gay, proves to be just what Charles wants. Charles asks Oscar to spy on Amy, Charles's mistress, to make sure she isn't seeing any of her old boyfriends. And when, later, Amy ends up moving in with Oscar, even better. Life becomes more and more complicated for Oscar as he falls head over heels in love with Amy but doesn't dare tell her lest he lose his chance for the big architectural contract. Amy bonds heavily with Oscar and tells him things that she would never reveal to a potential boyfriend.
Perry's deadpan humor shines with some of his best lines being unprintable. One scene that had no business working, but does, concerns Oscar and Amy's first "date." After they eat rancid tuna-melts, they both find that vomiting provides not only relief but an icebreaker in their relationship as well due to their shared hardships. "It doesn't get much better than this," Oscar says with a smiling sincerity after he throws up. Done off screen, the regurgitation, my least favorite film feature, manages to be surprisingly endearing.
As the story unfolds, Oscar and Amy's relationship deepens and is much more believable than that of Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas in RANDOM HEARTS. The sexual tension between Oscar and Amy is palpable even if neither feels able to do anything about it. This tension is especially in evidence in a funny bubble bath scene. Amy, completely encased in opaque bubbles, starts telling Oscar about her one, brief lesbian fling, which happened during college. He listens with wide-open eyes. "I'm all for homosexuality when it comes to two gorgeous women -- or three," he says breathlessly in a revealing line.
Even when the movie turns slightly serious at the end, frequently the kiss of death for comedies, the director makes the events credible, even within the context of the unabashedly silly story. The result is a romantic comedy with a genuine chemistry between the lovers and plenty of laughs. A delightful story that manages somehow to be tender, it puts a magical little spell on its audience.
THREE TO TANGO is rated PG-13 for sex-related situations and language and would be fine for teenagers.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
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