Flawless (1999) 2 stars out of 4. Starring Robert De Niro, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Miller. Directed by Joel Shumacher.
"Flawless" is one of those flawed movies about opposite worlds colliding, but ultimately coming to understand and like each other.
Robert De Niro plays Walter Koontz, a macho, homophobic ex-cop-turned-security guard who suffers a stroke.
Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Rusty, a flamboyant drag queen and Koontz's neighbor. They despise each other, hurling invectives back and force through their respective apartment windows.
But after Koontz's stroke, he turns to Rusty for help. Koontz asks Rusty to give him singing lessons in an effort to regain the use of his vocal cords.
Director Joel Shumacher - who ruined the Batman franchise with his "Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin" - does not spare us one cliché here.
Rusty, to put it kindly, is an over-the-top flaming drag queen, whose only wish is to save enough money to have an operation that will transform him into a woman.
He and his fellow drag queen friends are loud, colorful and witty. Koontz on the other hand, is dull, plodding and bigoted.
The movie is not helped by a nasty subplot concerning a low-life drug dealer and his stolen money.
The movie's main asset is Hoffman's performance. Hoffman, best remembered as the young crew member with a crush on Mark Wahlberg's Dirk in "Boogie Nights," takes what could have been a caricature and transforms him into a fully-developed human being.
Despite how you may feel about the kind of life Rusty leads, you come to respect him.
De Niro on the other hand seems to be reprising some of his moves from "Awakenings" as the stroke-impaired Koontz.
He does a fine job at showing the frustrations of a man who can no longer function at 100 percent. But he adds nothing more.
And some of the other characters feel cliched, especially the actresses who play the women in Koontz's life. Both are prostitutes, but one ditches him after his stroke, while the other, with the proverbial "heart of gold," loves only him and doesn't care whether or not he has a nickel.
The entire enterprise feels contrived.
"Flawless" will not do much to advance the cause of gay rights. It does have some funny moment though, especially a scene in which some three-piece suit, gay Republicans try to reconcile with their more flamboyant brothers.
The difference between them, Rusty explains, is that the Republicans are ashamed of being gay, while Rusty and her friends feel nothing but pride.
"Flawless" is a bit too violent for the subject at hand, and that adds a disquieting note to the proceedings.
Overall, though, "Flawless" is carried on the shoulders of Hoffman. And it is his performance, worthy of an Oscar nomination, alone that makes this a movie you may want to see.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at cbloom@iquest.com
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