THE CIDER HOUSE RULES A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): **
Yawn. THE CIDER HOUSE RULES, written by John Irving, based on his book, and directed by Lasse Hallström (MY LIFE AS A DOG), is an exceedingly handsome picture. But like a TV movie featuring John-Boy Walton, the film's slow pacing and sappy storyline is sleep inducing.
The acting is close to being inert, and each of the excessively large number of characters is drastically underwritten. At least the messages, which the film provides in abundance, are good ones.
The film opens at the world's kindest orphanage. Run by a wise and generous doctor, Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine), the institution features fun snowball fights, nightly book readings and free movies. Still, as we are poignantly reminded, the occupants would much rather be adopted.
Aiding the good doctor is his unschooled assistant, Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire), who was "twice adopted and twice returned" when little. Although Homer lives in Maine, he has never seen an ocean or even a lobster. He does, however, know how to be almost as good a physician as Dr. Lynch due to his extensive, on-the-job training.
Following the lure of the open road, Homer leaves his orphanage home to go off with a beautiful woman, Candy Kendall (Charlize Theron), and her serviceman boyfriend, Wally Worthington (Paul Rudd). They take him to work in the apple orchard owned by Wally's family. (They had come to the orphanage in order for Dr. Lynch to perform an abortion on Candy.)
A pivotal scene in the movie has Homer and Dr. Lynch disagreeing about abortions with Homer dead-set against them and Dr. Lynch, who performs them regularly, in favor of them. In this predictable plot, as soon as you know that the young man can perform abortions, even though he is against them, you know what a major scene later will undoubtedly be. And when Wally inevitably rejoins his unit -- the movie is set during 1943 -- you can guess what will happen back at the home front.
Every time you get on the verge of nodding off, Hallström pulls the camera back, revealing a sweeping vista of the Maine mountains in all their autumn splendor of golds, reds and greens. Keep those gorgeous visuals in your mind. Enjoying them almost makes up for the lameness of the script.
THE CIDER HOUSE RULES runs a long 2:11. It is rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements, sexuality, nudity, substance abuse and some violence and would be fine for teenagers.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
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