GIRL, INTERRUPTED RATING: 5.5/10 --> Not good enough to recommend
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It was writer/director James Mangold who apparently resurrected Sylvester Stallone's career a couple of years ago when he cast the ol' lad in a "character role" in COPLAND. Recently, Stallone admitted that his phone had ceased to ring shortly thereafter and that he basically felt a lot like a piece of "driftwood". Hmmmm. Well, I've had that same feeling about Winona Ryder for the past few years, so eager was I to see what she would come up with in her executive producing debut.
PLOT: Set in the sixties, this film takes place in a ward reserved for girls with mental problems. The main character in the story is a depressed girl who is not sure about whether or not she is really crazy, but knows enough to sign herself into the recuperation center. Over time, she finds out more about herself, life and the other so-called "insane" girls around her.
CRITIQUE: Dry rehashed depressing material coiffed in a couple of solid performances from Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie, does not impress much in story, original characters or insight, but did manage to haul itself in less than 3 hours, so I guess that it ain't all bad! Surprised was I that this film wasn't as boring as I had initially anticipated, but definitely far from being a visual page-turner as well. Jolie's performance alone kept me interested for most of the runtime, with plenty of energy, attitude and sheer presence to make up for the basically depressive story similar in vein to Jack Nicholson and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. This film might certainly be useful or even insightful to many people who could relate stronger to its characters, but in my own case, I found very little new or rich material here. In fact, the final "confrontation scene" which was built up to be one filled with emotions, left me with little more than a roll of the eyes.
Is it truly depressing and will you want to go out, find the nearest bar and drown yourself in liquor over the pitiful state of your measly existence after having seen the movie? Certainly not. It does provide for some levity in parts and even teases you with an epilogue which definitely might be mistaken as an optimistic one by some. Unfortunately, I just didn't find anything fresh or engaging in much of the film's narrative, save for the bang-a-gong performance by John Voight's daughter, Angelina. Actually, Winona Ryder was also pretty solid as the girl falling apart at the seams, as were most of the rest of the girls (Ixnay on Whoopie Goldberg, who basically felt like Whoopie Goldberg in some big-ass hair!), but on the whole, the film just didn't leave me with much more to think about once it was over. The only thing on my mind after the movie was all that damn snow that I was gonna have to clean off my car, but alas, that is my life in the Great White North.
See it if you haven't seen ONE FLEW, enjoy depressing material, feel as though you may relate to the unstable characters or really dig Jolie and Ryder. Otherwise skip this downer and live to smile another day.
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: Winona Ryder's birth name is Winona Laura Horowitz, named after the town in which she was born-Winona, Minnesota. She came up with her last name after having shot her first feature LUCAS in 1986, when she received a phone call from the producers who asked her how she wanted to have her name appear on the credits of the film. She suggested Ryder as her father's Mitch Ryder album was playing the background. And that was that! Winona was also able to personally identify with the character that she portrayed in this film because she once checked herself into a hospital when she was 20 years old as well (Not sure if her break-up with Johnny Depp had anything to do with this). Her condition was based around anxiety attacks which she could not understand or explain. Most recently, Winona had a small but memorable part in SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER & UNCUT (8/10). Many are now familiar with Angelina Jolie's film work, but did you know that she has also been in various music videos? "Has anybody seen my baby?" by the Rolling Stones, "Rock 'n Roll dreams come through" by Meatloaf and "Stand by my woman" by Lenny Kravitz. The actress who plays Daisy in this film, Brittany Murphy, might be memorable to some from her role as the "loser-girl-to-be-turned-into-winner-girl" by Alicia Silverstone in CLUELESS. Of course, you all recognized the lovely Joanne Kerns playing Winona's mom 7in this movie. She played little Kirk Cameron's chipper mom, Maggie Seaver, in the sitcom GROWING PAINS. James Mangold, the director of this movie, and Cathy Konrad, one of the producers of this movie, are married. He is also the son of two celebrated painters and earned his undergraduate degree from the California Institute of the Arts (in both the acting and the film schools) and a master's degree from Columbia University. He is currently 35 years old. This film is based on the true story of writer Susanna Kaysen and her best-selling memoir, Girl Interrupted.
Review Date: January 10, 2000 Director: James Mangold Writers: James Mangold, Lisa Loomer and Anna Hamilton Phelan Producers: Douglas Wick and Cathy Konrad Actors: Winona Ryder as Susanna Angelina Jolie as Lisa Genre: Drama Year of Release: 2000 --------------------------------------- JoBlo's Movie Emporium http://www.joblo.com/ --------------------------------------- (c) 2000 Berge Garabedian
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