Review for

ORDINARY MADNESS
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2000 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****):  **

First-time writer/director Bernardo Gigliotti's ORDINARY MADNESS is a little bit of a mystery and a little bit of a comedy. And therein lies the problem -- it's not a lot of anything.

The film does have one strong thing going for it -- Denise Gentile's compelling and alluring screen presence as Faye, the mad seductress at the heart of the story. The director never seems quite sure what to do with her, but Gentile steals all of her scenes anyway. She has a passive-aggressive attitude that suggests she's vulnerable when she's anything but. Dressed to the nines, Faye has an elegance that's several orders of magnitude above the old suburban home in which she lives with her invalid husband, Albert (Gary D. Mosher).

Faye snares young male borders like a spider with her web. She's not an easy woman, however. She chooses her men, not the other way round.

The busy story has several subplots including one about a tough parole officer and another concerning some bad blues brothers. The awful singing duo, Larry Funk (Robert Musgrave) and Warren Funk (Alan Gelfant), call themselves The Funk Brothers. Larry's mantra is "Right on!" He says this as often as most people clear their throat. These blues brothers by night are gardeners during the day. They get the film's few genuinely funny lines, the best being when they claim that their music is popular in Japan.

As is obvious from the beginning, the movie turns macabre in the last act. The mysterious Faye demonstrates her capacity to control situations.

Denise Gentile tries her best to save the picture but can't. The writing is too loose and the other acting is credible only in fits and spurts.

ORDINARY MADNESS runs 1:34. It is not rated but would be an R for sexual situations, violent images, drug usage and language. The film would be acceptable for older teenagers.

The film is being shown now as part of San Jose's Cinequest film festival (www.Cinequest.org).

Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com

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