THE FAVOR
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (0 to 10): 6.0
Date Released: 4/29/94 Running Length: 1:37 Rated: R (Mature themes, language)
Starring: Harley Jane Kozak, Elizabeth McGovern, Bill Pullman, Brad Pitt, Ken Wahl, Larry Miller Director: Donald Petrie Producer: Lauren Shuler-Donner Screenplay: Sara Parriott and Josann McGibbon Music: Thomas Newman Released by Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures has gone to the vault again, dusting off a 1991 production called THE FAVOR and giving it an ill-publicized theatrical run. As romantic comedies go, this is perhaps the most original to come along in a while (keeping in mind that "original" doesn't equate to "best"). To begin with, the story is told from the point of view of two women, which isn't the norm for male-dominated Hollywood pictures. More novel even that, however, is the subject matter: the nature of "the favor."
Fifteen years ago, Kathy Whiting (Harley Jane Kozak) enjoyed a passionate, but unconsummated, high school romance with Tom Andrews (Ken Wahl). Now, as the class reunion approaches, the happily-married mother of two finds herself daydreaming about what it would have been like to take the relationship a step further than it had gone. Her fantasies grow into an obsession, until she arrives at a potential solution to her dilemma. While she cannot search out Tom because she's married, maybe someone else can. So she asks her man-izing best friend Emily (Elizabeth McGovern) to find Tom, sleep with him, and report back with the details--a sort of surrogate lover.
What Kathy expects to hear is that her old beau is balding, overweight, and lousy in bed. What she gets, on the other hand, represents the backbone of THE FAVOR, and fodder for numerous comic situations.
On balance, there's almost as much wrong with THE FAVOR as there is right, but director Donald Petrie (who went on to do GRUMPY OLD MEN) keeps the tone light and breezy, and that covers many faults.
It's so rare to find a pair of solid female characters these days that the eyes of the two leads must have lit up when they read the script. Neither Kathy nor Emily is condescended to in THE FAVOR. In fact, on this occasion it's the men who are stereotyped and left half-developed.
The most comfortable portions of the movie center around Kathy's domestic life. Bill Pullman is believable as the nice-but-boring husband (he seems to have been pigeonholed into nice-but-boring roles), and the two little girls are wonderful. Less effective are Emily's interactions with her painter boyfriend (Brad Pitt). There's no chemistry whatsoever between McGovern and Pitt.
Perhaps THE FAVOR's biggest character blunder is the inclusion of Larry Miller as Joe Dubin, the cynical, nasty-minded friend of Kathy's husband. While Joe is supposed to be annoying, Miller plays him in an exaggerated way that clashes violently with the film's generally easygoing attitude. Every scene featuring this man turns into sitcom fare--silly, over-the-top, and not especially funny.
THE FAVOR is peppered with highly-amusing scenes, including an "odd couples" Lamaze class (featuring a young boy who's coaching his sister as a school science project) and a somewhat standard round of mistaken identities.
THE FAVOR may not be the best film released by financially- stricken Orion Pictures, but it's better than many that have come out under their name in the past two years (ROBOCOP 3 and MARRIED TO IT come to mind). The movie is still a little rough around the edges, featuring its share of scenes that, for one reason or another, don't work, but the overall effect is one of pleasant entertainment. While not the female equivalent of Blake Edwards' 10, THE FAVOR may be as close as any film comes.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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