STATE AND MAIN (director/writer: David Mamet; cinematographer: Oliver Stapleton; editor: Barbara Tulliver; cast: Alec Baldwin (Bob Barrenger), Charles Durning (Mayor George Bailey), Clark Gregg (Doug MacKenzie), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Joseph Turner White), Patti LuPone (Sherry Bailey), William H. Macy (Walt Price), Sarah Jessica Parker (Claire Wellesley), David Paymer (Marty Rossen), Rebecca Pidgeon (Ann Black), Julia Stiles (Carla Taylor); Runtime: 106; Fine Line Features; 2000)
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
An enjoyable, witty Hollywood satire from director-writer David Mamet, who presents a sharp comedy that rails against his own acting community, but says they're no different than any small community in America. If you love snappy dialogue, characters who are insightful, and a healthy sprinkling of sheer playfulness you will find this film an old-fashioned delight, much like the sophisticated comedies of Preston Sturgess.
It pretends to give you the dirt only an insider would know on how a Hollywood film is being made, as the film company just left a New Hampshire town because things went scandalously wrong there, as the movie within a movie's star, Bob Barrenger (Alec Baldwin), got into trouble because of his hobby, being attracted to teenage girls. The film company ends up in some sleepy, small New England town called Waterford, Vermont, which they selected because the outdated brochure they possessed said it had an old mill. The old mill is the focal point of the story they are adapting to film, called "The Old Mill."
The fast-paced comedy, starts off with a calamity, the town's old mill burnt down in 1960, and the film will continue with a series of calamities, one after another, and each adding to the fun and the absurdity of the filming stuation, as the difficulties of shooting a film set in the 19th century with some cunningly pampered Hollywood stars and locals who are either starstruck or are equally as avaricious as the stars, puts pressure on the company heads to finish the film. To make matters worst, they have run out of money to increase the budget and can't afford to build the needed old mill from scratch or try for another town with a mill, as they are obligated to finish the film on schedule.
The film company is led by the manipulatively crude director Walt (Wally) Price (William H. Macy), whose temperament swings from being callously humorous to those he considers unimportant to him -- to being diplomatic to the point of being obsequious in handling his stars, as he coyly tries to get them to do what he wants.
He must deal with his neurotically insecure first-time script writer, Joseph Turner White (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who can only work on his manual typewriter, which is lost in transit, and who has to be coddled by Wally to rewrite the script to be without an old mill, which leaves the depressed writer ruminating about what to do. Wally, of course, has a ready answer for any of Joe's doubts about changing the story, as he denies that he lies about the film's new theme: "It's not a lie. It's a gift for fiction."
Claire Wellesley (Sarah Jessica Parker) is the film's glamorous and petulant co-star who suddenly refuses to show her tits, even though, as the producer, Marty Rossen (David Paymer) states, the nation could "draw them from memory." Only for $800,000 more on her contract will she do the honors, even though her original contract calls for her to do a nude scene. It's Marty's job to come up with the money or figure some way to get out of that problem and all the other problems that emerge during the filming. The bare tit problem gets solved in the rewrite, as Joseph now declares that the film is about purity and that she won't have to bare her breasts to the camera but only to Bob, whom she occassionally boffs, anyway.
The mayor (Charles Durning) of the town is starstruck as is his grasping wife (LuPone), as he gives the film crew all the permits and cooperation they need to make the film, and only asks that the director and the stars come to their elaborate dinner, wishing to use the showbiz folks for their own social gain. Due to a mix up in dates, the Hollywood people stiff them, much to the anger of the mayor and his shrewish wife, who are dressed in Scottish kilts awaiting the guests who never arrive.
Carla (Stiles) is the attractive delivery girl in her father's restaurant that caters to the film crew, who catches Bob's lustful attention, and it becomes a question of which one seduced the other first. A major plot line of the story follows the coverup attempts after Bob's car flips over on a Main St. pothole and hits the town's traffic light leaving himself and his underaged date Carla slightly injured, leading to questions about whether he should be charged with statuatory rape or if the only witness to the accident, Joe, will be principled enough to tell the truth or not.
Ann (Pidgeon-Mamet's wife) is the local bookstore owner who is engaged to an ambitious lightweight politician (Clark Gregg), but who unexpectedly breaks off the engagement as she goes after Joseph Turner White. She helps Joe with his rewrite and a sweet romance blossoms amidst all the hypocrisy surrounding them, including how suddenly she falls for Joe and Dumps the politico. The rejected suitor recovers from his rejection to bribe the Hollywood people over Bob's sexual indiscretion, as he charges Bob with statuatory rape.
There is a running gag throughout the film from two stoic Yankees, with lines that are pure Mamet delights, as these two old-time Vermonters who are nonplussed by all the fuss in town over the Hollywood people have a dialogue that goes like this: Woodchuck #1: "It takes all kinds." Woodchuck #2: "That's what it takes? I always wondered what it took."
The greatness in the film, is that it was hysterically funny and it kept me laughing for the entire film, but it also was insightful, picking up on the Hollywood phoniness and taking it for a nice ride through rural America. The film felt more stagy than cinematic, more apish of Hollywood's cynicism than not, but that's OK, it still had some bite to it by way of some crisp dialogue and from some well-timed comedy routines. Standing out from this fine ensemble cast was David Paymer, who was priceless as the unscrupulous Jewish stereotype of a Hollywood figure, portraying asmarmy producer-lawyer (perhaps only a witty Jewish director such as Mamet can get away with such a vile character depiction without being called to the carpet for it). Philip Seymour Hoffman, who never fails to give a great performance, is here asked to carry the film's theme of whether he can carry out a convenient lie to save his Hollywood career or is he just an old-fashioned guy who can't lie worth a damn. William H. Macy nearly had me rolling in the aisle with his quick-witted delivery and nonstop diatribes. While Alex Baldwin played the languid lothario part to perfection.
REVIEWED ON 2/3/2001 GRADE: B+
Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"
http://www.sover.net/~ozus
ozus@sover.net
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