MIAMI RHAPSODY
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.5
Date Released: 2/3/95 (wide) Running Length: 1:35 Rated: PG-13 (Mature themes, language)
Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Gil Bellows, Mia Farrow, Paul Mazursky, Antonio Bandaras, Carla Gugino, Kevin Pollack, Barbara Garrick, Bo Eason Director: David Frankel Producer: Barry Jossen and David Frankel Screenplay: David Frankel Cinematography: Jack Wallner Music: Mark Isham Released by Hollywood Pictures
Presumably, after making thirteen movies with Woody Allen, Mia Farrow has been missing the wry human insight and cleverly-concocted scripts which characterize Allen's work. For obvious reasons, however, a Farrow/Allen corroboration isn't anywhere on the horizon. So what's the actress to do? Perhaps try something a little different, somewhat similar, and obviously inferior. How about MIAMI RHAPSODY, or, by another name, Woody Allen lite?
Make no mistakes, those expecting something along the lines of ANNIE HALL or HANNAH AND HER SISTERS are going to be disappointed. What writer/director David Frankel has managed with MIAMI RHAPSODY is to capture some of the feel of an Allen movie without nearly the same degree of intelligence or character realization. This film stands up reasonably well against most contenders, provided you don't consider the really good ones.
MIAMI RHAPSODY is an anthology picture featuring no less than nine significant characters. Of necessity, lots of corners get cut and, predictably, storylines are stripped to the bare bones. The person around whom all the action swirls in Gwyn, a young copy writer who is trying to decide whether or not she's ready for marriage. As portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker, she's great with the barbed one-liners ("All the good moments are happening to someone else", "You have the subtlety of a woodpecker", "It's always natural for the female to be in agony") but weak on emotions. As her potential fiance observes, all she wants to do is talk, and this diffuses any straight dramatic focus.
Everyone Gwyn knows seems to be cheating. Her brother, Jordan (Kevin Pollack), has left his pregnant wife (Barbara Garrick) for a shapely model. Her sister, Leslie (Carla Gugino), not yet three months married, is sleeping with someone else. Her mother (Mia Farrow) is enjoying a fling with a male nurse (Antonio Bandaras), and her father (Paul Mazursky) is trapped in an extramarital relationship with his travel agent. At least Gwyn's intended, Matt (Gil Bellows), is faithful... not to mention boring.
To Frankel's credit, he doesn't stay true to the easy romantic comedy model. This is largely due to the Allen influence, but it gives MIAMI RHAPSODY a certain element of freshness. Quite a few of the jokes are funny; the characters are generally affable, if not tremendously well fleshed out; and the story flows smoothly. Often, MIAMI RHAPSODY attains the flavor of an intelligently-written TV sitcom.
MIAMI RHAPSODY probably aspires to something more grand than it succeeds at. In attempting to explore the question "Is marriage, as one compromise after another, worth it?", the movie gives us glimpses of a variety of successful and failing relationships, but spends too much time on quips and too little on exploring lives. In proceeding in this manner, MIAMI RHAPSODY proves that even with Mia Farrow, Frankel still has a long way to go to equal Allen.
- James Berardinelli (jberardinell@delphi.com)
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