A WALK IN THE CLOUDS and Others
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1995 Michael John Legeros
Contents ========
- A WALK IN THE CLOUDS - A KID IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT - SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT - Briefly..
A WALK IN THE CLOUDS ====================
(Fox)
Directed by Alfonso Arau
Written by Robert Mark Kamen, Mark Miller, and Harvey Weitzman.
Adapted from Alessandro Blasetti's FOUR STEPS IN THE
CLOUDS (1942)
Cast Keanu Reeves, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Giancarlo Giannini,
Anthony Quinn
MPAA Rating "PG-13"
Running Time 102 minutes
Review at General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, Raleigh (12AUG95)
==
There's actually a pretty good plot device at the center of this overblown, undercooked vineyard romance. Keanu Reeves stars as the phony husband of an unwed, pregnant stranger (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon). They meet on a train, and, later, a bus, where he learns that she's a college student in need of an explanation for her Mexican-American family. He's a returned WWII GI who's already hitched, so he agrees to play the "gringo" for just one night. The plan, for him, is to leave the next morning, but, ah, well, the rest is history.
The comic potential in this set-up is great, as producers Jerry and David Zucker surely must have noticed, but director Alfonso Arau (LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE) has been saddled with two burdens: a weak script, and a stiff lead. The dialogue is extra-bad, especially when overdoing it on the life lessons. (Most of which come from the mouth of Anthony Quinn, also overdoing it as the lusty grandfather.) Then there's Keanu. Well.. he tries. He's just too stiff to be taken seriously. And don't call him Shirley.
Both of these demerits do wonders to cancel out the more appealing aspects of the movie. Sure, it's overdone-- the music, the drama, even the golden-hued photography of Emmanuel Lubezki-- but the more playful parts of this story suggest that, with a stronger core, A WALK IN THE CLOUDS could've been heavenly.
Grade: C+
A KID IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT ============================
Twain keeps a-rollin' with this CONNECTICUT YANKEE update that sends a 14-year-olde little-leaguer (the charmless Thomas Ian Nicolas) back to the 12th Century, via an earthquake. He's there at the request of Merlin (Ron Moody!), who has sent for a "great warrior" to aid King Arthur and Camelot. The King (Joss Ackland) needs help because he has two royal daughters who need wooing-- as well as a scheming aide who isn't (Art Malik, in the Frank Langella role). Imagine the sorcerer's surprise when somebody *other* than Richard Gere shows up.
This is dumb, inoffensive kid's stuff with hardly a whiff of innovation about it. The plot is the worst-- come on, how many teens carry a flashlight (and a cd player.. and rollerblades.. and superglue..) in their backpack? And are those rubber tips at the end of their lances? Surely you joust. The whole thing is overscored and overlong, the latter by at least twenty minutes. But, hey, this is Disney, where fluff is stuff and lame makes millions.
(To be fair, there are a few laughs, usually from the kid's reworking of the Kings English. Sample dialogue: "Your chain has been royally pulled." The cast is also quite nice, though underused. Look for HEAVENLY CREATURES' Kate Winslet as Arthur's older daughter.)
SHORT NOTE: Bundled with RUNAWAY BRAIN, the first new Mickey Mouse
cartoon in 42 years.
Grade: D+
SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT =======================
In SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT, aka A SOUTHERN WOMAN'S GUIDE TO INFIDELITY, the characters don't really talk at all. Sure, there's a confession here, and a frank comment there-- the latter usually coming from Kyra Sedgwick, smartly cast as Julia Robert's lookalike sister. Instead, most of the story time is spend on jokey outbursts, such as when Roberts stands up in the middle of a meeting to ask if anyone *else* has slept with her husband (Dennis Quaid, having a had hair day).
Scenes like these are too cutesy for what writer Callie Khouri (THELMA AND LOUISE) is trying to dig at. They disrupt the tone, much in the same way that slapstick diminished the delivery of NINE MONTHS. (Of course, Hugh Grant wasn't married. Oh, wait, that was real life.) By the second hour, Khouri's point is lost as she inexplicably points her characters toward a happily-ever-after finale that you can see coming from a mile off. Maybe *that's* her point.
Grade: C+
Briefly.. =========
Also check out CRUDE OASIS, the remarkable debut of writer/director/ producer/editor Alex Graves. The story-- which centers on a depressed Kansas housewife, and plays like an inverted BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY-- was shot in 14 days for a mere $25K. Even blown up from 16mm, there's still more dramatic potency here than almost all the other summer stock combined. An oasis, *indeed*.
-- Michael J. Legeros Raleigh, NC legeros@cybernetics.net
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