(WB)
Directed by Norman Jewison
Written by Alvin Sargent
Cast Whoopi Goldberg, Gerard Depardieu, Haley Joel Osment,
Denis Mercier, Andrea Martin, Nancy Travis
MPAA Rating "PG"
Running Time 111 minutes
Reviewed at Waverly Place Cinemas, Cary, NC (31AUG96)
==
Were it better written and directed, this unaffecting fantasy might come across as something other than leftovers from a high-powered Hollywood lunch. ("Let's get Whoopi!" "Yeah, and pair her with... that Frenchman!") There isn't much subtlety to this story of a little boy (Haley Joel Osment), his imaginary friend (Gerard Depardieu), and the grumpy guardian that the boy goes to live with (Whoopi Goldberg) after his mother is killed in a car accident. Spoon-feeding is the order of the day and director Norman Jewison (MOONSTRUCK) overstates nearly every emotion and related plot point. (The incessant musical cues are also tough to take, though I didn't mind hearing Louis Prima's "Banana Split For My Baby" played during a soda-fountain fantasy sequence.) Worst of all is Whoopi's characterization. Instead of coming across as a lovable party poop, her self-absorbed actions suggest a level of negligence that might send a social worker screaming from the theater. Mercifully, the darkness is cursed by two luminaries. The kid, Osment, is a natural and that Frenchman, with his loopy smile and bulbous nose, is an imaginary giant for all ages.
Grade: C
--
Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC
legeros@nando.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w)
Visit me in MOVIE HELL
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