PICTURE PERFECT
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.0 Alternative Scale: **1/2 out of ****
United States, 1997 U.S. Release Date: 8/1/97 (wide) Running Length: 1:41 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Profanity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Jay Mohr, Kevin Bacon, Olympia Dukakis, Illeana Douglas, Kevin Dunn Director: Glenn Gordon Caron Producer: Erwin Stoff Screenplay: Arleen Sorkin & Paul Slansky and Glenn Gordon Caron Cinematography: Paul Sarossy Music: Carter Burwell U.S. Distributor: 20th Century Fox
As I've said before, predictability can often be a great asset for a romantic comedy. So far this summer, we've had three very atypical entries: 'TIL THERE WAS YOU (where the man and woman don't meet until the end), ADDICTED TO LOVE (a revenge fantasy), and MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING (where not everything goes as expected). Now, August ushers in PICTURE PERFECT, a harmless movie intent upon restoring formulaic comfort to the genre. There's nothing remotely surprising about this movie, unless it's how embarrassingly bad the resolution is.
For eighty minutes of PICTURE PERFECT's one-hundred minute running time, I found myself smiling quite often. As obvious and unambitious as the film was, I actually liked it, and was prepared to file it into the "guilty pleasures" category. Then came the horrible one-two punch of the climax. I was flabbergasted. My smile turned into a cringe. There are times when a bad ending doesn't seriously damage a motion picture. This is not one of those. All of the goodwill I had built up during the bulk of the film was replaced by irritation at the silly, contrived conclusion. And the worst part is that the movie could easily have achieved the same resolution in a far more satisfactory manner. Apparently, director and co-screenwriter Glenn Gordon Caron prefers high melodrama to something more low-key.
It's a shame, because the ill-advised finale puts a damper on Jennifer Aniston's first starring role in a major motion picture (we'll ignore LEPRECHAUN, which is probably what she'd prefer that we do). I've never been a big fan of Aniston in her TV series, FRIENDS, but she's very good in the role of PICTURE PERFECT's protagonist. As Kate, she's smart, witty, and appealing, yet manages to convey a degree of vulnerability, uncertainty, and downright nastiness. In short, she shows the beginnings of three dimensionality.
Kate is a junior agent for Mercer Advertising. She has a quick mind, but, even after she devises the tag line for a major ad campaign, she is passed over as a member of the account team. The reason: she's too much of a free spirit. The boss, Mr. Mercer (Kevin Dunn), wants someone who's married and living in a house, not a single woman who's lifestyle mirrors the one she had when she was in college. So, while Kate is venting her frustration in the lavatory (this one scene single- handedly earns the movie a PG-13 rating), her best friend, Darcy (Illeana Douglas), concocts a story to advance Kate's career. Using a photo of Kate with a guy named Nick (Jay Mohr), whom she only met once, Darcy spins a tale to her boss about Kate's impending nuptials. Mercer immediately softens his stance and puts Kate on the team.
Although Kate is initially horrified by Darcy's fabrication, she soon learns to appreciate its advantages. A co-worker, Sam (Kevin Bacon), who will only sleep with married and engaged women, suddenly finds Kate irresistible. Everything seems to be going right until Mercer absolutely, positively has to meet Nick. Unable to string her boss along any longer, Kate travels to New England in search of the man in the photograph. When she finds him, she offers him a proposition: she'll pay him $1000 if he comes to New York with her, takes her to dinner, then stages a public break-up. Nick, who is attracted to Kate and is willing to jump at any chance to spend time with her, agrees.
For the most part, PICTURE PERFECT has a nice, light romantic mood. Caron, who wrote for the TV series MOONLIGHTING and directed the Warren Beatty/Annette Bening remake of LOVE AFFAIR, clearly has a feel for love stories. Early in the film, during a wedding sequence, the camera subtly captures the bliss of being in a couple and the loneliness of being single. This idealized view of romance is then used as the springboard to the movie's central plot. The movie ends with another wedding, but the less said about that, the better.
Aniston is ably supported by a group of fine actors. Kevin Bacon is delightful as Sam, a man who enjoys one-night stands with unavailable women, then finds that he may be falling for Kate. Olympia Dukakis has a few amusing scenes as Kate's overprotective mother. Illeana Douglas is delightful as the effervescent Darcy. And Jay Mohr is solid, if unspectacular, as Nick (some viewers may have difficulty erasing the memory of him as the oily agent from JERRY MAGUIRE).
In general, I consider myself to be a defender of romantic comedies, even if they're not terribly original. There's something refreshing about that kind of pure escapism. Unfortunately, PICTURE PERFECT uses embarrassing contrivances to sabotage what should have been a pleasant excursion down a familiar road. Still, even considering its flaws, I think a certain percentage of die-hard romantics will derive some satisfaction from this movie. I wish I had been in that category, but PICTURE PERFECT makes a few too many missteps to earn my recommendation.
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
"A film is a petrified fountain of thought." - Jean Cocteau
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