By Phil Curtolo
Adapting the story of Inventing the Abbotts into a film is a risky and doubtful move. The story possesses a genuine sense of everyday mystery that Hollywood doesn't easily tolerate-not exactly the stuff from which spring blockbusters are made. What the film does offer is a slew of hot young actors playing period of the 1950s, and engaging in a fair amount of unnecessary sex. The lead performances from Liv Tyler and Joaquin Phoenix (who both co-starred in That Thing You Do!) are youthful and vibrant, but they deserve a better film in which to throttle their engines.
Set in a small Midwestern town dominated by the wealthy Abbott family, the film revolves largely around Doug (Phoenix) and Jacey Holt (Billy Crudup, Sleepers), two poor sons of a widowed mother (Picket Fences' Kathy Baker), who covet the Abbott lifestyle. As directed by Pat O'Connor (Circle of Friends) and scripted by Ken Hixon, Inventing the Abbotts turns into a uproarious coming-of-age tale infused with fistfights, tragedies, and a gushy happy ending. The culprit here may actually be one of the producers (director Ron Howard), who has been known to drain good material of texture and potency. The character Jacey (Billy Crudup), who runs through the Abbott girls one by one to acquaint himself with their family, is a narcissistic menace. As the middle sister, the obscenely devilish Jennifer Connelly (Mulholland Falls) plays a serviceable tramp; as the eldest and divorced daughter, Joanna Going (Nixon) is all morose and gloomy.
The real show is Phoenix and Tyler as the youngest and most sensible Abbott girl, Pam. Their playful childhood friendship morphs into a traditional "I-loved-you-but-didn't-know-it" movie romance, but O'Connor is smart enough to just let them hang out and be normal.
Burdened by a narration that reminds the viewer too much of The Wonder Years, Inventing the Abbotts is so full of dull, character write-ups, that the only interesting points revolve around the relationship between Doug and Pam. There's a definite sense that Howard, O'Connor, and company go off on the wrong foot in creating this film and made something they didn't intend to, even though it was enjoyable, none the less. Grade: C+, *** out of *****
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