A Life Less Ordinary (1997)
A movie review by Michael J. Legeros
Copyright 1997 by Michael J. Legeros
(Fox)
Directed by Danny Boyle
Written by John Hodge
Cast Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter, Delroy Lindo,
Ian Holm, Dan Hedaya, Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Ian
McNeice, Maury Chaykin
MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for profanity and violence)
Running Time 102 minutes
Reviewed at Six Forks Station Cinemas, Raleigh, NC (24OCT97)
==
This surprising stinker from the TRAINSPOTTING team is an unfunny, overly hip romantic comedy about a cute-as-can-be janitor (Ewan Mac- Gregor) who one day gets replaced by a robot, tries to talk to the company president (Ian Holm) about it, and ends up taking the million- aire's spoiled-rotten daughter (Cameron Diaz) hostage. The catch? Well, she kinda likes being kidnapped. And-- are you ready for this one?-- they're pursued by a pair of increasingly aggressive angels (Delroy Lindo and Holly Hunter) neither of whom can return to Heaven until the kids are in love! No, not an ordinary movie by any means. The innumerable odd (and often yawn-inducing) sights include a pool-side game of William Tell, a fantasy dance sequence set to "Beyond the Sea," and a T2/Robert Patrick impersonation by the diminutive Ms. Hunter. (Not only does she crawl across the hood of a moving vehicle, she also spits a wad of chew, in a single screen moment that all but cured my longtime crush on the actress.) While it's difficult to dislike *any* movie that allows the line "this is Gabriel, get me God"-- or one that closes with a cute claymation sequence-- there's absolutely *nothing* compelling at the story's core. No chemistry. No charm. Nothing. Directed by Danny Boyle, written by John Hodge, and produced by Peter MacDonald, all of whom prove that it takes real talent to make a movie this bad. (Rated "R"/102 min.)
Grade: D
-- Mike Legeros - Movie Hell http://www.nonvirtual.com/hell/
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