a pleasant surprise

Rating: Null/10 (18 January 1999)

Despite negative reviews, I liked this movie. I think the reason I had a problem with movies like "Titanic" and "Forrest Gump" was because of all the hype--when I finally got to see them they just didn't live up to all the praise they received. I was let down. I think the opposite happened here--I wasn't expecting much, a mediocre movie at best--and as a result enjoyed the movie. Not a great movie, by no means--not even as good as "Boogie Nights," which it parallels, and yet entertaining in its own right. Ryan Phillippe has taken more criticism for his "poor" acting than he deserves--I thought he was quite effective as the naive, sensitive and not-too-bright Shane O'Shea who thinks he's made it big until the sh** hits the fan; if you've spent any time around adolescents from northern New Jersey, they do sound just like this. He was very likeable and sympathetic (not to mention very nice to look at). Neve Campbell also did a fine job as Shane's love interest, but I think the romance could have been better developed (the fault of the movie being too short to really develop *any* characters enough). And I definitely agree that the very funny and talented Mike Myers did not have nearly enough to do--his Steve Rubell was humorous and tragic at the same time--and you wanted to see more of him. The soundtrack was good, but the dance-floor scenes were somehow lack-luster, and had the feel of a daytime soap. I think if the movie had been longer, a lot of these problems would have been solved. I think Ryan Phillippe has a lot of potential as a dramatic actor--once you look past the "dumb blond" persona he presents here. Not a great movie by any means, but much better than you've probably heard. Give this movie a chance!