Insipid pandering saved only partially by Kevin Spacey

Rating: 2/10 (12 April 2000)

How this film was even nominated for any Oscars much less actually won them is beyond me. Well, no it isn't. Kevin Spacey is a brilliant actor. His body of work speaks for itself. They could put him in a two-hour, big-screen adaptation of the lamest 70s sitcom and it would be great. He's like Anthony Hopkins and many others who have saved mediocre and even awful films from oblivion by the sheer force of their presence and their ability to create involving characters from nothing. The showing of AB at the Oscars shows yet again that the Academy and the rest of America have little in common.
The main problem with this film is that it is one giant cliche - and not even a very original or entertaining one. The Academy has developed this huge soft spot for films that pander to certain sacred cattle and this is certainly one of them. Saving Private Ryan was another.
I left this film with the stark realization that I hadn't seen anything in it that was done better in "The Ref". In fact, Spacey played pretty much the same character in both and the basic premise was almost too similar.
The film had its directorial moments but it was clearly a first attempt by a director who shows a great deal of promise but still has a long way to go. Apart from Spacey's character, the rest of the cast were dreary cardboard figures - the shrewish, philandering wife, the troubled teenage daughter, the self-absorbed bad-boy love interest, the right-wing, homophobic neighbor, the corrupt and immoral business associates... give me a break.

Bottom line: Mr. Spacey deserved better, the audience deserved better and the Academy should have known better.