Extremely Disappointing

Rating: 1/10 (26 June 2000)

This movie shows just how little the Academy knows about film. It is predictable, derivative, and inane, yet it wins Oscars left and right. Perhaps this "charming" little flick about a middle aged man who calls his daughter's underaged friend and almost seduces the girl is appealing to all those Woody Allens out there, but to me it was just another Hollywood excuse to show young women's breasts on screen (which, of course, means they can now win Oscars).
But what really makes the film so deplorable is the insipid script, a plot that is so unbelievable that it forces the Hollywood hacks working on it to create silly situations just so the ending can occur (maybe the plot was written back asswards, which would explain the manipulated dialogue and plot lines that are needed to get to the murder), and over-the-top, cartoonish characterization by all the adult actors involved. The only beauty in this film occurs when the young actors, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, and Mina Suvari are interacting in a scene. The three have true chemistry, and their actions and emotions are so much less forced than those of Spacey and Annette Benning (who should be embarrassed by her acting in this film, truly). Perhaps the writing/directing team of Alan Ball/Sam Mendes was more comfortable with adolescence than with adulthood, which is not surprising for Hollywood.
I suppose what really ticks me off about this film is that it did win the Oscar, over films that were so much better than itself (Fight Club, Magnolia, Three Kings, Boys Don't Cry), thereby setting the stage for even more insipid junk like itself to inundate our theaters. Maybe the woeful movies that have been released so far in 2000 is a direct result of the exultation of such tripe by Hollywood and the viewing public.