A Pitiful Mess

Rating: 1/10 (31 December 2001)

Wow! I have not seen a worse movie this year. Then of course I like reality too much. But if I want fantasy or escapism, I can see "Lord of the Rings" or a fine French movie "Ma Vie en Rose". This waste of celluloid has little to redeem it. The lone exceptions were the wonderful Jim Broadbent, the fine British actor, who seemed to be the only one in the farce that understood what being campy and over-the-top was. Nicole Kidman, with her smooth milk skin and lovely looks unfortunately is as interesting as a glass of milk. I was quite surprised how well Ewen MacGregor could sing. Or was that his voice? I am very capable of suspending my disbelief for a movie, but this mess, with its insertion of modern pop songs into turn of the century Paris was so forced and incongruous I left the room frequently (fortunately I didn't go to the theater for this). I know the whole rational of musicals generally using music that is not specific to the era of the musical itself (i.e. "Oklahoma), and the attempt was to be over the top and tongue in cheek; but I didn't have tongue-in-cheek; I had drool on cheek. 8.2 out of 10 on IMDB. What a disgrace! This film was a colossal waste of time, money, and energy. Poor Tom Cruise is all I can say. This obviously broke up the marriage. Or was it the simpering "Jerry McGuire"? At least Nicole took of her privates a bit in "Eyes Wide Shut", which displayed her only true attributes as an actress. I would have given it a zero on the voting scale, but they don't offer that.