Too much Hollywood, not enough Howard Huges

Rating: 5/10 (15 December 2005)

My wife and I just watched this movie on cable with great expectations. Wow! How many ways can one be disappointed in a movie? The biographical aspects of the story were more supermarket tabloid than History Channel.
DiCaprio and Blanchett must have talent, because almost everyone liked them in Titanic, and this movie has had great acclaim also, but I don't see it in either movie. In Titanic, they played two-dimensional stereotypes with such a predictable uninteresting story line, that I found myself looking for the iceberg 20 minutes into the movie.
In The Aviator, DiCaprio and Blanchette seemed to me to be playing caricatures--not characters. Maybe it's the writing, but I did not care about anyone in this movie, with the possible exception of the Alan Alda character, Senator Brewster--who was played just low-key and unscrupulous enough to be believable...so I hated him.
Casting. In spite of the obvious effort he put forth, I just cannot see DiCaprio as Howard Hughes. I think I might have cast Gary Sinise in that part. As to Katherine Hepburn, playing that part is like playing Superman--a lose-lose opportunity. Played straight, you say, "She didn't sound anything like Hepburn." Played as Blanchett did, it seemed more like stand-up comedy than movie drama. Alan Alda was perfect--no stereotype crooked politician mannerisms, no tired old-time movie politician expressions. Alec Baldwin is easy casting for a villain. Since so many people dislike Alec Baldwin anyway, it is easy to dislike his character.
Writing. I've already commented on the 2D characters. The other thing I consider unacceptable in a period movie is modern day expressions. Maybe, like the DiCaprio-Blanchett paring, this is to appeal to young audiences, but personally I find it distracting and consider it lazy writing and still another historical inaccuracy. If you are going to write a screenplay about a time other than now, take the time to learn the language of the era.
Good special effects. I enjoyed the aircraft scenes. My wife found them boring. I have to file this movie with Titanic, Pearl Harbor, and War of the Worlds under, "It's too bad that someone doesn't put a good story with these modern effects when they retell an old story or remake an old movie." If you want to see a better movie about Howard Hughes, find "The Amazing Howard Hughes" a TV movie from the 70's based on the book by Noah Dietrich. Best yet, read the book.