Flat Champagne

Rating: 5/10 (20 January 2011)

The problem with this film is the total lack of chemistry between the two lead characters; or rather, between the actors who play them. That attraction is supposed to fuel the movie and drive it forward, but it's water in the gas tank; this clunker only rolls a few feet.
Whitney Houston is so talented and beautiful, but exudes no sex appeal. In that respect she is like Julie Andrews of old; very talented, lovely, but, as one critic wrote of Andrews, "Has all the sex appeal of a very efficient dietitian." I would rather have seen, oh...Halle Berry or some actress with real dynamism (and dubbed voice) getting mixed up with Kevin Costner.
Kevin Costner is a fine actor who was absolutely doing his best Steve McQueen impression. Women love to see a powerful, internally sensual man succumb to a woman so sensual or otherwise desirable that the poor guy's helpless. Costner is a powerful actor and few female actresses have that presence...Angelina Joli? Costner even was too powerful for Susan Sarandan in Bull Durham.
I agree that, second to the flat interaction of the main characters, the story made little sense. If Frank Farmer had such a fragile ego that he could not come to terms with a tragic event he had nothing to do with, he would not have been selected by the Secret Service in the first place.
And what was the plan with taking the entourage to the lake? Were they going to live there indefinitely? Papa Walton, by the way, was miscast as Frank's father. He seemed to be ready to break into a smile at any moment; or perhaps the corners of his mouth got caught on his dentures.
The sister and son were very good. I liked the acting ability of both; Fletcher was very subtle and sensitive in a film that wasn't.
The Oscar scenes were funny. Anyone who saw Naked Gun 33 1/3 keeps expecting Mary Lou Retton to come flipping and bouncing down the aisle. Rachel's (joking) reason for risking her life in attending was ludicrous...you gotta cheer when Frank's stoic chastity appropriately caved; if she was a Darwin award candidate, her days were numbered anyway, so why not?
Actually, I thought Whitney Houston's acting was fine; she downplayed the role, seemed rather shy, and perhaps if there were more chemistry with the male lead, she would have received less criticism. I would like to have seen Diana Ross and Steve McQueen; they were equally matched dynamic folks.
Oh well, there are worse movies. Just because this one lacked chemistry, motivation, and sense, doesn't make it half as bad as the remake of Lost Horizon...my overall standard of rotten films.
And hey, I thought Frank's haircut was sexy.