Overrated, over slick, laughable acting--it rubbed me the wrong way

Rating: 5/10 (22 November 2014)

Devil's Advocate (1997)
A highly regarded movie in some circles, and I think because of the idea and the intensity of what's implied (implied more than made palpable). Yes, in real life, this would go places. But it's a fairly routine flick with one of Hollywood's least interesting actors in the main role. I'm talking Keanu Reeves, of course. There is the idea of the devil incarnate, which is the big hook of the movie, but this is almost a comic book version, exaggerated and campy.
Okay, yeah, there's the familiar thrill of a couple trying to move into high society and finding it filled with evil, carnal and monetary and otherwise. And there's the idea of a lawyer defending a man who is obviously bad, but the job overrides morality. All is well done enough on some level, but what an exaggerated hooha about nothing! This movie makes a mountain out of some very old ideas.
Al Pacino? Overacting and painful to watch at times, he's still a reasonable Hollywood devil. Reeves, the pretty boy who can't act? He really can't! More proof. People have commented that this is his greatest film, or that here at least we see him at his best! Hmph. He's reasonable, but imagine a better actor overwhelmed with ambition success and losing his loving wife and his sanity all at once. Now that's a lot of material for an actor to make hay from.
So what do we make of the plot, a crystallization of evil? Well, the devil is, of course, a bad fellow. He has infinite power it seems, but uses it judiciously. That makes no real sense, but you have to go with it. Supernatual effects will show up here in all kinds of bizarre and sensationalist places. If that's your thing, and you're a sexist man (there are lots of women who are purely eye candy), go for it. Sorry dudes, it's true. Swallow hard. Not my thing.
Finally, the plot is over the top. (John Grisham wrote it, remember.) It's about excess and flashy twists. The Anti-Christ? Sure, go there, for kicks. Vanity? Come on, is that what this was finally all about? Didn't we know that in the first few minutes?
Is this an unredeemed mess? Not quite, I suppose. The movie as a whole ends up being a solid supernatural lawyer film, and the script is straight forward narrative stuff —to the point that it seems banal, except you see the screen shifting its shape as you watch.