Light induced

Rating: 7/10 (13 September 2004)

As crazy as it may sound this really is another movie with Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. America's lovebirds come together for this peculiar and amusing, even though a bit light, comedy about a man who's stuck in...you guessed it, the terminal. The premise sounded incredibly good, albeit I forgot to think it all out a bit: how COULD you do this both funny and intelligent? And, furthermore, how did this fit in Spielberg's schedule?
Well, it seems it fit very well. Catherine Zeta, Tom and Steven got around for a few days of filming and put together this nearly satirical comedy. It was just what Spielberg liked: big actors, interesting script and a movie for the whole family. So he lowered his magic wand and made it into another Forrest Gump. The comparison is a bit rough, but you might see a glimpse of Forrest while watching and listening to Viktor Novorski: a naive, a bit clumsy, sincere and good-hearted guy who, due to his lack of certain language skills, leaves the impression of being a bit...behind. Unfortunately his traits fit the profile I was talking about.
The first fifteen minutes is where I found the best scenes of the film, but do not fear, for scattered throughout the film you shalt find others. Ideologically speaking, I really couldn't add up the parts of this here production: the story of a homeless and unwanted man, the great human spirit within and the less than redeeming love story. It feels strange. The so called love story is the absolute low point: it's distant and shallow, something Mel Brooks might call "love uninspired" (talking of which, I ask myself how a guy who could barely speak English, was able to read books about Napoleon which were thousands of pages long). Catherine let me down, because I expected a bit more from her performance, but in the end it's so short that it doesn't even matter. The terrible guy in charge, senor Dixon (Stanley Tucci), is the pain in the buttocks, total opposite of hard working and high spirited Novorski whose sole purpose it is to annoy us.
And what's the basis of the journey, you might ask. It definitely can't be something normal, can it? Well I fear that although it wants to be different, the whole story is short of genuine.
The movie is weak. But! it is fun to watch and relaxing, feel good material. It might be a disappointment coming from Spielberg who, it struck me, gave a strong impression at times that a beam of light can take you from America to Honolulu and back, but it really depends on whether the croissant really does come from Romania or not. I'll have to check this out one happier day. In the meantime, where could one go with the speed of light? 6.5/10