the general 's daughter will probably be the cleverest stupid film we 'll see this year -- or perhaps the stupidest clever film .
it 's confusing to a critic when
so much knuckleheaded plotting and ostentatious direction shares the screen with so much snappy dialogue and crisp character interaction .
that , however , is what happens when legendary screenwriter william goldman takes a pass at an otherwise brutally predictable conspiracy thriller .
the punched - up punch lines are ever on the verge of convincing you the general 's daughter has a brain in its head , even as the remaining 75 % of the narrative punches you in the face with its lack of common sense .
our hero is warrant officer paul brenner , a brash investigator for the u . s .
army 's criminal investigation division .
his latest case is the murder of captain elisabeth campbell ( leslie stefanson ) at a georgia base , the victim found tied to the ground after an apparent sexual assault and strangulation .
complicating the case is the fact that capt .
campbell is the daughter of general joe campbell ( james cromwell ) , a war hero and potential vice - presidential nominee .
general campbell wants to keep the case out of the press , which gives brenner only the 36 hours before the fbi steps in .
teamed with rape investigator sarah sunhill ( madeleine stowe ) -- who , coincidentally enough , once had a romantic relationship with brenner --
brenner begins uncovering dark secrets from the late captain 's past that make the case ever more sordid .
if only the sordidness were the worst of the general 's daughter 's problems .
scenes of sexual degredation do linger much longer than necessary , their negligible dramatic value overwhelmed by filtered - light sleaze .
director simon west likely thinks he 's covered himself by juxtaposing these images of violence with sweet flowers , but all he does is prove himself dependent on visual cliches , which is the film 's fatal flaw .
it 's a trend he continues for two hours , taking the story 's few virtues and slapping a coat of moron - proof obviousness over them .
characters who may ( wink wink ) turn out to be villains are photographed in ominous shadow ; cutaway inserts of the captain campbell 's still - living face after the corpse is uncovered insure against five - minute attention spans .
west just ca n't help himself from overdirecting every minute of the general 's daughter .
he even turns a scene of footage shown on cnn into an excuse for slow - fade edits .
bubbling up from this overcooked stew are enough tasty lines to distract you from its smell .
the slickest scene finds brenner squaring off with captain campbell 's mentor , a psychological warfare expert named moore ( james woods ) .
there 's something invigorating about watching two smart actors playing smart characters firing honesty at one another .
indeed , travolta gets to sink his teeth into dozens of choice lines based on his delight at provoking authority figures ( to the local sheriff of the georgia county : " should n't you be out night - sticking the colored folk ? " ) .
even the lame device of brenner and sunhill 's sexual history provides a few winning zingers .
goldman 's dialogue can serve up a bigger laugh than you 'll find in most so - called comedies .
dialogue , unfortunately , just is n't enough to make a quality script .
it 's difficult to take a movie about a criminal investigation seriously when the investigators are both too stupid to solve it sooner ( an idiotic inability to recognize the nature of the crime scene ) and too lucky for it to last any longer ( not one but two occasions where brenner catches a vital piece of evidence out of the corner of his eye ) .
by the time the general 's daughter wanders towards its over - wrought , psycho - in - the - rain finale
, west 's heavy hand has obliterated most of what made the film occasionally fun .
it 's silly and pretentious film - making , but at least it provides a giggle or five .
goldman should tear the 15 decent pages out of this script and turn them into a stand - up routine .
the stupidest clever film it 's silly and pretentious film - making scenes of sexual degredation do linger much longer than necessary fatal flaw the cleverest stupid film prove himself dependent on visual cliches dialogue , unfortunately , just is n't enough if only the sordidness were the worst over - wrought so much knuckleheaded plotting and ostentatious direction