allen , star of many a brian depalma movie in the early eighties , has a brief , throwaway part towards the end of " out of sight , " as the maid of a crooked financier .
in keeping with her past performances , allen wears little more than a green velvet victoria 's secret ensemble which begs the question , did they really need a costume designer for this ?
" out of sight " is not likely to secure ms .
allen the kind of plaudits bestowed upon pam grier , who likewise returned from out of obscurity to appear in another recent elmore leonard adaptation , " jackie brown , " but it is intriguing to see her name kicking off the " also starring " credits given her limited screen time .
the real stars of " out of sight " are george clooney ( " batman & robin " by way of " e. r. " ) and jennifer lopez ( " selena " ) , whose winning chemistry , coupled with steven soderbergh 's freeze - frame directorial technique , help the film retain the charismatic charm of leonard 's original work .
with the success of " get shorty " three years ago , filmmakers have realized that adapting an elmore leonard novel can be an easier proposition than trying to dream up a storyline from scratch .
in " out of sight , " clooney stars as jack foley , a career criminal who specializes in unarmed robbery -- he just waltzes into banks and politely makes a withdrawal , claiming that his " partner " ( just another customer it so happens ) will shoot the manager if the teller does n't comply .
for all of jack 's nice - guy charm though , he 's not very lucky .
his latest scam lands him in florida 's glades correctional facility .
federal marshal karen sisco ( lopez ) coincidentally arrives at the prison just as jack and his buddy
( ving rhames , typically appealing ) are breaking out .
there 's a brief struggle and jack bundles himself and karen into the trunk of the getaway car .
it 's in these cramped confines , pressed intimately together , that jack and karen start falling for one another .
the mutual attraction continues as the couple on opposite sides of the law slip in and out of one another 's grasp .
karen follows jack to detroit , where he 's about to pull off another heist , this time a cache of uncut diamonds from incarcerated businessman richard ripley ( played by a toupee - sporting albert brooks , almost unrecognizable in the prison scenes ) .
it 's during this final caper - gone - awry that allen
makes her scant appearance .
clooney 's range as an actor is limited , but he has undeniable charm .
lopez , too , is easy on the eyes , but she demonstrates more depth in her portrayal of karen , a tough yet tender professional .
she dispenses with hit men as easily as she out - maneuvers sleazy pick - up artists in a bar .
especially cute is a sequence in which karen fantasizes about jack in a motel bathtub .
admirably supporting clooney and lopez are don cheadle as fellow felon maurice ' snoopy ' miller , steve zahn as the perennially stoned glenn michaels , and dennis farina as karen 's dad , who affectionately buys her a piece .
add a couple of uncredited cameos from " jackie brown " cast members and " out of sight " proves to be a lot of fun . not as hip and clever as " shorty , " perhaps , or as complex and colorful as " brown ,
" but loads of fun nonetheless .
Output: P