Word: scripting
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...plot Demi Moore plays her part with a determination and recklessness that would have done Hester Prynne proud. Gary Oldman would cut a more convincing figure as her passionate and inspirational lover, the Reverend Dimmesdale, if he weren't undercut by the melodramatic sermonizng thrust upon him by the script. And Robert Duvall steals the show as Demi's estranged pay chopathic husband, who has gone so native that the natives themselves decide they're scared...
...spirited resistance of the cinematography and acting crumbles in the face of the relentless attacks of the script, like free spirits suffocating in a puritanical society...
...movie is directed by William Friedkin, an excellent director of action sequences and, specifically, car chases. Friedkin is tied down by a tired script, and even during the chases (there are two) he seems unable to come fully to life as he did in "The French Connection." Instead of Popeye Doyle narrowly missing a baby carriage, we have Corelli and his prey driving slowly through the middle of a parade in Chinatown, knocking people off of floats and some times coming to a dead stop trying to negotiate the crowd. In both chases Corelli escapes unscathed. He is Super...
Esterhas' weak script in "Basic Instinct" was somewhat resucitated by the presence of Sharon Stone. "Jade" is not resucitated by anyone. Any movie that has Angie Everheart and Linda Fiorentino in it is of some interest on a purely visual level. However, any movie in which Angie Ever-heart gives the most believable and compelling performance has some-thing terribly wrong with it. But Chazz Palmintieri is a genuinely good actor, and when even he can't do any-thing with this movie, we know that the core must be rotten...
...second act, Davis narrates an autobiographical side-show of himself (Dana Colt) and various romantic partners (all played by Karyn Levitt) with decidedly mixed results. Colt seems utterly bored with Davis' life, more acutely with his girlfriends and particularly with the script or lack thereof. Most of the vignettes are minimalist sketches requiring a great deal of concentration from the actors and even more patience from the audience. With an excess of dead air and awkward exchanges, some studied but others accidental, the audience loses confidence that Davis will pull out a satisfying conclusion...