What a movie. It could have easily been a 10...but, it ended up being barely a 7 to me. How is that possible? The last third of the movie is the true casualty in this "whodunit." The acting isn't the blame. Kathy Bates, Rupert Everett, Michelle Eaton (the character playing Maudie, in case I slipped on the actress's name), and even more minor characters like those portrayed by Lynn Redgrave and Dan Ackroyd, all gave wonderful performances. Particularly touching was Everett, who played the widowed lover of Johnathan Price's Victor Fox. Even the ever present, though recently murdered, Fox character didn't bother me. What bothered me was the fact that all these wonderful performances were pretty much abandoned once the script takes the story on a quest to find Fox's "crossbow killer" under the city of Chicago, with Bates, Everett, and Eaton leading the crusade.
Suspension of disbelief aside, the way that it's handled was too zany, madcap, and over the top for anyone to seriously consider it possible. The climactic scene on the draw bridge where the widow washing, crossbow wielding, singer hating, mommy avenging serial killer is taken out with a cell phone had me scratching my head as to how on earth it was possible for such a well crafted film to have reached this destination. Then, when the day is saved, Maudie, Dirk, and Grace find themselves being lauded on the Sally Jesse Raphael show...complete with a Barry Manilow cameo and the entire cast singing "I Can't Smile Without You." Another poster described this scene as painful...what a true assessment that is. I would add embarrassing to the list of adjectives describing it. And, it's a real shame, too...
When the smoke clears, I'm still a fan of P.J. Hogan, Bates, Everett, and Redgrave, and was impressed by the pint size dynamo, Eaton, but it's not too hard to realize why many people didn't hear of this film during its theatrical release, and caught it on cable only recently.
Suspension of disbelief aside, the way that it's handled was too zany, madcap, and over the top for anyone to seriously consider it possible. The climactic scene on the draw bridge where the widow washing, crossbow wielding, singer hating, mommy avenging serial killer is taken out with a cell phone had me scratching my head as to how on earth it was possible for such a well crafted film to have reached this destination. Then, when the day is saved, Maudie, Dirk, and Grace find themselves being lauded on the Sally Jesse Raphael show...complete with a Barry Manilow cameo and the entire cast singing "I Can't Smile Without You." Another poster described this scene as painful...what a true assessment that is. I would add embarrassing to the list of adjectives describing it. And, it's a real shame, too...
When the smoke clears, I'm still a fan of P.J. Hogan, Bates, Everett, and Redgrave, and was impressed by the pint size dynamo, Eaton, but it's not too hard to realize why many people didn't hear of this film during its theatrical release, and caught it on cable only recently.