The Cold Room

This was a made-for-cable affair, but is/was available on VHS. The main and overriding sense one gets in watching this film is, "Great Scott! Will somebody wake these people up?" Which is another way of saying it is boring and dreary. But more than that, it seems like the whole production is in some sort of funk. Start with George Segal. I'm a fan. He may be remembered to people now as the guy from "Just Shoot Me." But up until the early 80s, the guy was a capital-letters Movie Star, whose main asset was a sense of fun and vigor he brought into the various quirky roles he played. His star was fading when this was made and it is clear why. In THE COLD ROOM, he seems preoccupied, dazed, out of it. Just sad to see a once- vibrant person bring nothing to the table.

But he's not the only one. Pays (Mrs. Corbin Bernson), has little spark to her character. The whole plot involves people in present-day Germany, one of whom discovers a link to a past romance with a character from Germany's Nazi past. It might have helped if Pays (or anyone else) brought a little energy to the set. But since the whole thing is pretty lifeless, directed by the book, scripted with no surprises, etc...the "who cares" factor is high. The movie is inoffensive but seems almost intentionally boring. Like the people who made it wanted it to be quickly forgotten.