frankm@microsoft.UUCP (Frank MALONEY) (02/07/91)
ALICE
A film review by Frank Maloney
Copyright 1991 Frank Maloney
Every year, just as winter peaks and begins to peter out into a
sloppy mess, Woody Allen redeems this most cheerless of seasons with a
new movie. This year he gives us ALICE, which stars Mia Farrow and in
which Allen himself does not appear. But, of course, Allen need hardly
appear physically in a Woody Allen film for his presence to dominate and
inform every scene. His major presence in ALICE is that Mia Farrow has
begun to speak her lines exactly as Allen does, even to the point where
it becomes somewhat distracting.
The title character, played brilliantly by Farrow, is a modern,
upper-crust, neurosis-ridden Manhattanite interpretation of the Lewis
Carrol Alice. Farrow's Alice takes Chinese herbs with a lot more
various effects that the old "one side makes you taller" routine of the
Caterpillar. The herbalist/acupuncturist is played by Keye Luke, who
long ago and in a different world was, I believe, No. 1 Son in the the
Charlie Chan series. Everywhere Alice goes there are looking glasses in
background. This Alice is an innocent on the cusp of discovering
herself.
Her husband is a cold, patronizing, and treacherous William Hurt.
Her lover is Joe Mantegna. Mantegna's performance is particularly good,
being the only actor in the movie who has chance of stealing the lead
from Farrow. Julie Kavner, Bernadette Peters, and Cybil Shepherd have
minor roles; the wealth of Allen is staggering if he can afford to
underuse such major character actors as Kavner (who is also appearing
AWAKENINGS currently) and Peters (who has never had a good movie, but
for whom hope springs eternal).
Gwen Verdon, who was the fabulous dancer/singer who starred as
Lola in DAMN YANKEES long time passing (remember "Whatever Lola Wants,
Lola Gets (and, Little Man, Lola Wants You)"?), appears as Alice's
mother, who had a short career in the movies before she drank herself
to death with Margaritas ("But, darling, you know I never could resist
anything with salt on the rim.").
Allen, by the way, does us all a major service when he finds and
uses some otherwise nearly forgotten of star of other years. In NEW
YORK STORIES, the woman who played his mother was the original voice of
Betty Boop, for example.
(I read this last week a description of Hurt grabbing Mantegna and
dancing around in a circle yelling "We're going to do a Woody, we're
going to do a Woody!")
Too much praise for Farrow's accomplishment is not possible. She
brings a guileless honesty to her role, a deadpan serious to the hijinks
and fantasy that makes them all the more delightful. In many ways,
ALICE marks Farrow's emergence as a major film actor.
Another reliable feature of Allen films is the music. Allen is
well-known to be a major, major jazz aficionado, who, like Mantegna's
character, Joe, plays the sax and who has a record collection that is
reliably described as fantastic. The sound track of ALICE features some
well chosen selections from such a collection, including "Alice Blue
Gown" and that one about Old Chinatown.
Unfortunately, I do not think the movie per se is as good as its
performers. The fantasy elements are handled well, but my own class
prejudices are such that I have trouble being too sympathetic toward
upper-class angst. My prejudices aside, the ending of the film is
horribly, disfiguringly hurried and left me with a very unsatisfied
feeling.
Briefly, I have to say that ALICE is major Farrow, but minor Allen.
But then, as others have remarked, a second-rate Allen movie is better
than just about anyone else's first-rate movie.
--
Frank Richard Aloysius Jude Maloneyleeper@mtgzy.att.com (Mark R. Leeper) (02/07/91)
ALICE
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Rod Serling could have done a lot more
with this story in a lot less time. A Bloomingdale's sort of
woman gets magical means to examine her life. If you think
that is unbelievable, wait until you see what she decides to
do with the knowledge! Good actors in most roles but the
lead. One of Woody Allen's worst misfires. Rating: low 0
(-4 to +4).
Woody Allen's work is getting spotty these days. It was once true that
an Allen film could be depended on to be worth seeing. He cannot be faulted
for a CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS and at least HANNAH AND HER SISTERS was a
popular success, but every once in a while one of his films goes really
wrong. It is hard to imagine Allen thought he could make anything great out
of the material in A MIDSUMMER SEX COMEDY. It was surprising the film was
at all watchable. But BROADWAY DANNY ROSE left one feeling more could have
been done with the material. And that feeling is a lot stronger with ALICE.
This is a film that has an intriguing concept and a terrific cast, yet ends
up as dry and uninteresting as its title.
The title character is played by Mia Farrow. Farrow's performances are
an acquired taste, but to the best of my knowledge Woody Allen is the only
one who has ever acquired it. Alice is the air-headed wife of a very
successful executive when she is given magical means to examine her life,
the lives of her friends, and her relationship with her family. What she
discovers is that she does not like her husband, for good reason. She does
like her sister, with whom she has had a difficult relationship. She sort
of likes a man to whom she has been attracted (played by Joe Mantegna).
Eventually her life comes together in a hokey and stereotyped way.
And how does she get the means to examine her life? She has back pain
and goes to a mysterious doctor in Chinatown (played by Keye Luke, who
incidentally died of a stroke on January 12). Dr. Yang treats her with
opium and magic herbs that give her the power to see ghosts or become
invisible or change her personality. In spite of the fact that Yang is
benevolent, this is all Fu Manchu stuff, and Allen should be ashamed to
write it into a film.
There are, of course, a few good lines in the script to remind us that
Allen could be writing good comedy if that was what he wanted to do. It is
hard to find a good role for Bernadette Peters, but she does have a very
good comic scene in this film. And a single scene is all that many of the
name actors got in this effort. Cameo actors include Gwen Verdon, Cybill
Shepherd, Julie Kavner, Patrick O'Neal, and Bob Balaban. Alec Baldwin has a
small role as a ghost who is usually seen in shadows. And there are a lot
of shadows in this dark film--dark in color and often in tone. I rate this
one a disappointing low 0 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
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