(2000) dir. David Mamet – starring Rebecca Pidgeon and Philip Seymour Hoffman, with a bunch of other people
Synopsis: Movie crew invades small-town New England. Nothing goes as planned. Townspeople, movie stars, and everybody makes fools of themselves. Hilarity ensues. In a quirky, offbeat kind of way. And there’s an unexpected love story.
Review: A very Mametty film. Which is to say that it’s clever without being too clever for its own good, and funny in a self-depracating kind of way, with a story that seems shallow but isn’t and characters that are more than they appear. This movie doesn’t have quite the level of back-and-forth conversation as some other Mamet movies, but it’s still quite good. PS Hoffman in a very interesting role that he does very well. Rebecca Pidgeon in a role that is very Rebecca Pidgeon, which is to say excellently put-together. And lots of other characters, busy providing side-stories (and some not-so-side stories) and comic moments. A fun movie that manages to end up being feel-good without being banal or trite (most times). This isn’t exactly the movie you’ll want to take with you on a trip to Jupiter if you can only take one video/DVD, but it’s good fun. Or maybe you would, I don’t know.
Rating: [•••¾] out of [•••••]
Etc.: Bunky: “Well, it takes all kinds.”
Spud: “Is that what it takes? I always wondered.”
also: imdb info