Showing posts with label Liv Tyler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liv Tyler. Show all posts
Dr. Travis (Richard Gere with a white-haired dye job) is a Dallas gynecologist with an exclusive clientele. His wife Kate (Farrah Fawcett) has a public meltdown -- she takes off all of her clothing and steps into a fountain -- and winds up institutionalized, after which he embarks on an affair with new golf club employee, Bree (Helen Hunt of Empire Falls). Meanwhile his family and patients are bothering him with an assortment of problems: nurse Carolyn (Shelley Long) is secretly in love with Dr. T, and his daughter, Dee Dee (Kate Hudson of The Skeleton Key), has invited her former female lover (Liv Tyler) to her wedding (to a man) as maid of honor; Dee Dee's sister thinks the marriage is a mistake, for obvious reasons. [Bree has a supposedly open-minded but pretty stupid reaction to this whole rather contrived business.] Other cast members include Lee Grant as a shrink; Andy Richter, who makes no impression, as a buddy; Janine Turner as a neurotic patient; and Laura Dern. In its treatment of the lesbian couple the movie strikes some liberated, if awkward, sparks, but somehow it still seems old-fashioned and unsatisfying, although it's more watchable than a lot of Altman's[Popeye] movies. One interesting sequence graphically shows the miracle of child birth.
Verdict: Typically rambling and unfocused Altman with some good scenes and okay acting. **1/2.
Bartender Randy (Matt Dillon) rescues a young lady, Jewel (Liv Tyler of The Incredible Hulk), from an abusive man outside the bar where he works, and soon finds himself entangled up in her life as she moves in with him. Jewel has an immediate mesmeric and sensual effect on most of the men she encounters, which includes Randy's married, S & M-loving cousin, Carl (Paul Reiser) and the portly, potato-faced Detective Dehling (John Goodman of Speed Racer), both of whom are instantly smitten. The three men tell their stories to people they know: Randy sounds off to Burmeister (Michael Douglas, who also produced) in a bingo hall; Carl tells his troubles to his shrink, Dr. Green (Reba McIntire); and Dehling confesses to an associate that Jewel reminds him of a lost love . The performances are okay, with Douglas [Behind the Candelabra] -- with a puffed up mullet hairdo -- having the most fun. The trouble with this black comedy is that it's frenetic but not all that funny. The most interesting thing about it is some of the casting.
Verdict: Not so cool -- and not so hot, either. *1/2.