Boxoffice-January.2000

STUART BUSS
•*•
Starring Michael Zelniker.
Written and
produced by Michael Zelniker and Neil
Grieve. Directed hy Neil Grieve. A Cinema
Guild Release. Black Comedy. Unrated.
Running time: 88 min.
"Stuart Bliss" is a clever dark comedy
about an everyday Joe who becomes one of
those odd fellows you see standing on
street corners foretelling the end of the
world. The movie, however, begs the
question: Are you paranoid if weird
things really are happening to you?
Stuart is a guy who seems to have
everything: a beautiful wife, a great job
creating sales campaigns for things people
don"t need, and even a promotion to
a higher position. Then, out of the blue,
his wife leaves him, co-workers begin
acting suspiciously, birds are flying the
wrong way and surveillance cameras
suddenly appear in the oddest places.
Even his grandmother starts acting
weird. What's worse, the televangelist
she watches constantly seems to be talking
directly to him. It's all very funny, often bordering
on farce, yet still extremely unsettling,
making the black comedy even more
effective.— Tim Cogshell
THE BACHELOR ••
Starring Chris O'Donne 11, Renee
Zellweger and Artie Langc. Directed hy
Gary Sinyor. Written hy Steve Cohen.
Produced hy Bing Howenstein and Lloyd
Segan. A New Line release. Romantic comedy.
Rated PG-13 for mild language.
Running time: 101 min.
In "The Bachelor," an update of the
1925 Buster Keaton silent pic "Seven
Chances," the inverse of last summer's
"Runaway Bride" takes place: Instead of
following the escapades of a woman continually
fleeing from the altar, the film
revolves around the adventures of a single
male desperate to get married.
The man in question is Jimmie (Chris
O'Donnell), the owner of a billiards table
company who has learned that he stands
to inherit $100 million dollars from his
deceased grandfather if he marries by 6:05
p.m. on his 30th birthday, which happens
to be just 27 hours away. Adding to the
time-sensitive nature of the problem is the
fact that his true love Anne (Renee
Zellweger) has decided to leave town after
he botches two marriage proposals to her
(the first involves the ill-chosen phrase.
"You win," while the second entails a
blank stare in response to her question.
"Are you really ready to commit?"). Since
the future of Jimmies employees depends
on his receiving the inheritance, he sets out
on a mission with his best friend (Artie
Lange) and a priest waiting on stand-by
(James Cromwell) to win over one of his
several exes as a last-minute bride.
REVIEWS
FLASHBACK: November 23, 1940
What BOXOFFICE Said About...
FANTASIA
/BOXOFFICE's 7940 review of "Fantasia" embraced the originality of the now-classic
animated epic opera and noted its groundbreaking use of multichannel stereophonic
sound, but voiced an uncertainty as to who the film's audience might be, deeming the
film too artsy for the general public and
too harrowing for children. Buena Vista's
update, the G-rated "Fanstasia 2000," is
scheduled for release on the first day of
the new millennium.]
"Fantasia" defies all
precedent. Whether
the forerunner of a new entertainment
format or not is something for time—and
the fate of "Fantasia" itself—to determine.
Actually, this innovation is a concert on
film. Its eight selections are reproduced
through four distinct sound channels
which place passages, chords and effects
in different parts of the screen and theatre. Those selections, ranging from Bach's
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony to Tschaikowsky's
Nutcracker Suite and Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice, are visually interpreted by Disney
and his artists in terms of alternately beautiful and whimsical cartoon and thunderous
and frightening moods which, in fact, make "Fantasia," as it stands, unsuitable for
children. The whole, however, is done in magnificent color, in brilliant imagination
and in lasting recognition of Disney's enormous talents. Will the film public take it?
No one knows beyond reminding it has not gone for fine music thus far.
SELLING ANGLES:
There is great novelty value in "Fantasia." It is the first full-length effort to interpret
classical music in terms of popular appeal through cartoon and abstract treatment.
It carries the distinction of the Disney sponsorship, the music of the Philadelphia
Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski and the music commentary of the well-known
Deems Taylor. Its color photography is magnificent; its imprint of Disney mannerisms
is sharply defined. Out of this combination and with special emphasis on the
truth of the statement that "Fantasia" is fresh and entirely new, a campaign could
be built whenever the picture goes into general distribution. This, however, is considerably
in the future and through a releasing company not yet determined.
CATCHLINES:
Disney and Stokowski—Screen Art and Music Art Combine...
You've Seen Nothing Like It.
Beyond the film's many stabs at humor
resulting in mere annoyances, including the
negative stereotypes of women embodied
by each of Jimmie's former flames (the
clingy obsessive, the narcissistic diva, theangry
feminist and the snooty rich
bitch),
the most obvious problem is the bachelor
himself. While O'Donnell's anxious groomto-be
is likable enough, his lack of comic
timing does little to improve Steve Cohen's
unimaginative script, which doesn't spend
nearly enough time exploring the affection
that exists between the two leads.
Instead,
Anne's constant anger at and exasperation
with Jimmie makes it seem appropriate
that they remain unmarried—an attribute
none too desirable in a romantic comedy.
"The Bachelor" is probably best left as the
one that got away. Francesco Dinglasan
EAST OF HOPE STREET **1/2
Stoning Jade Henera. Directed hy Nate
Thomas. U ritten andproduced hy Nate Thomas
and Tim Russ. A Cinema Guild Release.
Drama. Unrated. Running time: 93 min.
"East of Hope Street" is about a young
girl's struggle through neglect, sexual abuse
and nihilistic behavior that lands her in
Juvenile Hall. Alicia (Jade Herrera) is not
unlike many poor Latinas; in fact, writers
Nate Thomas and Tim Russ (the latter
"Star Trek: Voyager's" Mr. Tuvok) based
their script on a true story. They got a lot
out of their SI 00.000 budget, using the facilities
at Cal State Northridge (where Thomas
teaches cinema) to shoot much of the film.
While the pathos is real, in the wake of similarlj
themed works ("Mi Vida Loca" for
one) it
often plays as trite.— Tim Cogshell
is
January, 2000 (R-6) 67