Boxoffice-September.1997
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FLASHBACK: AUGUST 17, 1946<br />
What BOXOFFICE said about...<br />
THE BIG SLEEP<br />
[The latest noir entry, "L.A. Confidential, "comesfrom the studio that released this<br />
mystery on August 31, 1946. Here 's what BOXOFFICE had to say.]<br />
Fast-moving murder mysterj without time<br />
for a yawn, except the title. It's Bogart from<br />
action start to gun-blazing fmish, with excellent<br />
support from Lauren Bacall and all others<br />
of the cast. Plenty of high-wire suspense and<br />
unexpected situations that call for nail-nibbling<br />
or chair-arm twisting. Bogart is a twofisted,<br />
many-gunned private detective who<br />
meets the strange Sternwood family, and odd<br />
events pop off like firecrackers as he tries to<br />
solve the difficulties of two charming but erratic<br />
daughters. Toss in half a dozen assorted<br />
murders, flavor well with realistic fistics, stir<br />
with revolvers, automatics and tommyguns,<br />
and you've got a first-rate thriller. Excellently<br />
produced and directed by Howard Hawks,<br />
with equal plaudits to Sid Hickox for photography.<br />
Highly recommended for fans who like<br />
their whodunits highly seasoned, and for those<br />
troubled with somnolence. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John<br />
Ridgely, Martha Vickers, Dorothy Malone, Peggy Knudsen and Regis Toomey.<br />
SELLING ANGLES:<br />
Outstanding bet is more plugging of the established names of Bogart and Bacall<br />
on marquees, on fronts and in lobbies. Here's another bookstore tie-in with a sales<br />
drive for Raymond Chandler's novels and similar murder mysteries. As blackmail<br />
features in the plot, use mailing lists in various ways. Get cooperation of photo<br />
stores, as a camera plays a big part in the story. Furniture stores could cooperate<br />
with bed displays in windows.<br />
CATCHLINES:<br />
Don't Be Found Asleep When Bogart and Bacall Are in Town...The Show With<br />
a Sock and a Kiss...'Snews ofThe Big Snooze...When the Latchstring Doesn't Mean<br />
Welcome...Putting All the Yeggs in One Basket.<br />
Riddled With Red Lead and Peppered With Hot Shot...Bigger, Better, Bogart,<br />
Bacall...Mystery History of a Strange Family. ..Trading Slugs and Socks for<br />
Love...Solving Sudden Death With a Punch.<br />
BEAN if-kirMl<br />
Starring Rowan Atkinson, Peter Mac-<br />
Nicol, Harris Yulin, Pamela Reed and<br />
Burt Reynolds. Directed by Mel Smith.<br />
Written by Richard Curtis, Robin Driscoli<br />
and Rowan Atkinson. Produced by Tim<br />
Bevan, Eric Fellner and Peter Bennett-<br />
Jones. A Gramercy release. Comedy. Not yet<br />
rated. Running time: HO min. Opens 10/17.<br />
Mr. Bean, deftly played and created by<br />
British Ihesp Rowan Atkinson, and his antics<br />
are at home on PBS in the States, but<br />
globally they know no bounds. For most<br />
people around the world, just mention the<br />
name "Bean" and you hear instant laughter<br />
His 30-minute sketches— in which he usually<br />
wreaks havoc on just about anyone,<br />
leaving a trail of chaos behind him—are<br />
prime-time fare. "Bean" marks his full-feature<br />
debut. It was indeed a task to transfomi<br />
his 1l\ character into a full-fledged, threedimensional<br />
personage, but the finished<br />
pr(xluct is well worth seeing—it's an incredibly<br />
entertaining piece of comic mayhem.<br />
The story: Bean, never without his truefriend<br />
teddy, is the most inept and detested<br />
employee at the British Royal National Gallery;<br />
the staff can't wait to dump him. When<br />
a rich benefactor (Burt Reynolds) donates<br />
$50,000,000 to the Grierson Gallery of California<br />
to bring America' s greatest painting,<br />
"Whistler's Mother," back home, the Brits<br />
see their chance. The folks at the Royal<br />
National are asked to send their finest academician<br />
to oversee travel proceedings.<br />
They decide to send not their greatest<br />
scholar but the abhorred Bean in their desperate<br />
hope of getting rid of him forever.<br />
Within days of arrivmg in Los Angeles,<br />
Bean has almost totally destroyed the marriage,<br />
career and life of his host. Then the<br />
gallery's chairman (Harris Yulin) leaves<br />
Bean alone in the room with the painting<br />
another disa.strous scenario.<br />
"Bean" is truly a gag-a-minute film, even<br />
if a few of those border on the sophomoric.<br />
Thanks to Atkinson's ability to weave true<br />
emotion into his character, the audience<br />
senses that underneath that sadistic and ego-<br />
REVIEWS<br />
maniacal shell Mr. Bean does have real<br />
feelings. Watch his eyes: When he's told<br />
that he's nothing but a klutz and everything<br />
is his fault, one can feel only compassion.<br />
The film earlier<br />
opened in Holland and<br />
Australia to fantastic results,<br />
and much of the<br />
world followed this<br />
summer; it finally<br />
reaches American<br />
screens on October 17.<br />
None too soon: "Bean"<br />
is a clever mixture of<br />
slapstick, British humor<br />
and L. A. sunshine. In the<br />
end, after almost ruining<br />
everybody's life—and<br />
then ultimately saving<br />
the day—and with teddy<br />
safe at home. Bean<br />
cruises down Sunset<br />
Boulevard (the Randy<br />
Newman ditty "I Love<br />
L.A." blaring in the<br />
background), savoring every moment.<br />
What more could you wish for the man?<br />
Well, how about a sequel? PKay Krieg<br />
BREAKING UP ^^^<br />
Starring Russell Crowe and Salma<br />
Hayek. Directed by Robert Greenwald.<br />
Written by Michael Cristofer. Produced by<br />
Robert Greenwald and George Moffly. A<br />
Warner Bros, release. Romantic comedy.<br />
Rated Rfor language and sexuality. Running<br />
time: 89 min. Screened at the Seattle<br />
fest. Opens 9/26 NY/LA/Tor.<br />
Steve and Monica fall into a love so fulfiUing<br />
that he stops smoking and she no<br />
longer watches her weight. But wait a minute:<br />
If this relationship is so great, why is<br />
Steve ("L.A. Confidential's" Russell<br />
Crowe) gasping for air and Monica ("Fools<br />
Rush In s" Sauna Hayek) feeling so burdened?<br />
Therein lies the contradiction that<br />
comprises "Breaking Up," the story of an<br />
affair that depending on the hour—is so<br />
perfect it's doomed or so terrible it works.<br />
As Monica says, "It's a failure, but it' s ours."<br />
Written by Michael Cristofer ("The<br />
Witches of Eastwick"),"BreakinB Up" is<br />
constructed hke a patchwork quilt, with a<br />
variety of vignettes sewn together into a<br />
multi-textured conglomerate of ideas and<br />
emotions. Some scenes are pithy monologues<br />
in which a character discusses Freud<br />
directly with the audience. In others, notably<br />
a uinny segment at Monica's gym, the<br />
movie evokes sketch comedy found on latenight<br />
TV. Director Robert Greenwald is<br />
adept with each of his film's ambiences and<br />
able to bundle diverse scenes into a continuous<br />
story. Overall, he employs tight shots<br />
and cramped sets to create a sense of claustrophobia<br />
that reflects Steve and Monica's<br />
relationship as it progresses through several<br />
years of breakups and makeups.<br />
In addition, Steve, a photographer, and<br />
Monica, a teacher, are "Breaking Up's"<br />
only characters, which means Crowe and<br />
Hayek must double-handedly carry the entire<br />
film. For the most part, they're up to the
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