Good Grief Philip Seymour Hoffman sniffs away the pain in Love Liza Critically acclaimed character actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has found himself the perfect leading role in Love Liza’s Wilson Joel, a dough-faced schlub struggling to overcome the pain caused by his wife’s recent suicide. Of course, it’s hardly a coincidence that Hoffman’s exceptional talent … Continue reading
In the strangely appealing Love Liza, critically acclaimed character actor Philip Seymour Hoffman puts his basset hound persona to excellent use as a leading man. His tour-de-force performance as Wilson, a loveable schlump who resorts to huffing gasoline to escape the pain of his wife’s suicide, is perfectly matched by Kathy Bates as his wife’s … Continue reading
With Lovely and Amazing, writer-director Nicole Holofcener revisits the themes and personalities she deftly examined in her feature debut, Walking and Talking, this time turning her sharp eye on how parental neurosis can affect the lives of children long after they’ve left the nest. In this case, the screwed-up parent is Jane (Brenda Blethyn), a … Continue reading
Call me stupid, but I had kind of a hard time following the plot of Mad Love, which concerns the stormy relationship between Joan of Castile and her husband, Philip the Handsome. It’s not my fault, though. Watching it requires more than a cursory knowledge of the sort of Spanish/Germanic history and geography that my … Continue reading
In Maid in Manhattan, Jennifer Lopez plays the most radiantly beautiful housekeeper to ever grace the silver screen. Despite a dowdy gray uniform and sensible shoes, her beat and brushed mug screams Rodeo Drive, even though her character is supposedly just another girl on the IRT. Of course, it always takes a certain suspension of … Continue reading
In this heavy-handed reworking of the Cinderella story, Jennifer Lopez attempts to keep it real by playing Marisa, a housekeeper at a luxury hotel who dreams of being promoted to assistant manager. After illicitly trying on some designer duds she finds in a room she’s cleaning, Marisa is mistaken for a well-heeled socialite by a … Continue reading
“Drag diva extraordinaire Varla Jean Merman headlines TWEED’s latest Fractured Classick, The Mailman Always Comes Twice, but the real stars of the show are her enormous, pendulous breasts. Like two rubber bowling balls bouncing and bobbing beneath her gauzy negligee, the remarkably lifelike bosoms appear to have a life of their own, and together they garner … Continue reading
If you were a fan of My Big Fat Greek Wedding – and, admit it, like just about everyone else in the world, you probably were – you’re definitely in for a treat with Mambo Italiano. But even if you didn’t just loooooove Nia Vardalos’s long-running, record-breaking, cliché-ridden yuk fest, with its two-dimensional characters and … Continue reading
In life, people tend to make the same mistakes over and over, a fact anyone who’s ever been in therapy will readily explain to you. Me Without You, the story of best friends Holly (Michelle Williams) and Marina (Rebecca Friel), definitely captures this cyclical nature of human existence. But while the repetition is authentic, it … Continue reading
With her million-watt smile and her two-tons-of-fun persona, Missy Elliott has always been the ultimate Happy Hip-Hopper. She’s gone and lost a lot of weight since the release of Miss E…So Addictive, but she proves she’s still the same spunky, funky gal with her newest, Under Construction, an infectious hybrid of old-skool hip-hop and up-to-the … Continue reading
Mike Rucker Writes 