Bovie Movie

Hollywood’s plundering of classic TV series has produced its fair share of turkeys, but this is a glorious exception. This is partly owing to director Barry Sonnenfeld’s wise decision to stick with the black humour of Charles Addams’s original and very popular New Yorker cartoons and, perhaps more importantly, some inspired casting — Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia are note perfect as loving Morticia and Gomez, while Christopher Lloyd was equally born to play Fester. However, these stars are almost surpassed by the astonishingly agile Thing and by Christina Ricci’s splendid performance as the young Wednesday. The plot — a confidence trickster (Lloyd) poses as Fester to steal the Addams fortune — is a tad contrived, but Sonnenfeld makes a confident transition from cinematographer to director (he proved himself again with Get Shorty in 1995) and the result is a witty family comedy that has enough sly humour to keep adults chuckling throughout. The massive success of the film inspired the cast to return for a sequel. 

For Americans, baseball is still a field of dreams. For the British, interest in the sport has been clobbered half to death by too many unmemorable baseball movies. This entry in the genre is a true story that is, sadly, hampered by some signposted plot developments and undernourished characters. However, it does contain a poignant performance by the all too rarely seen Dennis Quaid as Jimmy Morris, a former pro-ball player who pledges to try out again for the major leagues if the school team he coaches makes the play-offs. The versatile Rachel Griffiths offers stoic support in the clichéd role of his supportive wife who’s concerned that the old injury will return to wreck his renewed dream. However, at over two hours, this movie is a bit too long and has too many dull stretches for what aspires to be a feel-good family film. With a sharper script and direction, instead of just echoing elements of Field of Dreams, this could have raised its game and matched it. 

Writer/director Robert Towne has done better work, as scriptwriter on classic movies such as Chinatown, for example, but this thriller is still an extremely entertaining example of his work. Kurt Russell and Mel Gibson star as the former schoolfriends who have gone their separate ways, Russell into the police force and Gibson into drug dealing. When Gibson plans a final trade-off, Russell tries to persuade his old chum against the deal. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the restaurant owner who becomes romantically involved with both men. Towne occasionally allows his wordiness to get between the viewer and the characters, but the fine cast (which also includes Raul Julia and JT Walsh) and Conrad Hall’s Oscar-nominated cinematography provide ample compensation.