OCR Text |
Show DEC03 RIO - THE REEL - RED '1 n n i- t- bj o ct fa u ctWr GlMvi deb pic Its "Babe: Pig v" i in the City" 1 Universal Pictures 1998 1 I t -- Directed by George Miller Produced by George Miller, Doug Mitchell, Bill Miller Screenplay by George Miller, Judy Morris, Mark Lamprell Starring Magda Szubanski, James Cromwell, Mary Stein 1 - jjl (out of four) by BRIAN WAITS ny movie containing a talking pig (especially a pig who claims to be "on a mission") is in dire jeopardy of falling rapid ly into a sappiness so sticky you can't lick it all off your fingers. Couple that dangerous variable with the sequel stigma, and you've got "Babe: Pig in the City," a movie that fights the forces set against it until the credits placate the audience. Sequels are always a bit risky. There are success stories like the Star Wars trilogy, but most sequels backfire horribly, as evidenced by movies like "Teen Wolf ft n t o Too" and "Rocky II." Although it is rare to see a sequel made for a movie that gets nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards, it does happen on rare occasions. In "Babe: Pig in the City," the Hoggett farm's financial problems catalyze the movie's action. Mrs. Hoggett is forced to pack Babe off to the city to earn a little money in a glorified state fair. If the plot sounds contrived, it's probably because it is. "Babe: Pig in the City" proves once again that a movie's success depends on more than just likeable characters. With the exception of repeat performances by many of the same characters, the things that made "Babe" work are absent this time around. To begin with, the PL, "Celebrity" ' Miramax Films Written and Directed by Woody Allen Produced by Jean Doumanian Starring Kenneth Branagh, Judy Davis, Joe Mantegna, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Winona Ryder " . ',.: .,.'," by SHANE MCCAMMON . Warhol once said that everyone will have their 15 minutes of fame. Well, after witnessing despicable and destructive characters of 'oody Allen's latest film, do yourself a favor and kill NDY A: "Babe: Pig in the City" does succeed in some areas. As in "Babe," the surrealistic settings and bright, vivid colors are eyecatching and startling in their intensity. The Hoggett farm, located "a little to the left of the 20th century," gives the impression of a living cartoon. This feel- loveable Farmer Hoggett (played by James Cromwell) is missing in action throughout most of the film, only showing up in the opening and closing scenes. Second, the wonderful world of the Hoggett's farm is pushed to the side by an uninteresting, unmag-ica- l cityscape. The final thing missing from "Babe: Pig in the City" is a plot that is of any interest at all. Another problem the film succumbs to is to force elements of "Babe" into the movie when it would have been better to just leave them out. The most obvious example of this is the gymnastics which the plot undergoes to place Ferdinand the duck in the midst of the action, where he serves no purpose but to be lame and obnoxious. Despite these shortcomings, ing is maintained throughout the film, even when Babe and Mrs. Hoggett venture into the city. The hotel where Babe and Mrs. Hoggett end up staying projects the same cartoon feeling, with oddly proportioned buildings, an exquisite canal system and a skyline which includes the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge and several other notable world landmarks. The city scenes are uneven, however. Contrasting with the otherworldly, warm setting of the hotel, the scenes in the yourself before you wake up one day and wish you were on Hollywood Access. Allen drags the audience along for a two-hojaunt into the hells of melancholy and mid-lif- e crises, dumping us into the laps of pathetic, unlikable characters who are presumably interesting. Kenneth Branagh, starring as Lee Simon, is a recent divorcee who realizes at his high school reunion that his life as a travel writer . and marriage to his frigid school teacher wife, Robin, are not what he had in mind when he graduated. Lee systematically destroys everything that surrounds him, constantly trying to change and adapt in' order to achieve the 15 minutes of fame he thinks he's capable of while trying to seduce every beautiful woman who crosses his path. Lee, who uses his new job as an interviewer of celebrities to weasel his way into the industry, is shown in contrast to his who is more interested in finding happiness than elusive fame and blah, blah, blah, Lee gets jealous. Branagh turns in probably one of his worst performances as the bloated Lee, but it's really not his fault. The blame rests with Allen's writing, which reduces one of the most talented and respected actors of the past decade into a blathering, stumbling idiot who is so unlikable, you cheer each time he and consequently and sinks deeper deeper into despair. Perhaps Allen's intention is to show how utterly pathetic people like Lee Simon are, but unfortu JSaafct it , ur ex-wif- e, ilkw self-destruc- ts LjBW-frHC- - .. IMrtlfl ' airport and on the city streets look as if they were shot on location, and the brutal realism of these scenes detracts greatly from gently crazy world painted at the hotel. Mrs. Hoggett is played beautifully by Magda Szubanski. This time around, Szubanski is able to develop her character much further than in "Babe," while displaying her fine ability as a slapstick comedian. moments of These offer the slapstick only relief from what is, at its core, a very dismal and dreary plot a plot that combines violence, injury, financial problems and death into very disturbing package. This is a kids' movie that will have kids leaving the theater baffled and confused, certainly not thrilled. re of the Rich, Famous, and Pathetic Lives (out of four) !:::: , - iii Ai hit rC" nately there are very few other characters who elicit even a grain of sympathy or empathy, giving the audience little incentive to keep watching. There is really no one to root for, nor is there any character that you really hope will get lucky and have everything turn out great for. Instead, there are characters like the sexually-represse- d Robin, who despite Judy Davis' admirable performance, is too passive to garner any audience support, and Nola (played by Winona Ryder), the shallow slut who toys with the emotions of everyone with whom she comes in contact. d The only likeable character of the cast is Tony Gardella, played by Joe Mantegna, the everyday Joe who, has found his niche in society and is perfectly content to stay there, even when fame beckons. However, Mantegna doesn't make an appearance until 45 minutes into the film and you're already so disgusted with Branagh and the rest of the cast that you keep expecting Tony to really turn out to be a woman abuser who sniffs coke and has orgies every other night. Oh, wait, that role has already been taken by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is cast as the teen heartthrob: hotel room thrashBrandon Dar-roing, obscenity-droppinstar-choke- g, w There are a few humorous moments in "Celebrity," most of which come at Allen's expense, but most of the tongue-in-chee- k jokes are cliched and the attempts of dry humor fall flat. Branagh is slightly amusing in a sick way but instead of laughing with or at him, you feel more inclined to punch him in the face. "Celebrity" will be in the dollar theaters soon and even if you don't catch it there, don't worry you won't be missing out On anything great since "Celebrity" comes off more as a sociological case study of people who whine and say "marvelous" entirely too much, instead of being an interesting or profound film. |