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Show ii-- . K' - 3.n lit; - MAR29 - 2001 RIO - THE REEL - RED ILK-'-- ? Sav,, Isn't s 'it rtV ra.f ft1 aS?MW.8 Ain'tg 00 4 ornedy intelrooted in Gilly's ligence. On his way, Gilly hits the hitchhiking Dig McCaffey (Orlando Jones), a legless pilot with an afro who brags about his skills. Dig is the funniest character in the movie because he isn't as tired and tried as everything else. Dig lives in Beaver and helps Gilly in his quest to stop Jo's wedding. The film thinks Beaver is a hilarious town because the name is also slang for the female genitalia. There are at least twenty jokes founded solely on the concept that every store in Beaver has "Beaver" in its name and all those store names have sexualized double meanings. While the film's obscene humor and advertising suggest it is a Farrel-l- y brothers film, don't be fooled. The team behind "King Pin" and "There's Something About Mary" did not write or direct "Say It Isn't So," but merely produced it. The trick behind the brothers' successful films is intelligent and involving characters. In fact, the trick behind many funny comedies is the presence of a normal character to ground the madness around him or her. Take Ben S tiller's character in "There's Something About Mary." He does not want to be humiliated, but close-u- p he is. This is why the gross-ou- t and many other scenes in the film are funny. They are about frustration, they don't create frustration. "Say It Isn't So" seems based on below-averag- e 2MSayItIsn1So" 20th Century Fox Directed by James B. Rogers Produced by Bobby Fanelly, Bradley Thomas, Peter Fanelly Written by Peter Gaulk and Jerry Swallow Starring Chris Klein, Heather Gra ham, Orlando Jones . (offoctr) by Jeremy Mathews 1 Feast for the Eyes and Mind A "The House of Mirth" Sony Pictures Classics Produced by Olivia Stewart Screenplay by Terence Davies Directed by Terence Davies Starring Gillian Anderson, Eric Stoltz, Laura Linney, Dan Aykroyd (of four) by Katherine Marlowe Bart is a socialite in New City in 1906. She is by those around her as both a curiosity and a threat, and is ultimately destroyed by envy. "The House of Mirth," based on the acclaimed novel by Edith Wharton, explores the gradual downward spiral of a young woman as she falls from social graces. It a fascinating tale in the way it is delivered, but, at the same time, one feels a certain lack of sympathy for these upper-clas- s fops. Yet, this was the world in which Wharton lived, and hence social dramas are a common theme in her stories (which include The Age of Innocence, Summer and Ethan Frome to name a few). In "The House of Mirth," our central character is Lily Bart, an Lily ii; -- K W T it has already to a halt Then it brake for 93 on foot the its keeps minutes. It steals from many better movies, but only takes the abstract ideas never the combined elements that made the original scenes funny. Like its title, "Say It Isn't So" is too clunky to get laughs. In the end, there's nothing more than a pointless, plot and dim, uninteresting characters. Those characters are Giily Noble (Chris Klein), an adopted dogcatcher with veterinary aspirations, and Jo Wingfield (Heather Graham), an incompetent hairdresser. Gilly goes in to get a bad haircut and when Jo finds out he found her cat while on the job, she gets so excited she cuts part of GiUy's ear off. This scene is unfunny for several reasons. For one, the visuals show the scissors cutting through the effect but flesh, creating a gross-onot a laugh. And then the gag isn't played out Gil has the skin surgically reattached. To thank Gilly for finding her cat and to apologize for cutting off his ear, Jo invites him to dinner. Next thing you know, there's a music video, a true signal of desperation if ever a film contained one. "After the video, Gilly asks Jo to marry him. She says yes, despite her mother's (Sally Field) advice to marry a rich jerk. Then the adopted Gilly discovers Jo is his sister. Traumatized, Jo runs off to marry the jackass millionaire while Gilly gets ridiculed in his hometown and loses his job. Until one day when Jo's real brother shows up at the Wingfield residence. Gilly sets off for Beaver, Ore, faced with obstacles sprouting s from a plot on behalf of the Jo to keep him from until she is married. The challenges are also - CliffsNotesforFarreUyfilrns.lt steals jokes from them, it has obscene moments with animals, and isn't politically correct The problem is it isn't funny. Gilly seems oblivious to the fact that he is being publicly humiliated. The joke that people constantly call him a sexual pervert is pretty old when it begins. By the time he is pulled into town with his arm stack in the unpleasant area of a cow, it's simply another boring scene because there is no hope to invest in ut Ackroyd't character drinks tea with Linney '$ character, Bertha Dorset, an untrustworthy f dead. attractive single woman who is husband shopping until her quest becomes thwarted by a string of false friends who aim to destroy her reputation. Gillian Anderson Lily, plays the and she gives the character a greater sense of dignity than the much-sought-aft- er book does. Although at times she is daft and certainly ambiguous in her dealings with possible suitors, Anderson's Lily has a sense of composed poise. The Lily in the novel is more undirected and Eric Stoltz plays Lawrence Seldon, Lily's only true friend and true love. He is her forever temptation, but, in reality, not a suitable choice. Stoltz plays Seldon with a combination of polite reservation and feverish lust. The chemistry between the two is tense and at the same time playful at times reminiscent of a game of cat and mouse. Their intimacy is so well captured that one feels like a voyeur ' J s& Ti. aayuisniao ! weak. 'J ' Wnen un J watching their interactions. StolU' and Anderton'$ eharactert art in an impottibl love affair. Laura Linney plays Bertha Dorset, and she gives a wonderful portrayal of a horrid person. Bertha is suppos edly Lily's friend, although she sacrifices Lily for her own selfish reasons, and thereby contributes to society looking down on Lily. Linney's portrayal of Bertha is cool and calculating. As far as shortcomings are concerned, the film did have a few. The editing could have been tighter in areas. The novel is also information-dense- , but most of the information is necessary to fuel the plot. The film is long, but the storyline is interesting enough to hold the viewer captive. The pace of the film does make it a little tedious at times. Pauses and transitions that are intentionally long feel unnatural and disconcerting to the viewer. The transition from New York to the Mediterranean is a good example of this somewhat painful moment. As wonderful as Anderson's performance is, it still felt a bit contrived at times. The necessary believability of Lily's emotionalpsychological breakdown wasn't there when it needed to be. Most crucially, it was absent during her final conversation with Seldon. The cinematography in the' film is exquisite. Being a period piece, it is lush with beautiful costumes. Even the beginning credits are lovely, preparing the viewer for an array of color and er Gilly. All of "Say It Isn't So" is hopeless. I wouldn't mind seeing Dig in another film, but the rest of the material needed to be rewritten beyond recognition to become funny. Since it wasn't rewritten, the best plan is to go to another comedy ("Heartbreakers" ain't bad), rent a different comedy (perhaps even a Farrelly brothers film like "King Pin"), or stay at home and stare at your glorious, interesting ceiling. Wing-field- k "rr vivid imagery. Our first glimpse of Lily is that of a shadowed figure walking along a train's platform, the 1 face. The film is full of beautiful images making it truly a feast for the eyes. Co sf L.Sr r .VkA- steam from the engine billowing around her. She emerges, parasol in hand, with a lovely draping of black lace covering half of her thii look like Academy Award material to you? 5? Jot-- |