Films Recommended by Post Critics washingtonpost.com Staff Friday, August 17, 2001

Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi star in the quirky "Ghost World." (United Artists)

"America's Sweethearts" (PG-13): Written by Billy Crystal and Peter Tolan, and directed by former Disney head Joe Roth, "America's Sweethearts" is a throwback to the smart, sassy screwball comedies of Preston Sturges or Frank Capra. And the cast, including Julia Roberts, John Cusack and Catherine Zeta-Jones, is more than up to the task. Roberts is the meek assistant to her sister and movie star, Zeta-Jones, who has to fake a continuing attachment to her estranged movie star-husband, Cusack, so their last movie together won't be dogged by bad publicity. Roberts wins the cute contest in this movie. But Cusack, Crystal (as a super publicist) and a pretty hilarious Hank Azaria (as Zeta-Jones's narcissistic boyfriend) milk the comedy. Contains some strong language and sexual content. Trailer

"The Anniversary Party" (R): An enjoyable, no-holds-barred actor's workshop movie. Shot by veteran cinematographer John Bailey on digital video, this is the kind of experience in which performers are given all the time and indulgence in the world to soar or fall on their faces. Although the movie — written and directed by Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh — falls occasional prey to pretension, it's a classic guilty pleasure. There are good moments, saucy moments, funny moments, dull moments, bad-acting moments. The characters we're watching are mostly actors, directors or hangers-on in the Hollywood business. They have gathered at the home of writer Joe Therrian (Cumming) and actor Sally Nash (Leigh), who are celebrating many things, including their sixth anniversary, after a one-year separation; their decision to start a family; and a movie-to-be. The movie's least persuasive element is its central one: the rocky relationship between Joe and often-aggressive Sally, which is marred by occasionally hackneyed writing. What works best is the light satire that plays with all of our shared notions about life in Hollywood, including an extended Ecstasy-popping scene in which the partygoers become a little too relaxed. Contains nudity, sexual scenes, obscenity and drug use.

"Apocalypse Now Redux" (R): Capt. Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen) is sent on a search and destroy mission in Vietnam. But the target is one man: Col. Walter Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a military leader who has gone a little too native for the war department's liking. Sheen is told to "terminate" Kurtz "with extreme prejudice." A simple enough mission, but Willard has no idea what this journey to the heart of Kurtz's darkness will do to him psychologically.

"Bridget Jones's Diary" (R): She's not English, clearly, but Renee Zellweger is eminently likable as Bridget in this pleasant, if not wildly brilliant, adaptation of Helen Fielding's bestseller of the same name. When frumpy, 32-year-old Bridget decides to find a new man, she becomes the target of roguish manager Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), who seduces her with smooth talk on e-mail and a squeeze of the bum. But also lurking in the background—and not seeming too palatable at first—is the sullen, repressed Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). In a movie that suggests a woman's value is entirely wrapped up in the wealthy man she persuades to marry her, it's devilish relief to see Grant upending his trademark niceness for something more scurrilous. Contains sexual scenes, very naughty words, overt sexual suggestion and a little bit of fisticuffs.

"Cats & Dogs" (PG): This deft scratch-n-sniff comedy imagines a droll covert war between America's most popular pets, right under the noses of their clueless humans. And cat fanciers could get their dander up at the movie's portrayal of their preening pets as evil, shifty-whiskered connivers bent on world domination. But the movie's a surprisingly witty and sophisticated spy spoof that will tickle adult pet lovers and still capture kids 6 and older with its boy-and-his-dog love story and pet slapstick. Contains doggy poop and kitty hairball humor, and action sequences portraying cute critters in jeopardy that proves harmless.

"The Closet" (R): Writer-director Francis Veber is at the top of his form, in this French comedy about a dull factory worker named Francois Pignon (Daniel Auteil), who pretends he's gay to stop his company from firing him. While the firm, afraid of a lawsuit, walks on eggshells to protect Pignon, the heat is on burly employee Felix Santini (Gerard Depardieu) to change his homphobic attitude. While Auteuil underplays, Depardieu counterpoints with an almost ursine, over-the-top portrayal. The performances work very well together: the faceless employee who has become the center of attention and the bearish homophobe trying his best to be sensitive. A very funny combination. Contains sexual scenes and language. In French with subtitles.

"The Deep End" (R): Margaret Hall (Tilda Swinton), a Lake Tahoe housewife and mother of three, is the repressed wife of a naval officer who spends months on end at sea. Upon learning that Beau, her teenage son, is having a sexual relationship with Darby, a sleazy Reno nightclub owner, she warns the abusive predator to stay away from her child. Darby ignores her warning and meets with the 17-year-old that same night. Early the next morning, Margaret finds Darby's body on the beach in front of the house. Assuming that Beau killed him, she wraps the corpse in a tarp, maneuvers the dead weight into the family's small motorboat and heads off to dump it in the lake. Margaret faces an even greater test when Alek Spera (Goran Visnjic) shows up at her door with videotaped proof of her son's affair with Darby. Unless she can come up with $50,000 by the next day, Alek will take the evidence to the police.

"Down From the Mountain" (G): "Down From the Mountain" features most of the musicians heard on the hit soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" performing at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium in May of 2000. This was before either the film or the album had been released, and the songs are a mix of those heard in the film and material omitted from it. Bluesman Chris Thomas King joins Colin Linden on the rollicking "John Law Burned Down the Liquor Sto'," while the young Peasall Sisters revisit the rough-hewn country gospel classic "In the Highways." Famed documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker ("Don't Look Back," "Monterey Pop") and co-directors Chris Hegedus and Nick Doob were called in late and given a minimal budget, limiting nonperformance filming mostly to informal rehearsals and waiting rooms backstage.

"Ghost World" (R): High school graduates Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) are faced with a grim future of McJobs and zero prospects in the romantic zone. If you've read the marvelous underground graphic novel (also called "Ghost World") by Daniel Clowes, you already know these teenagers, who offer blunt commentary on their dismal lives. The movie, cowritten by Clowes and directed by Terry ("R. Crumb") Zwigoff, really pays tribute, with a great performance from Thora Birch as the perpetually incredulous, vaguely disgusted Enid. Another plus: Steve Buscemi as Seymour, a disaffected, eye-rolling bachelor who catches Enid's eye. With these two kindred souls dancing flirtatious rings around each other, you find yourself hoping for the kind of cheesy ending a comic book like "Ghost World" would probably despise. Contains strong language and sexual situations.

"Greenfingers" (R): When five prisoners in a minimum-security prison learn their governor likes flowers, they start a garden, hoping for parole. Things get exciting when they attract the attention of Georgina Woodhouse (Helen Mirren), a gardening celebrity. American writer-director Joel Hershman is definitely scripting this British production by the well-established book, already written by "The Full Monty" and "Billy Elliot." But this is a charmer anyway. And big guys pruning roses is funny. The performances are warm, particularly from Clive Owen and David Kelly, two of the sweetest jailbirds you could ever hope to meet. And the other convicts, played by Danny Dyer, Adam Fogerty and Paterson Joseph, are also affecting. Contains a brief sexual scene and some choice language.

"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" (R) This postpunk musical, directed and co-written by John Cameron Mitchell, is a funny, even touching synthesis of "Cabaret" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," by way of John Waters. It's about Hedwig (Mitchell), a pouty, dyed-blonde, transsexual rock singer with a story to tell about growing up on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall, falling in love with rock 'n' roll, then subjecting himself to a botched sex-change operation. What pulls us into this story is the startling, amusing stage manner of Hedwig (played by Mitchell) and his pan-Slavic rock band (which includes "Hedwig" co-writer Stephen Trask as a band member named Skszp). The movie, which Mitchell and composer-lyricist Trask adapted from the off-Broadway production of the same name, is more than sophomoric drag-vamping. It's even oddly poignant. Contains graphic sexual themes, nudity and strong language.

"Himalaya" (G): Like the spectacular mountains that surround them, the Nepalese characters in this arty western are scenic attractions unto themselves. The story, set in a village in the Himalayas, is about a confrontation between an aging leader, Tinle (Thinlen Lhondup) and a younger yak herder, Karma (Gurgon Kyap), over who will lead a caravan of yaks across the mountains to barter salt for grain. What follows next is almost a "Red River" scenario, if you exchange Howard Hawks's cattle train for these yaks, and the bad blood between John Wayne and Montgomery Clift for a similar rivalry between Tinle and Karma. Director Eric Valli, a photographer and author turned filmmaker who used actual Nepalese non-actors for his characters, imbues "Himalaya" with deep respect for the culture. And visually, it's wonderful. Contains nothing objectionable. In Nepalese with subtitles.

"Legally Blonde" (PG-13): Directed by first-timer Robert Luketic and penned by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, this mildly amusing fish-out-of-water tale about a California deb (Reese Witherspoon) in pursuit of her Mrs. degree at Harvard Law School suffers from terminal cuteness. Little more than an extended dumb-blonde joke, complete with stock characters (the snooty WASP boyfriend, the humorless lesbian classmate, the shopping-obsessed heroine) and uplifting moral, "Blonde's" unsurprising punch line is that-gasp!—blondes might not be so dumb after all. After an hour and a half of watching Witherspoon bat her lashes and flash her pearly whites, one longs to see her bare her fangs as she did in the 1999 "Election." Contains schoolyard-grade vulgarity and naughty sexual innuendo. Trailer

"Lumumba" (NR): Writer-director Raoul Peck has boiled down the complex story of the Congo's painful first steps as an independent nation into a taut, well-drawn story. And there's a powerful performance from Eriq Ebouaney as Patrice Emery Lumumba, the self-taught visionary whose leadership of the Congo (as it was called then) lasted only months. Peck, who co-wrote with Pascal Bonitez, runs us at a brisk pace through Lumumba's short-lived career, including behind-the-scenes machinations of western powers and run-ins with rivals Joseph Kasa Vubu (Maka Kotto) and reporter-turned-soldier Joseph Mobuto (Alex Descas). The movie's visually stirring. And the locations, in Zimbabwe and Mozambique, imbue the story with eerie authenticity. In French and English with English subtitles. Contains disturbing violence.

"Moulin Rouge" (PG-13): In Baz Luhrmann's postmodern musical, Ewan McGregor's a penniless writer come to Gay Paree, circa 1899. And Nicole Kidman – conspicuously cast against prim type – is Satine, the Moulin nightclub's hottest attraction. Both sing far better than you'd expect. And besides, they're more than carried along by Luhrmann's rhapsody to many things, including Paris's bohemian era, the evolution of pop music from Gilbert & Sullivan to Nirvana, and musicals from "Gold Diggers of 1933" to Lars von Trier's "Dancer in the Dark." The great star, of course, is Luhrmann, who also made the inspired "Strictly Ballroom" and "Romeo + Juliet." Working with music director Marius DeVries and many other regular collaborators, he has created a flamboyant, cutting-edge opera with nods to cinema, music and the audience itself. Contains sexual shenanigans, some violence and absinthe drinking. Trailer

"The Others" (PG-13): Toward the end of World War II, Grace (Nicole Kidman) and her two children move to an isolated seaside mansion. Due to an unusual disease, the children must avoid contact with direct sunlight. As a result, they live in darkness, following strange, oppressive rules. Grace locks every door behind her to make sure the children don't accidentally wander into a brightly lit room. When Grace hires a trio of servants to help care for the children, even stranger things begin to happen.

"Planet of the Apes" (PG-13): Tim Burton's movie is scripted with monkey business and surface flash, rather than the kind of sci-fi brilliance that science-fiction buffs and Planet Ape-o-philes would appreciate. It's a Hollywood spectacle, a chest-thumping "Batman" that uses Danny Elfman music, Burtonesque decor and great monkey makeup by Rick Baker to transport you to another world. But it's no classic. As astronaut Leo Davidson, Mark Wahlberg isn't required to do more than look strong, as he crashlands on a planet ruled by belligerent apes, then tries to escape. Helena Bonham Carter is effective as Ari, an intelligent ape who provides him refuge. So is Tim Roth as Thade, a heavy breathing ape-soldier who believes all humans should be wiped off the face of the planet. But the visuals are the best thing about this movie, not the story or the logic. Contains violence and inter-species flirtation. Trailer

"The Princess and the Warrior" (R) German writer-director Tom Tykwer's movie is greater on style than its actual story. You watch this for the atmosphere and the engaging presence of Franka Potente, the cardiovascularly fit star of Tykwer's "Run Lola Run." In this ironic fairy tale, she's Sissi, an innocent, laconic nurse who becomes obsessed with finding a stranger who saves her life, following a road accident. But the stranger, Bodo (Benno Fuermann), an ex-soldier suffering from a traumatic past, wants no part of her mystical fantasy. Chance intervenes again, however, during a bank robbery, when Sissi finds herself in a position to return the favor. Tykwer is interested in the vagaries of destiny. And the characters seem to be pawns on a fatalistic chessboard. And it's a pleasure to get caught up in this narrative stratagem. In German with subtitles. Contains disturbing images, language and some sexual content.

"The Princess Diaries" (G): San Francisco teenager Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) is surprised when the queen of a faraway European principality (Julie Andrews) claims she's Mia's grandmother and offers "princess lessons." Mia's in line to be queen of Genovia, and it's time to move across the sea and assume her destiny. But Mia doesn't want to leave her life or the chance for romance with Michael (Robert Schwartzman), her best friend's brother.

"Rat Race" (PG-13): A wealthy Las Vegas businessman invites six ordinary people to compete to nab $2 million hidden in a locker hundreds of miles away. The businessman and his rich associates, all betting on different outcomes, keep track of this farcical race without rules. Trailer

"The Score" (R): This is the best heist flick since "The Usual Suspects," a perfect 10 of a movie that makes beautiful music out of the basics, from the nuts-and-bolts suspense of robbing the prize (an ancient French scepter) to the tight-lipped men who don the black ski masks to steal it. The performers are uniformly good, including Robert De Niro as the burglarizing equivalent of the aging gunfighter—determined to make this one his last; Edward Norton as the smart, lippy upstart who joins him; and Marlon Brando as their eccentric go-between, who fusses around in the background like a bullish Truman Capote. Only Angela Bassett (as DeNiro's girlfriend) lacks time to flash her smoldering talent—the boys take up the movie robbing stuff. Most-valuable-player awards behind the camera are due to director Frank Oz and scriptwriters Kario Salem, Lem Dobbs (who wrote the fabulous "The Limey") and Scott Marshall Smith, who create an absorbing movie that just concentrates on doing it right. Contains strong language. Trailer

"Sexy Beast" (R): — Ray Winstone, a British screen heavy, plays wonderfully against type as softspoken Gary "Gal" Dove, a former bank robber who wants to retire in Spain and live with the woman (Amanda Redman) he desperately loves. Ben Kingsley is Don Logan, a bald, grim-jawed psychotic who wants to recruit Gal for one last bank job and won't take "no" for an answer. That's the central issue in this small-scoped but entertaining film: the clash of two obstinate wills. In the assured hands of director Jonathan Glazer and writers Louis Mellis and David Scinto, "Sexy Beast" is a Molotov cocktail of a movie, an engaging conflagration of British B-flick, cockney wit and gallows humor. There's even a delicate little love story in there. It's a gas and a half to spend time with these characters, especially Kingsley who makes it his personal business to be the nastiest villain in recent memory. Contains violence, profanity, sexual situations and English.

"Shrek" (PG): Thanks to the cutting-edge wonders of PDI/DreamWorks' computer animation – the ability now to render the fluidity of the human face and evoke the realness of life – this is visually wonderful. And the story's great too. It takes amusing liberties with fairy tale characters, pokes fun at the Disney military-industrial complex and redounds with spirited off-screen performances from Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and others. Myers is best as the titutal green ogre with trumpet-shaped ears and a seemingly ferocious temper who's really a softie who just acts mean because everyone thinks he's mean.Contains flatulence, catty satire, crude humor, mild language and subversion of fairy tale tradition. Trailer

"Songcatcher" (PG-13): Maggie Greenwald's movie pays sweet tribute to the folk music of Appalachia with an affecting story, soulful songs from the mountains and the delicate acting talents of Janet McTeer. She's Lily Penleric, a musicologist who, in 1907, leaves the frustrations of academic politics for the bucolic purity of Appalachian folk music. She discovers a world of tight-lipped but proud people whose music reflects their hardscrabble lives and the music of their ancestors in England, Scotland and Ireland. Of course, the music itself is more than half the magic. And Greenwald personalizes the songs wonderfully with Pat Carroll, playing a gun-toting songwriter-singer named Viney Butler, and teenager (and operatically trained) Emmy Rossum, who plays an orphan named Deladis Slocumb who has a knack for great traditional songs. Contains sexual situations and a little violence.

"Spy Kids" (PG): For most family audiences, the surface razzle-dazzle of Robert Rodriguez's movie, a special-effects spin on such family entertainments as "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," by way of James Bond, should suffice. The story's about Gregorio (Antonio Banderas) and Ingrid (Carla Gugino) Cortez, former secret agents, who are kidnapped by bad people (including Alan Cumming as a kids TV show host with evil global plans), only to be saved by their kids: 12-year-old daughter Carmen (Alexa Vega) and younger brother Juni (Daryl Sabara). This PG-rated adventure is loaded down with special-effects creations, such as giant, ambulatory thumbs and submarines shaped like goldfish. The kids will love them, no doubt. But those effects seem too glossy and perfect to be true, too computerized to feel even like innocent fantasy. And the central story, about a family learning to love and trust one another, seems merely tacked on for good measure. Did Rodriguez forget to program charm into his cutting-edge storytelling? Contains naughty language and cartoonish violence.

"Under the Sand (Sous le Sable)" (NR): On vacation on the southwest coast of France, Marie (Charlotte Rampling), an English teacher, is shocked when her husband Jean (Bruno Cremer) inexplicably disappears. But in this superbly subtle French movie, director Francois Ozon and his three co-writers skillfully manipulate us, so that we wonder not what happened to Jean, but how Marie deals with this potential loss and what this apparent disappearance says about her life and her relationship. Rampling may be older but she's better and more beautiful than ever. It's a great pleasure that, in such a face, we get to ponder one of the most involving psychological mysteries in recent memory. Contains some nudity and sexual scenes. In French with subtitles.

"The Vertical Ray of the Sun" (NR): On the occasion of this first anniversary (of their parents' death), bereaved daughters Lien (Tran Nu Yen Khe), Khanh (Le Khanh) and Suong (Nguyen Nhu Quynh) come together and start preparations for the dinner.

"With a Friend Like Harry" (R): French filmmaker Dominik Moll won the Cesar (the French Oscar) last year for his direction of "With a Friend Like Harry," a creepy, darkly comic thriller in the mold of Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" and the Patricia Highsmith novel, "The Talented Mr. Ripley." Like its illustrious predecessors, "Harry" concerns a well-intentioned pal whose initial concern for a friend leads to violence. Said friend is Harry (Sergi Lopez), a smooth talker whose chance meeting with high-school chum Michel (Laurent Lucas) in a highway rest stop leads to unexpected consequences when Michel allows the glib benefactor into his life. Much more than an unconventional whodunit though (we know all along exactly who's doing these atrocious things), "Harry" can also be read as a meditation on the creative process, since what he wants more than anything is for Michel to make art. Call Harry, if you will, Michel's avenging muse. Contains murder, partial nudity, sexual subject matter and obscenity. In French and Spanish with subtitles.