Reviews

I just saw this film screened in Aspen, CO last week. Had no expectations (I walked into the wrong screening room!) and loved this movie. I wish I knew when/if it will be released so I can tell my movie-loving friends to see it.

I have seen plenty of trite comedies (you too?) so when something unique comes along it really grabs me. Interesting visual effects, great comic acting, groovy music, colorful sets, snappy dialogue, swift pacing, a plot that was complex enough to keep surprising me without totally confusing me. All the actors are "characters" -- except maybe the lead actor. Initially, I was afraid the the "back-stabbing ex-girlfriend" would be just like every other nasty bitch you've ever seen in the movies -- but despite her selfishness and lack of ethics, I found myself liking this perky blonde schemer. I also worried that the hero would be to perfect, too squeaky clean. Not quite.

Unlike some other "behind the scenes in Hollywood" films, New Suit doesn't suggest that Hollywood is evil. These B.S. artists are really driven by a fear of failure or of looking like failures. So you feel a little sympathetic even as you laugh at these clowns trying to cover their hind ends and puff themselves up. And that's not just a Tinseltown syndrome.

For techies: I heard this movie was 'filmed' in high definition digital video using the same "24p" (24 frames per second) technology that George Lucas used for the new Star Wars movie.

'Patton' won the Oscar that year! Over MASH! I'm boggled. This movie amazes me every time I see it. It's hilarious and smart and complex and fun and real and preposterous...you must see it. The TV show pales in comparison.

Finally! A movie about the grisly murder of a beautiful young woman involving kinky sex on videotape. And a good old-fashioned military murder investigation. Well, OK, we've seen enough of that. But John Travolta is terrific in TGD. Clever, relaxed and indestructible. The grown-up banter of Travolta and Stowe is much more interesting than the googly-eyed romantic fluff of, say, Notting Hill. (Violence Warning: One bloody scene reminded me that I need to buy a Cuisinart. My friends were overwhelmed by an intense rape scene. Rape victims be forewarned -- better rent it and FF.)

Sharon Stone with a Bronx accent? British actor, Jeremy Northam, copping same accent to sound like a mafioso? Ridiculous. Sharon must have agreed to do this movie to make a statement about her maternal side, wanting a baby, who knows! She plays a gangster moll who rescues a 7 yr old from being rubbed out (truly!), after which the entire movie shows the pair bonding in coffee shops an running from armed henchman. Will she leave the kid in an upstate Catholic school where he will get good care, education and A LIFE? Or will she be forced by the tug of her heartstrings to raise him herself in spite of having nothing but a criminal record to offer? What do you think? Ugh.

Might be a good rental for those playing Spot-A-Movie-Cliche-Take-A-Drink game.

Matthew Broderick and Annabella Sciorra are people you actually care aobut in this film -- the others are over-the-top caricatures: wild-boy stock brokers, food snobs at Dean & Deluca, flaky performance artist sexpot, nosy elderly neighbors, vegan blind date, etc.

Fun stuff.