D: Steve Buscemi; with Buscemi, Carol Kane, Mark Boone, Jr., Bronson Dudley,
Anthony LaPaglia, Michael Buscemi, Elizabeth Bracco, Debi Mazar, Chloe Sevigny,
Samuel L. Jackson.
VHS Home Video
Waterloo Video, 1016 W. Sixth
 Trees Lounge |
a film that shows off more than his acting talent — here Buscemi makes his
feature debut behind the camera (and behind the pen, too). An out-of-work
mechanic who has recently lost his girlfriend to the boss he ripped off, Tommy
spends his days at Trees Lounge, a Long Island neighborhood bar. Nothing seems
to be going right for this two-time loser, but he keeps his tongue sharp and
his lips on the bottle while he waits for some kind of break. Of course, when a
break comes, it’s no consolation — a much-loved uncle passes away and Tommy
takes over driving his ice-cream truck (a job Buscemi once held for real). When
Debbie (Chloe Sevigny — last seen in Kids), the 17-year-old niece of
Tommy’s ex, starts riding around on his route, he almost suffers a third strike
and has to pay for it anyway. Trees Lounge is a rich glance into lives
of barroom fringe dwellers. And though the scene it sets is pretty dour, this
melancholy little film surprises with a spark of hopefulness. — Jen Scoville
Richard III
D: Richard Loncraine; with Sir Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent,Robert Downey, Jr., Nigel Hawthorne, Kristin Scott Thomas, Dame Maggie
Smith.
VHS Home Video
Vulcan Video, 609 W. 29th St.
 Richard III |
than adapt Richard III, he reinvents it. Loncraine’s Richard has shed
the robes of a 15th-century monarch and donned instead the crisp uniform of a
20th-century European fascist. Instead of creating an incongruous mess,
however, Loncraine successfully dovetails Shakespeare’s original dialogue,
albeit abridged, with a stunning computer-generated vision of 1930s England.
Sir Ian McKellen, who collaborated on the screenplay with Loncraine, holds
tight to the reins of both Shakespeare’s scheming (but charming) villain and
the character of a charismatic modern dictator. When McKellan’s Richard cries
out in his mud-mired jeep from a tank-strewn battlefield “A horse, a horse, my
kingdom for a horse!” it comes off without a hint of irony. — Kayte
VanScoy
Walking and Talking
D: Nicole Holofcener; with Catherine Keener, Anne Heche, Todd Field, LievSchreiber, Kevin Corrigan.
VHS Home Video
Not to be confused with Kicking and Screaming, Walking and
Talking had the most descriptive title of any film released last year.
Amelia (Keener, in a role originally written for Joan Cusack) can’t find a
decent guy. Laura (Heche) is struggling with issues of her impending marriage.
So how is it that a film about a couple of chicks gabbing on and on about their
miserable lives has such a broad appeal? Much like an episode of
Seinfeld, it has got a lot to do with Holofcener’s ear for the way
people really talk — usually about nothing in particular. When
W&T’s neurosis-infused discussions run from cat vomit to porno
videos to schlock horror flicks, we can see a little bit of ourselves in every
one of these people. Then again, some of the film’s more explicit discussions
about bodily functions would put off Courtney Love. Watch especially for
Schreiber, whose hilarious turn as a phone-sex obsessive put him on the acting
map to stay. — Christopher Null
Withnail and I
D: Bruce Robinson; with Paul McGann, Richard E. Grant, Richard Griffiths,Ralph Brown.
VHS Home Video
Encore Movies & Music, 8820 Burnet
Apparently, the late Sixties were just as freaky in England as they were here,
especially if you were an actor on the dole. Withnail and I, a film
about two such chaps with nothing more to do than a lot of drugs, is both
humorous and compelling. Withnail, played by Richard E. Grant — who proves
that he really can play more than uptight fops � la L.A. Story —
is the persnickety master thespian who will not stoop to play anything but the
lead. The charm of this low-budget flick comes from the depth of its character
development and, simply, strong writing. Gems of insight are nestled throughout
Withnail and I, and the last quarter of the movie is stellar. Plus,
anyone even marginally involved in theatre will get the vague feeling that they
have met these guys before. — Adrienne Martini
Flirting With Disaster
D: David O. Russell; with Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, T�a Leoni,Mary Tyler Moore, George Segal, Alan Alda, Lily Tomlin, Josh Brolin.
VHS Home Video
Virtually unseen during its theatrical release last year, Flirting With
Disaster remains one of the funniest romantic comedies released in ages. No
one would have suspected director Russell of having a comedic bone in his body;
his first film, Spanking the Monkey, is a mouth-drying drama about
mother-son incest. But surprise, surprise. Russell proved able to brilliantly
avoid the sophomore slump into which most of his contemporaries had fallen with
this work of true greatness. As a tale of one man (Stiller) searching for his
natural parents, the movie is compelling in its own right. But throw in some
farcical screwball elements — Moore’s now-famous uplifted-shirt shot, Brolin’s
armpit fetishist, Alda and Tomlin’s Ronald Reagan acid tabs, and, especially,
Leoni’s award-worthy turn as a klutzy yet horny social worker — and
Disaster becomes pure genius. — Christopher Null
This article appears in March 28 • 1997 and March 28 • 1997 (Cover).