State and Main
D: David Mamet; with William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rebecca Pidgeon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alec Baldwin, David Paymer.
When you think David Mamet, do you think “funny”? Probably not. This playwright-turned-film director is known for many things: the deliberate staccato of his dialogue (see Oleanna), the dick-swinging machismo of his characters (see Glengarry Glen Ross), his fascination with swindlers at all levels of society (see just about anything he’s ever done). But few appreciate the fact that David Mamet is a sharp comic writer. (Remember Wag the Dog?) Well, that might change with State and Main, a smart romantic comedy about a Hollywood production in unsuspecting, small-town Vermount. The friction it creates and the hijinks that ensue are nothing new, but with an ensemble that could make Paul Thomas Anderson burn with envy, Mamet brings Hollywood’s many vanities and excesses to light in a sly, sharply observed way. And the film marks another first — Philip Seymour Hoffman, brave and talented character actor, finally plays the romantic lead. After dead-on turns in Happiness, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Boogie Nights, and Flawless, Hoffman finally gets the girl (in this case, the beautiful, brainy librarian, played by Mamet’s wife, Rebecca Pidgeon). It’s all so damn sweet. And that may be the best part of State and Main — that it gives two prodigiously talented men a chance to inspire something more than nightmares and a nice, boiling shower — it gives them a chance to make knees weak, in a good way (Jan. 12)
(State and Main made its regional premiere at the Austin Film Festival.)
This article appears in November 24 • 2000.