I never walk out on a film (well, hardly ever). But this one prompted me to do so often..and finally I left.
The original play, I had seen in San Francisco many years ago and I remembering laughing and thoroughly enjoying the performances. However, it was so long ago, I can't remember who the actors were.
Guttenberg's first problem is looking depressed. He can't do it without looking like someone trying to imitate a monkey's mouth. His forced emotion is both false and nearly laughable.
His rages of anger, however are totally believable and near demonic. If he is ever cast in a role as a demented killer, he'll do well. But as a depressed performer whose girlfriend has left him and whose apartment is burglarized and who's cat is dead.....sorry.
He also directed the film. If the performances of the other actors or the camera work is a reflection of his work as a Director, then I was impressed.
But it MUST be difficult for an actor to direct themselves. In this business where nobody dares say anything to a "STAR". That's a shame because he needed input regarding his acting.
OK, I acknowledge that by leaving the film about 3/4 of the way through I am subject to "but it got better" - "the ending was great" - "you missed the best part" type of comments.
I don't care. The rule of thumb for any form of communications is "get them in the first paragraph/ten minutes and you can keep them".
As for Guttenberg's adaptation of the original material (he cowrote the screenplay), it was a nice expansion of the original play which only had two actors and one set (I believe). The film added both cast and locations. One actor I began to like was the woman who plays his rich Aunt. I can't find her name among the credits on www.imdb.com however.
It's only because I liked the original play, that I stayed that long. And I'm glad because AJ Benza plays a nelly queen according to the credits. And I can't stand AJ Benza let alone ANYONE playing a stereotype nelly queen in features.
Cudos ? to Steve Guttenberg for getting this play filmed however. It's a success just by existing I guess. And it does make one look at him without thinking of Police Academy films.
But ........ don't bother!
The original play, I had seen in San Francisco many years ago and I remembering laughing and thoroughly enjoying the performances. However, it was so long ago, I can't remember who the actors were.
Guttenberg's first problem is looking depressed. He can't do it without looking like someone trying to imitate a monkey's mouth. His forced emotion is both false and nearly laughable.
His rages of anger, however are totally believable and near demonic. If he is ever cast in a role as a demented killer, he'll do well. But as a depressed performer whose girlfriend has left him and whose apartment is burglarized and who's cat is dead.....sorry.
He also directed the film. If the performances of the other actors or the camera work is a reflection of his work as a Director, then I was impressed.
But it MUST be difficult for an actor to direct themselves. In this business where nobody dares say anything to a "STAR". That's a shame because he needed input regarding his acting.
OK, I acknowledge that by leaving the film about 3/4 of the way through I am subject to "but it got better" - "the ending was great" - "you missed the best part" type of comments.
I don't care. The rule of thumb for any form of communications is "get them in the first paragraph/ten minutes and you can keep them".
As for Guttenberg's adaptation of the original material (he cowrote the screenplay), it was a nice expansion of the original play which only had two actors and one set (I believe). The film added both cast and locations. One actor I began to like was the woman who plays his rich Aunt. I can't find her name among the credits on www.imdb.com however.
It's only because I liked the original play, that I stayed that long. And I'm glad because AJ Benza plays a nelly queen according to the credits. And I can't stand AJ Benza let alone ANYONE playing a stereotype nelly queen in features.
Cudos ? to Steve Guttenberg for getting this play filmed however. It's a success just by existing I guess. And it does make one look at him without thinking of Police Academy films.
But ........ don't bother!