Normally, my rating for this wordy film, with its long stretches of ho- hum and boringly repetitive dialogue, flaccid acting (especially from John Malkovich who does anything but ignite our attention in the lead character and his dilemma), ponderous direction and no more than just mildly interesting story-line, would be no more than four points out of ten. But I have allotted two more points for the movie's inclusion of a startling and completely unexpected scene - I don't see it mentioned in any of the other reviews on IMDb, nor is it alluded to in any of the newspaper or magazine write-ups in my library - when a totally naked Andie MacDowell strides past the camera. She is one really gorgeous woman, that's for sure, and she certainly spices up what is otherwise a rather pointless scene. We've already been told a hundred times that the lead character has no dough! And alas, as acted out by John Malkovich, he has no charisma either. This movie that doesn't move is available on an excellent Artisan DVD.
Review of The Object of Beauty
