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Review
Archives
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Today's
Date is:
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Things
You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her
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Reviewed
by: |
Alison
Black |
| Genre: |
Drama |
| Video: |
Standard
or Widescreen |
| Audio: |
Dolby
Digital |
| Language: |
English,
French, Spanish |
| Subtitle: |
English,
French, Spanish |
| Length: |
1
hr 49 min |
| Rating: |
PG-13
|
| Release
Date: |
7-10-01
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| Studio: |
MGM
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| Commentary:
|
None
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| Documentaries:
|
None
|
| Featurettes:
|
None
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| Filmography/Biography:
|
None
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|
Interviews: |
None
|
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
Theatrical
Trailer included |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None
|
| Music
Video: |
None
|
| Other:
|
None
|
| Cast
and Crew: |
Glenn Close,
Calista Flockhart, Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter, Amy Brenneman,
Kathy Baker, Valeria Golino, Gregory Hines |
| Screenplay
by: |
Rodrigo Garcia
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| Produced
by: |
Jon Avnet, Lisa Lindstrom,
Marsha Oglesby |
| Directed
By: |
Rodrigo Garcia |
| Music: |
Edward Shearmur |
| The
Review: |
'Things
You Can Sell By Just By Rooking Her,' beneath the studio's pseudo-feminist
packaging, artfully gropes for something to tell but winds up
just another melodrama to look at. "A man only sees what a woman
wants him to know," brags the tagline, twisting the words CHICK
FLICK out of pink neon Fallopian tubes and alleviating recession-angst
at the hanky companies. What a waste to see so much genuine
energy squandered in such a two-dimensional film. It really
feels like Garcia shot for an episodic 'American Beauty' but
wound up with a grating 'Thirtysomething.' He tethers a quintet
of weepy vignettes about tense Los Angelino women to a morose
and unnecessary subplot featuring a corpse- who was, incidentally,
the second most likeable character in the film. Not that I demand
likeable characters in movies, but if you're looking to sell
a woman on 'relatable', you've gotta throw the dog a bone. Close
rocks as Dr. Keener, an abortion practitioner haunted by a divorce
who sobs and then consults tarot-card reader Christine (Flockhart)
for insight. And then slams the front door in her face. Nice.
Christine, meanwhile, weeps her peace as her lover (a solid
Golino) battles cancer. Hunter clinches the film's blue-ribbon
award (and an Emmy nomination) for her wailing (and I won't
give anything away) as a bank manager with the savvy to ask
a subordinate if the office guys have sexual fantasies about
her. Diaz is decent as the misty-eyed blind sister of a lonely
detective (Brenneman.) The most interesting vignette belongs
to Baker, playing a divorced writer of children's books who
falls for the dwarf that moves in across the street. Now THAT
might have kept my attention for an hour and a half. |
| Image
and Sound |
Garcia,
in presumably an effort to characterize a surreal quality to
the suffering of his characters, employs some heavy-handed white
light that almost washes out the images in a number of scenes.
Likewise, the sky is tinted several times to either a burnt
amber or charcoal hue, which also tends to blur the images.
The degree to which this smudging was intended for artistic
effect is debatable. However, the fact that the spotty transfer
of this film stands out more in washes of dark or light is not;
Flecks and white spots abound. The audio hisses periodically,
especially where Foley or ADR tracks may have been laid. Sometimes
dialogue is a tad muffled, but generally speaking, it's not
going to detract from the viewing experience. |
| The
Extras |
Sure not
much to speak about here, but there are ten seconds of an omitted
scene featuring Diaz and Brenneman at the end of the included
theatrical trailer. |
| Commentary |
None |
| Final
Words: |
This film
premiered at Cannes, and was originally intended for theatrical
release. It wound up at Showtime, however, possibly to serve
as that network's answer to HBO's successful If These Walls
Could Talk films, strikingly similar works also featuring ensemble
casts of talented actresses exploring contemporary women's issues.
Unfortunately, Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her simply
lacks the resonance that made the Walls films so much stronger.
I don't think Garcia was so much trying to make a statement
here as he was trying to strum an emotional chord with individual
yet related notes. Sadly, some of these characters are sharp,
some are flat, and a chord does not a composition make. Skip
the DVD and wait for this film's inevitable Lifetime debut.
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