Amazon.com Essentials:
Right from the start there's a wink in Alan
Rudolph's dry comedy of sad characters. This film, touted for its
Oscar-nominated performance by Julie Christie, is a solid entry for
fans of Rudolph's Choose Me and Love at Large. First we meet
the amorous Mr. Fix-it, aptly named Lucky Mann (Nick Nolte). Lucky is
a big teddy bear who finds joy in construction and womanizing. Nearly
every sentence is a smooth entendre or a typical Rudolph
witticism. This arrangement seems to be fine with his longtime wife
Phyllis (Christie), an ex-B-movie actress who acts as if much of her
life is still a bad movie. Lucky's latest client is a young housewife
(Lara Flynn Boyle) who also has a muddle of a marriage: Marianne
swoons for Lucky's attention, because her husband, Jeffrey (Jonny Lee
Miller), has energy for his high-rise business career but little
else. Soon Jeffrey espies sad and stunning Phyllis and is on the
prowl, unaware that she is Lucky's wife.
Many filmmakers have made statements about the rarity of monogamy but
Rudolph is one of the few who finds so much strength in fooling
around. He has deep, long answers to why his characters are the way
there are, and this leads to scenes that actors relish, even if they
don't ring true. Certainly Christie has not had a part this juicy in
years, and Nolte, warm and energetic, simply shines. Miller, usually
the young ruffian in films such as Trainspotting, gives an
intriguing slant to a stuffed shirt. Rudolph has never reached the
complexity nor the mastery of his mentor Robert Altman, but he has
created his own niche: the comedy of characters usually found in urban
dramas. There are laughs in this movie that you simply won't find in
the typical Hollywood comedy. Like Altman, he proves that being an
independent voice is not about the methods of filmmaking, it's about
talent. --Doug Thomas
