Sunday, August 8, 2004

I KNOW MIKE NICHOLS. MIKE NICHOLS IS A FRIEND OF MINE. YOU'RE NO MIKE NICHOLS. Despite the warning previously posted here, I ventured forth to "Little Black Book" this afternoon. The biggest sin it commits is a simple one--it's not "Working Girl." The film desperately wants to be "Working Girl," and the references fly fast--the manipulative boss, the use of Carly Simon songs, the workplace competition. Heck, Holly Hunter's character has a "Working Girl" poster next to her desk, and the poster is discussed by the two main characters at one point. In fact, I'd bet that a relatively small part played by Sharon Lawrence was actually offered to Melanie Griffith.

That said, the film's not irredeemable. Although, as I feared, Brittany Murphy is largely a black hole of suck, and doesn't successfully pull off the character, which has to be likable despite doing some utterly despicable things. Her acting's weak enough that when she voiceovers "Why do I feel so bad?" you don't think she's feeling bad. The rest of the acting, though, isn't horrid. Though I spent 3/4 of the movie wondering why the hell Holly Hunter took the part, but in the final act, Hunter's character finally gets a couple of truly great speeches, which makes you see what Hunter might have seen in the script. The other good news? Ron Livingston demonstrates exactly why he should play Myron Bolitar, if those books ever get made into movies. He's easy and charming in his part, and I can picture him finally doing that.

It also features the most bizarre rock star cameo of the year--no, not one at the end (though there's one there, too), but Gavin Rossdale in a relatively small role.

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