Review of Boogie Woogie (2010) by Erwin M — 29 Jul 2011

In "Boogie Woogie," Mrs. Rhinegold(Joanna Lumley) is trying to sell off their priceless art collection to pay mounting debts, even over her husband's(Christopher Lee) strenuous objections. Regardless, Art Spindle(Danny Huston, somehow more unctuous than usual) has a buyer in the persons of Jean(Gillian Anderson) and Bob Maclestone(Stellan Skarsgard), avid art collectors. In other news, Art's assistant Beth(Heather Graham) is looking to strike out on her own while shopping for a new pair of breasts.

To its credit, "Boogie Woogie" does not take the low road with yet another facile send up of the art world. In fact, it has a couple of things to say about turning yourself into a work of art and the soullessness of selling art works. Sadly, that same lack of emotion spills over to the movie in general, making it a slow motion wreck where a surfeit of barely related characters collide into each other without creating any sparks. Even an excellent cast(Charlotte Rampling is around here somewhere) needs something to work with. Tomorrow, there will be a lesson on how to properly utilize an excellent cast in a movie, so take notes. There will be a quiz later.