Review of Palmetto (1998) by Ryan B — 07 Apr 2006

[size=2]I'm beginning the rather lengthy task of entering into the database every film I have seen, at least those I have a decent memory of. Some may have the briefest of reviews while many will just have a number. Those films that I consider personal favorites and/or those that have some historical signficance I will add later when I have time for more lengthy reviews.

[b]Palmetto[/b], directed by Volker Schlondorff, is a failed piece of film noir starring Woody Harrelson, Elizabthe Shue and Gina Gershon. Avoid this movie.

[b]Picture Perfect[/b], directed by Glenn Gordon Caron, is a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston, Jay Mohr, Christian Slater and Olympia Dukakis. It plays mpre like a sitcom than a feature film, making for a rather forgettable film.

[b]Pretty Woman[/b], directed by Garry Marshall, is a blockbuster romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. Gere stars as Edward Lewis, a wealthy corporate raider, and Roberts stars as Vivian Ward, a free spirited prostitute. Soon Gere makes Roberts his Cinderella.

Some people absolutely loathe this film while many consider it to be a classic of the romance genre. I think it's just an average movie. Obviously the plot is stretched (IRL a man like Lewis would not fall for Vivian) and the film does trivialize prostitution, but this isn't a "message" movie. Roberts and Gere have pretty good chemistry here, and it's certainly a watchable film, although it can't compete with [i]Before Sunrise[/i] or [i]When Harry Met Sally[/i] in the romance genre.

[b]The Pelican Brief[/b], directed by Alan J. Pakula, is a political thriller based on a John Grisham novel. The film fails due to over-plotting and self-importance. The film does have a stellar cast of Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, John Heard, Sam Shepard, Stanley Tucci and Robert Culp.

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