Could this movie be any duller? Robert Altman has directed some classics in his time (The Player, Short Cuts, Gosford Park), but has been plagued by a long series of losers. Did anyone actually see Cookie's Fortune? I hope not because it was extremely slow-paced and of little interest. This film is no better.
The movie is set in Dallas with Richard Gere as a gynecologist. He has a wealth of patients due to his looks and appealing bedside manner. Altman makes great use of the fact that he is a lone man in a woman's world. Naturally he has a wife and 2 daughters, and a divorced sister-in-law who herself has 3 daughters (no males at all). He is literally surrounded by women. However, every woman in this film (with the possible exception of Farrah Fawcett) is extremely annoying. They keep jabbering away about nothing, fighting provoked by petty jealousies, worrying about minute details related to their clothing, and talking incessantly on their cell phones. It is extremely aggravating and awfully stereotypical. Perhaps that was Altman's point?
At any rate, nothing happens in the film. It slows to a crawl in the middle. Even the presence of a large number of famous blond actresses cannot save this film (Tara Reid, Kate Hudson, Farrah Fawcett, Helen Hunt, Shelley Long, and Laura Dern). It is deathly slow and goes nowhere. The only excitement comes about in a terribly predictable manner. What an utter disappointment. If it weren't for the terrific Gosford Park, I would have thought that Altman had lost his touch.
2 out of 10
The movie is set in Dallas with Richard Gere as a gynecologist. He has a wealth of patients due to his looks and appealing bedside manner. Altman makes great use of the fact that he is a lone man in a woman's world. Naturally he has a wife and 2 daughters, and a divorced sister-in-law who herself has 3 daughters (no males at all). He is literally surrounded by women. However, every woman in this film (with the possible exception of Farrah Fawcett) is extremely annoying. They keep jabbering away about nothing, fighting provoked by petty jealousies, worrying about minute details related to their clothing, and talking incessantly on their cell phones. It is extremely aggravating and awfully stereotypical. Perhaps that was Altman's point?
At any rate, nothing happens in the film. It slows to a crawl in the middle. Even the presence of a large number of famous blond actresses cannot save this film (Tara Reid, Kate Hudson, Farrah Fawcett, Helen Hunt, Shelley Long, and Laura Dern). It is deathly slow and goes nowhere. The only excitement comes about in a terribly predictable manner. What an utter disappointment. If it weren't for the terrific Gosford Park, I would have thought that Altman had lost his touch.
2 out of 10