Flawless (1999)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writer (WGA):

Joel Schumacher (written by)

Release Date:

24 November 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Nobody's Perfect. Everybody's Flawless

Plot:

An ultraconservative security guard (DeNiro) suffers a debilitating stroke and is assigned to a rehabilitative program that includes singing lessons--with the drag queen next door.

Plot Keywords:

Drag | Drag Queen | Homosexual | Singing Lessons | Gay Interest

Awards:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Walt Koontz
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Rusty
Barry Miller	...	Leonard Wilcox
Chris Bauer	...	Jacko
Skipp Sudduth	...	Tommy
Wilson Jermaine Heredia	...	Cha-Cha
Nashom Benjamin	...	Amazing Grace
Scott Allen Cooper	...	Ivana
Rory Cochrane	...	Pogo
Daphne Rubin-Vega	...	Tia
Vincent Laresca	...	Raymond Camacho
Karina Arroyave	...	Amber
John Enos III	...	Sonny (as John Enos)
Jude Ciccolella	...	Detective Noonan
Mina Bern	...	Mrs. Spivak

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language and strong violence.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo | DTS

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | USA:R (certificate #36362) | Singapore:R(A) | Singapore:M18 | Brazil:12 | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Denmark:15 | France:U | Germany:12 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Tribeca Productions

Trivia:

The line 'I'm more of a man than you'll ever be, and more of a woman that you'll ever get' is tribute to "Rent". Wilson Jermaine Heredia (Cha-Cha) played a gay drag queen called Angel in the original cast.

Goofs:

Factual errors: A hemiplegic patient has a paralysis of one side and paralysis of the face on the other side which is not the case in this movie.

Quotes:

Rusty Zimmerman: Poor me, poor me, pour me another.

Movie Connections:

References One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Soundtrack:

You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)

Somewhat uneven dark comedy starring De Niro and Hoffan, I rate "7" of 10.

This film is about a bunch of strange characters living at and about a rundown hotel in NYC. Many of them are "drag queens" and they are having their annual contest for the "Flawless" female impersonator, thus the name of the movie.

Walt (Robert De Niro) is a retired, decorated cop who has a mild stroke while responding to a disturbance in the hotel. As therapy he is advised to take singing lessons from Rusty (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). Their relationship as neighbors goes from antagonism to mutial respect by the end of the film. Money and crooks are involved, and Rusty wants to get enough money to have his operations and drug therapy to become the real woman that is inside him.

Some of the film is funny, some of it too "over the top" with the drag queens. It moves slowly in places, in others there are both good guys and bad guys shot and killed. While I enjoyed the viewing experience for its novelty, I probably would not recommend it to friends. I give it a rating of 7 mainly on the good acting of De Niro, and the superb acting of Hoffman as the drag queen. We saw him in "Almost Famous" recently plus "Magnolia" and "Talented Mr Ripley" and he is without a doubt one of the finest actors working today.

I saw the DVD and while it is fine, it is nothing extraordinary. And, there are no extras at all, which is disappointing. I'm sure there at least could have been some very funny deleted scenes.