(rated R117 mins.)
A colleague’s grandma once said “A gum chewing girl and a cud chewing cow, yet they differ somehow, I know — it’s the thoughtful look on the cow.” What was Robert Altman thinking when he produced this movie of an annoying woman that snaps her gum and stupid puns at the same time. And, what possessed Alan “Afterglow” Rudolph the director to even bother. Was he sleeping with the writer? Oh, wait, he IS the writer! It has all the right elements. Acclaimed director, producer and Oscar nominated cast, but lacks everything in a story. I have no sympathy for Emily Watson who portrays a streetwise but inarticulate security guard who takes an undercover job at a corrupt casino resort with a guy named Dex (Dermot Mulroney), who sexually chases her down as he’s God’s gift to women (or so he thinks) and should be shot! Nick Nolte plays a Senator, Nathan Lane a casino comedian, Lesley Ann Warren a drunken bimbo to Will Patton’s character of Red Rafferty a boat owning brutal resort developer. I despise all these characters and wonder how it ever opened at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Are there any smart women in this flick? Every woman is portrayed as a ditz. And just where does this town exist where all these idiots congregate? Nuf said.
