When faced with the task of reviewing three new films—none particularly memorable—the phrase “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly” finally came to mind. Adam (pictured), a relationship drama opening this Friday, July 31, is the first; Orphan, a horror film already in theatres, is easily the second; and the Katherine Heigl-Gerard Butler romantic comedy The Ugly Truth, also in theatres, is the third and certainly lives up to its namesake.
Adam, the best of the lot, is the tender story of two lonely souls roaming the stone jungle of Manhattan who, by chance, have the good luck to find each other. The likeable Hugh Dancy, who played the heartthrob in Confessions of a Shopaholic and the troubled gay blueblood in the overlooked Evening, plays the title role. Adam is an amateur astronomer who works for a toy company at a job secured for him by his recently deceased father. He is afflicted with Asperger’s syndrome, the disorder that causes its sufferers to have difficulty understanding social interaction, and he only has one friend, social worker Harlan (the always-welcome expert character actor Frankie Faison).
Adam describes his affliction to his new neighbor Beth (Rose Byrne), with whom he is smitten, as “mind blindness.” Beth is on the rebound and in the process of writing a children’s book and, though wary, she and Adam slowly begin dating as Harlan acts as cheerleader on the sidelines. A series of awkward yet charming scenes track the course of the relationship, which reaches an emotional turning point when Beth attempts to incorporate friends and family into the mix. Beth’s father (Peter Gallagher), after meeting Adam, is dead-set against the match although her mother (Amy Irving) is more cautious.
Dancy and Byrne (who battles wits with Glenn Close in the TV series Damages) give emotionally involving performances in the film—which was written and directed by Max Mayer—and Asperger’s syndrome is certainly an interesting character trait to hang a romantic dramedy on. But there’s really nothing extraordinary to praise about this affecting but not particularly memorable little movie other than to point out that audiences hungering for cinematic fare outside the usual summer blockbusters will find much to like in it.
And Adam, with its small intentions, is certainly preferable to the dispiriting Katherine Heigl-Gerard Butler battles of the sexes romcom The Ugly Truth, which is filled with one strident, by-the-numbers scene after another. This lackluster, stereotypical movie attempts to update its shopworn formula with a stream of four-letter words and sexually crude phrases in Judd Apatow fashion but ends up turning off everyone in the process. Most of the “comedy” hinges on the leading lady—a morning-news show producer played by Heigl without a shred of complexity—who is involved in an increasingly unfunny series of sexually tinged misunderstandings that culminate in her having an uncontrollable orgasm while wearing a pair of vibrating panties during a restaurant sequence. The scene—surely added to the script to call to mind the infamous Meg Ryan-Billy Crystal “I’ll have what she’s having” moment in When Harry Met Sally—instead has the unintended effect of pointing out that, unlike Ryan and Crystal, there is not a hint of chemistry between Heigl and Butler. When Heigl (who executive-produced the movie) queries to her beefy intended, Butler, at one point, “You’re in love with me—why?” and he responds, “Beats the shit out of me,” I felt that he was actually answering my question: “Why did you make this movie?”
Now it’s on to the bad, which in some ways is the most entertaining of the bunch—though not, I’m sure, for reasons producers of the movie anticipated. That’s because Orphan, the latest entry in the killer-kid genre, is the unintentional camp film of the year. By the time little bad seed Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) —with her hair ribbons, velvet choker and perfect manners—is done wreaking havoc on CCH Pounder as a kindly nun and Esther’s adopted family, which includes Peter Sarsgaard as daddy and Vera Farmiga as mommy (in her second bad-seed movie after the equally camp Joshua), you will have laughed so long and so hard with unintended pleasure you may feel as if you’d been wearing a pair of vibrating panties.
Film notes:
—Chicago will welcome an honest-to-goodness legend this week when Harry Belafonte makes a rare personal appearance in support of the Noir Film Foundation and Music Box Theatre’s Noir City: Chicago Film Festival. Nine classics of the genre in sparkling 35-millimeter prints will be screened July 31-Aug. 6 as part of the festival beginning Friday, July 31, with a double feature featuring lethal dames, the 1948 Orson Welles film Lady from Shanghai and 1947’s Framed. Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray star in what is often considered as the ultimate in film noir, 1944’s Double Indemnity; this and the lesser-known Joseph Losey film, 1951’s The Prowler, both shown Saturday, Aug. 1. A 7:30 p.m. screening of the little-seen Robert Wise 1959 noir Odds Against Tomorrow, which stars Belafonte (who also co-produced), will follow. Belafonte will be interviewed on the Music Box stage following the screening.
The festival continues Sunday-Wed., Aug. 2-6, with repeat screenings of these and other noir classics, including The Killers and Call Northside 777. Noted film historians and noir experts Foster Hirsch and Eddie Muller will introduce the screenings over the weekend. Complete schedule and show times are at www.musicboxtheatre.com.
—A screening of 1962’s What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, the onscreen acting cage match between divas (and gay icons) Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, is always a pleasure to anticipate. And a Friday, July 31, screening at Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark—part of the monthly Reeling series—is of particular interest to admirers of these battling titans. Fans of the film are encouraged to dress as either Davis or Crawford for a lookalike contest. A 7 p.m. social hour precedes the 8 p.m. screening. Admission is $10 ($8 for Reeling members). See www.chicagofilmmakers.org.
Check out my archived reviews at www.windycitytimes.com or www.knightatthemovies.com. Readers can leave feedback at the latter Web site.