Don't Say a Word (R) A slickly made but only modestly interesting thriller in which a child psychologist (Michael Douglas) races against time to meet the ransom demanded by his daughter's kidnappers. What Douglas' character needs to do is to extract information locked in the mind of a deeply traumatized patient and then convey that info to the bad guys. There's much less here than meets the eye, but there are some passable moments of suspense, and the film is skillfully crafted enough to occasionally give the thin storyline the illusion of substance. Also stars Famke Janssen, Oliver Platt, Sean Bean and Brittany Murphy.
Ghost World (R) As inexplicably entertaining as it is, Ghost World belongs to a long tradition of teenage alienation flicks, an angsty style that includes such downer-comedies as Welcome to the Dollhouse and Heathers, and maybe even MTV's Daria. Enid (Thora Birch) and her best pal Rebecca (Scarlet Johansson) are recent high school graduates who cast a cold, cynical eye on everything in their path, as they clomp through life in thrift store polyester and massive combat boots, treading a self-created fine line between geek and hipster. Curiously enough, Ghost World has an actual heart too, located in the strange yet oddly natural friendship that develops between Enid and a cranky, middle-aged record collector named Seymour (Steve Busemi in yet another memorable performance). Each of them comes to believe, at least momentarily, that they're completed by the other's assortment of personal ticks — which in Ghost World's singularly skewed universe might be something very close to love. It's hard to miss Zwigoff and Clowes' point about the powerful allure of essentially worthless pop culture (and modern life in general), but, beyond that, it all makes for one of the very best films of the year. Held over at Channelside Cinemas. Call theater to confirm.
The Glass House (PG-13) Two orphaned minors find their new guardians aren't exactly the model parents they present themselves as. Given the lurid subject matter, The Glass House might have been an enjoyably sleazy little thriller, but the movie won't own up to its numerous cliches and have fun with them, while the clumsy script has the parents seeming so ominous from such an early stage that the movie conveys very little suspense or surprise.
Glitter (PG-13) Semi-autobiographical rock video/flick stars Mariah Carey as an up-and-coming R&B performer with a hot body, a great set of pipes, and a manager/boyfriend determined to help her succeed. A ho-hum plot and mediocre acting provide little tension throughout the film, certainly not enough to justify the high-impact scene changes and frequent cinematic sweeps across the Manhattan skyline. The film doesn't go anywhere — there's too little conflict, too little characterization, too little explanation. Her mother's abandonment only bothers her sporadically, and though her man may be a bit controlling, Ike Turner he ain't. Carey's acting duties are wisely kept to a minimum, leaving her character with no emotional depth or personality, and really nothing more to recommend her than, well, a hot bod and a great set of pipes. Still, Mariah Carey fans should enjoy the movie, as it showcases their favorite diva doing what she does best, which is wear tight clothes and sing her little heart out. And, man, the babe can sing.
—Diana Peterfreund
Happy Accidents (PG-13) Straddling the line between science-fiction and reality, Happy Accidents is a bit like The Terminator played out as serious (that is, what used to be called thinking person's) romantic-drama. The movie's about complicated, wounded-in-love Ruby (Marisa Tomei), who's in love with Sam (Vincent D'Onofrio), a sweet, sensitive guy who appears to be Mr. Right — that is, until he reveals to her one fine day that he's in fact a time-traveler from the future who's journeyed back to be with her. The movie plays all of this in a loose, guileless, nearly verite fashion, so that we become quickly caught up in Ruby's story of her relationship with a loving individual who also appears to be mentally ill. At the same time, writer-director Brad Anderson cleverly, skillfully strews the narrative with just enough seeds of doubt to encourage us to wonder if there's some possibility that Sam might actually be telling the truth.
Hardball (PG-13) Keanu Reeves plays a lifelong underachiever who discovers the real meaning of life when he becomes the coach of a baseball team of underprivileged kids. Also stars Diane Lane.
(Not Reviewed)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (R) Writer-director John Cameron Mitchell's bizarre and extremely entertaining glam rock musical about a transgendered wannabe rock star is an old-fashioned musical at heart — albeit one that's been outfitted in rabbit fur, rhinestones, spandex and no less than 30 different wigs (and that's just for Hedwig alone). Based on Mitchell's popular off-Broadway production (he also stars as the sexually ambiguous title character), Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a heady dose of rock theater influenced, both musically and attitudinally, by what Hedwig calls, in typically eloquent and acid-tongued fashion, the crypto-homo rockers of yore — Lou Reed and the Velvets, a little bit of Iggy, and, most of all, oodles of Alladin Sane-era Bowie.
