Saturday, August 8, 2009

Day 199: That Old Feeling (1997) - Rank 2.5/5

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A predictable plot is the film's greatest downfall, but it's greatest asset are its stars - Dennis Farina and Bette Midler. Both actors are notorious for playing characters of garish behavior, but the pair digressing into vicious bouts of insult exchanges are quite entertaining. The premise? Molly (Paula Marshall) invites her divorced parents to her wedding (Farina & Midler) and oh, holy crap...the hi jinks ensue. From the start, there's no doubt the two will end up together in the end. Furthermore, Molly's husband-to-be is established as a prick early on, thus legitimizing the affair she has with paparazzi photographer Joey (played by Danny Nucci - an actor I don't believe I've ever much cared for).

The film feels like a miss for director Carl Reiner. While still peppered with a lot of humor, it scarcely rises to the entertaining zaniness of some of his previous projects. The fault undoubtedly falls on screenwriter Leslie Dixon, who was hoping for reviews hailing the film as a "triumph of the conventional." But, as mentioned before, Farina, Midler and most of the supporting cast do the best they can with the material at hand, thus preventing "That Old Feeling" from seeming intolerable.


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