Max and Grace (2005)
You ever see a movie that wasn't
really horrible but was just so stupid and pointless
and meaningless and worthless that you wanted to call
it the biggest piece of shit you've ever seen? That's
"Max and Grace." It isn't the worst movie I've ever
seen, but it sure seemed like it when I had to sit
through it.
Sort of a remake and comedic spoof
of 1962's "David and Lisa," "Max and Grace" is a tepid
and flavorless mess that tries to be amusing and appear
as a dark comedy but only succeeds in becoming more
and more pointless and frustrating as it continues.
To be sure, the casting is a big
problem. Natasha Lyonne, who seems to know she is
in a big piece of caca, sleepwalks through most of
the film. Sure, her character is supposed to be a
zonked-out mess in a psychiatric ward, but Lyonne
should be able to give us someone to like or care
about. She plays her role as if all it required her
to be was a breathing lump of flesh. David Krumholtz,
likewise, is equally miscast and incapable of giving
us anyone to like. It's hard to believe that Lyonne
and Krumholtz, who were so good together in "Slums
of Beverly Hills," seem incapable of creating one
iota of chemistry here. Perhaps it is because they
portrayed brother and sister before that they don't
seem like they could ever be romantically involved.
The rest of the cast is equally
uninspired. David Paymer, Lorraine Bracco, and Rosanna
Arquette all seem here only to pick up a paycheck.
And Tim Blake Nelson, who plays four freaking roles
here - all of them bad - is quickly becoming my least
favorite actor. Without the Coen brothers to keep
him in check, his performances continue to be like
runaway locomotives that no one, no director anyway,
seem to be able to control. But by far the most annoying
and horrible performance here comes from Guillermo
Diaz who mugs and goofs his way through a performance
as a retard in a way that is even more offensive than
me using the word "retard."
This is a bad film with careless
and horrible acting and a script that isn't worth
using as toilet paper. This thing deserves to just
disappear. You know how film deteriorates if it is
left in storage for several years? You know how Martin
Scorsese attempts to preserve film and works tirelessly
on projects related to that year after year?
Yeah. He hasn't seen "Max and Grace."
Notes:
Also with Karen Black and Dave Attell.
Written, co-produced and directed
by Michael Parness.
The film was lensed in 2002.
Viewed at SXSW in March 2005 where
the film had its world premiere.
