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The Operator
(2000)
What nameless, faceless, pointless character will
next be used as a villain?
The Paperboy? ("He's Got Deadly News for You!") The
Teller? ("Evil Doesn't Keep Banker's Hours?") The Stewardess?
("Exits to Death are Located in the Aft Cabin!") The
Gynecologist? ("The Cold, Prying Hands of Terror!")
I'm kidding of course. Here's the 411: "The Operator"
is a pretty good little flick. The title refers to,
yes, a telephone information operator. She makes the
protagonist's life a living hell after he verbally abuses
her. She sends him into chaos. But the title also refers
to the main character, a smooth "operator" and ladies
man who definitely deserves some comeuppance.
Shot in Dallas, the film has a mild Texas feel. It's
more like Luther's Bar-B-Que than Taco Cabana. It uses
many local actors as well as a few recognizable Hollywooders
to create it's verisimilitude. Christa Miller from TV's
"Drew Carrey" is so subtle and does such a wonderful
job that it takes 1/2 of the film to figure out who
she is. You spend a lot of time going, "She reminds
me of someone... who is it?" before you figure out she
looks like that girls from TV's "Drew Carrey Show."
Then you start to realize it IS her. Stephen Tobolowsky,
an indie fave, is also quite good in the film as a bookie.
He just also happens to be a PhD and knows a little
about Zen and Eastern religions to boot.
That's the world this film inhabits. Telephone operators
can access all sorts of information about you and ruin
your life. They can also be into Eastern philosophy
as much as a African-American minister or a bookie can
be. Sure, you have to suspend disbelief, but if you
do it's kinda fun.
Michael Laurence ("As the World Turns") plays the protagonist.
His character spends a lot of time wavering between
cad, lawyer, and gambler before the information lady
begins to wreak havoc on his existence. Eventually,
she ruins his marriage, his credit, and his life. In
the end, he finds himself with nothing, on a journey
of self-discovery that, at times, Laurence's acting
ability cannot evoke. Forced to play the emotional rainbow,
Laurence often suffers in the most important moments.
He plays angry and audacious fine but finding troubled
seeker often leaves him grasping. It's not a horrible
performance, simply one that barely eeks by at times
and one that many may find moments to chuckle at if
they aren't careful.
"The Operator" is a pleasant enough diversion. Writer/Director
Jon Dichter, who makes his film debut after a career
spawned in the theater, takes a pretty obtuse alleyway
into the formulaic genre. He finds plenty of moments
to surprise and delight us along the way. And his filmmaking
is certainly adequate. This one could as easily debut
at the megaplex as it could on HBO.
Report Card
Script: B-
Acting: C+
Cinematography\Lighting: C
Special Effects\Make Up: C+
Music: A+
Final Grade: B-
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