reviews

Nicely directed by Gus Van Sant (probably the most mainstream movie from the man who made To Die For and My Own Private Idaho), Good Will Hunting is mostly notable for the maturity and insight of a script written by a couple of twentysomethings.

The Mask of Zorro is a movie to remind you what Hollywood used to be: a dream factory whose uncynical and unhyperbolic entertainments could sweep you up into the screen and make you forget yourself and the real world for two hours. The last movie to be this viscerally exciting and satisfying is probably Raiders of the Lost Ark — and the last movie this charming and delightful must be The Princess Bride.

There’s a good movie buried somewhere in The Postman — no, really. Costner could have trimmed a good hour from this three-hours-plus monster and had a much more robust story. But Dances with Wolves — a brilliant film — went to Costner’s head, and now he’s afraid to tell any tale that isn’t an epic.

Fortunately, it’s morning in America, and our small towns are full of misunderstood young adolescent boys ready to save the world. Cut to Alan Abernathy (Gregory Smith), pedaling along on his expensive bicycle through the greensward of the town square on a beautiful, sunny, perfect afternoon, the pleasant townsfolk zipping by in their American cars at 15 MPH. (Note to Joe Dante: Even Spielberg isn’t doing anything this Spielberg anymore.)

Boy, I was really ready to hate G.I. Jane. Stupid title, stupid Demi Moore with her pretty face and no talent, stupid Hollywood movie that will gussy the military up and splatter it with a lot of politically correct bull dinky. But wow. G.I. Jane takes all those preconceived notions, turns them around, and uses them to force you to reconsider.

Get past Duchovny’s good looks, and you see that he’s a terribly interesting actor. On the surface, his Eugene seems too together to have succumbed 1) to drugs and then 2) to crime. But Duchovny uses this apparent strength as Eugene’s weakness — it’s his hubris and overconfidence that leads to his downfall.

It’s all dark alleys and furtive conversations with mysterious informers and twisted paranoia that’s not paranoid enough. And cool aliens and secret cabals and lots and lots of FBI windbreakers. And scads of unresolved sexual tension between Our Heros.