| Bickering Beck: Woman on Top | |
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As always, Penelope Cruz is beautiful. However, the trite dialogue and repetition make the actress seem foolish, and the food Isabella cooks is as appetizing as the cotton candy/mustard concoction my husband's cousin put together at the soccer game last week. In addition, Cruz's adorable lisp only serves to remind the audience that she's clearly from Madrid, and not Brazil. Perhaps Ms. Cruz will have better luck in her upcoming movies, All the Pretty Horses with Matt Damon, Blow with Johnny Depp and John Madden's Captain Corelli's Mandolin with Nicolas Cage.
Unfortunately, Cruz's character is not even the most foolish. I feel most sorry for Harold Perrineau Jr. who actually delivered his lines, tired and worn out as they are, with enthusiasm. I don't know about you, but I thought the effeminate sidekick was already played out with Mesach Taylor in Mannequin.
Woman on Top, full of cartoonish effects and sight gags, is an implausible, yet predictable romp that makes even the exciting settings of Bahia and San Franciso boring. The movie is so desperate that it even relies on an extra for laughs that just don't work. On that note, I wonder just exactly are the odds of getting the same San Francisco cab driver twice?
Starring: Penelope Cruz , Murilo Benicio , Harold Perrineau Jr. , Mark Feuerstein and John DeLancie
Directed by Fina Torres and Thierry Arbogast .
Produced by Nancy Paloian and Alan Poul .
Written by Vera Blasi .
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Rating: R
Running time: 85 minutes
Beck Finley is a freelance writer and critic. She lives on the Missouri side of Kansas City with her husband, Ryan Kegley, and dog, Tummy.
