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List Price: $24.98 Features • Color • NTSC In Theaters : 11 April, 1997 DVD Release : 13 February, 2001 |
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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | Strong drama...and so what if it's soap? It's GREAT soap |
| It's too bad that certain plots automatically label the films that use them "soap opera". If a man has an affair with his brother's wife, bingo--it's not a drama, it's a soap opera. That's what happens in this film, but does that automatically make it a bad film?
Of course not. It's not only the excellent acting that makes this a strong film; it's also the sharp, intelligent writing. Without good writing, any play or film can easily and quickly lapse into the type of work that can justifiably give it a "soap" label; here, the term "soap" is pejorative, meaning not so much the type of plot, but the quality of the work itself. Co-writers Laura Lau and Chris Kentis (the latter also directed) have a perfect ear for the dialogue that characters like this would speak; they're working class New Jerseyites whose suburban homes are their pride and joy. What this really means is that the writers know how their characters respond to events and each other in the way they talk and behave. Without this sensitivity/attunement to the real emotional tenor of its characters, a script will be hogwash that leaves the audience totally unsatisfied. That's not the case here. Eddie, played by Billy Crudup, tries to move his life forward after a mishap lands him in jail and he's released. He comes to stay with his brother Terry and Terry's wife Janey (Adrienne Shelly) and before long, Eddie and Janey are involved--because Terry's a hardass who needs to prove he can do what he has to do, even if it means getting into illegal stuff. This involvement is his focus; his wife and baby are secondary. Eddie gets a job at the same factory where his brother and father work, but he's not happy; he needs more in his life. You can feel his restlessness, feel how he thinks having it on with Janey will quell that, then feel how, guess what, it doesn't. He's an intense guy, Eddie, and if he really knew exactly how to get what he wanted--in fact, if he really knew WHAT he wanted--the things that happen here wouldn't have happened. Does this have a soap opera plot? If we want to use stereotypical American cliched labels, then, yeah, I guess it does. But so what? This is a solid drama and is definitely worth seeing, if not owning. Highly recommended. |
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