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Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9780767803328
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
ISBN: 0767803329
Label: Sony Pictures
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Release Date: March 16, 1999
Running Time: 119 minutes
Sales Rank: 43223
Studio: Sony Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: December 26, 1997
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com essential video:
Right from the start there's a wink in Alan Rudolph's dry comedy of sad characters. This film, touted for its Oscar-nominated performance by Julie Christie, is a solid entry for fans of Rudolph's Choose Me and Love at Large. First we meet the amorous Mr. Fix-it, aptly named Lucky Mann (Nick Nolte). Lucky is a big teddy bear who finds joy in construction and womanizing. Nearly every sentence is a smooth entendre or a typical Rudolph witticism. This arrangement seems to be fine with his longtime wife Phyllis (Christie), an ex-B-movie actress who acts as if much of her life is still a bad movie. Lucky's latest client is a young housewife (Lara Flynn Boyle) who also has a muddle of a marriage: Marianne swoons for Lucky's attention, because her husband, Jeffrey (Jonny Lee Miller), has energy for his high-rise business career but little else. Soon Jeffrey espies sad and stunning Phyllis and is on the prowl, unaware that she is Lucky's wife.
Many filmmakers have made statements about the rarity of monogamy but Rudolph is one of the few who finds so much strength in fooling around. He has deep, long answers to why his characters are the way there are, and this leads to scenes that actors relish, even if they don't ring true. Certainly Christie has not had a part this juicy in years, and Nolte, warm and energetic, simply shines. Miller, usually the young ruffian in films such as Trainspotting, gives an intriguing slant to a stuffed shirt. Rudolph has never reached the complexity nor the mastery of his mentor Robert Altman, but he has created his own niche: the comedy of characters usually found in urban dramas. There are laughs in this movie that you simply won't find in the typical Hollywood comedy. Like Altman, he proves that being an independent voice is not about the methods of filmmaking, it's about talent. --Doug Thomas
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - be prepared with a big bottle of sterilizing solution
ive done my darnedest to forget this movie i watched 3 months back. despite the presence of nick nolte and julie christie (two actors i usually like) i found this just another piece of alan rudolpf cowardly soft-core porn. i felt dirty after watching it; i feel dirty now.
Rating:  - Nick Nolte, Julie Christie......what more do you want? Or: A Flawed Masterpiece?
I don't get giving this film 2 stars. 3, I could understand. 4 is more like it.....
IMO, Nick Nolte is under-rated, & totally nails every role he's ever been in. Julie Christie is a Film Goddess, & I would watch her.....well, if there were a movie of Julie Christie clipping her toenails, I'd watch it over & over. And Lara Flynn Boyle is just as sexy & smart as she was in "Twin Peaks", only more so.
Is the movie perfect? No, but, it's close. If you love kind ... Read More
Rating: - disappointing
I really wanted to like this movie, but, in the end, it just wouldn't let me. The pace was slow but the characters seemed to have interesting possiblilties at first. The actors, as far as I could tell, did a good job with the material they were given. The weakness was in the story. It didn't go anywhere. The characters didn't learn anything. They were no different at the end than the beginning accept one of them was pregnant. The character of Jeffrey was contradictory and hard to believe. He ... Read More
Rating: - Another reason why Julie Christie should continue to perform
Here's Julie Christie more beautiful, more enchanting, sexier than she has been since her role in Doctor Zhivago thirty years ago. She's an ageless wonder, delicate and sweet while also being smart and tough. Her performance as Phyllis Mann, a washed up B-Movie actress is entrancing, so much so that when viewing the film, I found myself ignoring the other actors while she was on screen. I couldn't take my eyes from her for a moment, though that's no slander at her co-stars. Nick Nolte is as watchable ... Read More
Rating: - An smart odd film about Romance.
When a Key Repairman (Nick Nolte) cheats on his Attractive Wife (Julie Chrsitie in a Oscar Nominated Role), a has been actress for a younger woman (Lara Flynn Boyle) but when his wife cheats on a handsome young man (Jonny Lee Miller), who dates the younger woman and the Realationship gets Complicated.
Written and Directed by Alan Rudolph (Mortal Thought, Breakfest of Champions) shows a Strong Dramatic Comedy about Love and Redemption. Julie Christine gives a Strong Role gives the film:Best ... Read More
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