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"The
'Eyes' Don't Have It"
by Scott Mantz
"Mickey Blue Eyes"
Hugh Grant, James Caan,
Jeanne Tripplehorn
Directed by Kelly Makin
When Hugh Grant
burst onto the scene in 1994's "Four Weddings and a Funeral", he
seemed to come out of nowhere. "Funeral" was one of the most profitable
movies ever, mostly thanks to Grant's charming "aw, shucks!" performance.
He tried different roles, as with "Extreme Measures" (co-produced
by girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley), but he always found success as
the bumbling-but-charming-Englishman. Sidetracked by a little incident
on Sunset Boulevard in 1996 around the release of "Nine Months",
he struck paydirt earlier this year with Julia Roberts in "Notting
Hill". Roberts obviously helped with that film's success, so Grant
is depending on the sometimes funny, but ultimately limp, "Mickey
Blue Eyes" (also co-produced by Hurley) to cement his own comeback.
Actually, the
timing for "Mickey" couldn't have been better. Hollywood is hot
for stories that give an ironic or humorous twist to the Mob. Although
"Mafia" was a major bomb at the box office, the HBO original series
"The Sopranos" is immensely popular, thanks to tremendous critical
praise and 16 Emmy Awards nominations. Furthermore, the success
of "Analyze This" proved that moviegoers were hungry for a humorous
twist on this tired subject.
Michael (Hugh
Grant) is a New York art house auctioneer who asks his schoolteacher
girlfriend Gina (Jeanne Tripplehorn) to marry him. She freaks out
and says "no" because of her family ties to the mob. He must meet
her mobster father Frank (James Caan) and understand the family
situation better before she can say "yes". Complications ensue,
and Michael unwittingly finds himself up to his neck in the family
"business". The more he tries to get out, the further he gets pulled
back in (well, that sounds familiar!).
"Mickey" has
its moments. The opening scene where Grant proposes to Tripplehorn
in a Chinese restaurant is classic, and people are sure to think
about it the next time they open a fortune cookie. As with "Notting
Hill", Grant plays it best as the normal guy thrust into unusual
circumstances, and you can't get better than a British guy posing
as an Italian mob boss. When auctioning off a disturbing painting
by one of the other mobsters, Grant effectively mixes his charm
with his comic timing in one of the film's funniest scenes.
However, what
should have been inspired casting turns out to be a missed opportunity.
Unlike Robert DeNiro in "Analyze This" and Marlon Brando in "The
Freshman", James Caan underutilizes his previous acting experience
playing mobster roles and turns in an uninspired performance. Instead
of a hilarious parody of "The Godfather's" hothead Sonny Corleone,
Caan is disappointing as Gina's crime boss father Frank. You'd be
better off checking out his similar, and better, role in 1992's
"Honeymoon in Vegas".
While "Mickey
Blue Eyes" starts out strong, it descends into predictability with
derivative elements of that other mob comedy released earlier this
year. It's just another "fish out of water" story with too many
similarities to "Analyze This", right down to the botched wedding
in the finale. Also, look around, and you'll notice many of the
supporting characters appear in both films (can't these guys do
anything else?). Finally, instead of the protagonist being a therapist,
this time it's an auctioneer. The British guy faking an Italian
accent is funny the first few times, but, like the rest of the movie,
it gets old fast.
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