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White River | Year: 1999 Classification: Comedy Directed: - Arne Glimcher Lost: Nothing Funny or Engaging in This Messy Travel Whatever happened to Antonio Banderas? I heard such remarks all over the net when this film "White River" arrived at Japan. The fact is, the film went straight to video here, and the title has been changed to "Bounty Kid" (what's that?). And when I saw the film itself, there appeared the title on the screen -- "White River Kid" -- another mystery. It is as if the film is trying to disguise itself with alternate titles, and my eperience tells me that it is usually a bad sign. The content justifies the frequent title change, for "White River" doesn't know what it wants to be. It starts with a con man Brother Edgar (Bob Hoskins) talking to the camera, telling us how he is travelling around the Deep South, under the disguise of a monk. Before you think about that Bob must be a British actor, he goes on, selling cheap socks, with his Mexican partner Molares (Banderas) who pilfers a law book from a library to study something about getting money from lawsuit. All right. Then they meet White River Kid (who suddenly appears from the river). Kid hijacks their car, but somehow instead of plenty of chances to leave him behind, they come to travel together with him after incredibly clumsy set of events that happen later, finally picking up a local waitress and Kid's girlfriend Lisa (who looks like an exact copy of Juliette Lewis of "Kalifornia" and "Natural Born Killer"). They go to Lisa's home, and they are happy with the strange but kind members of her family. On the other hand, Brother Edgar meets a blind prostitute Eva (Ellen Barkin), to be drawn to her. To be fair, there is some quaint feeling of the South in the photography itself, and perhaps with more skills it could be more engaging, but the entire cast looks so awfully miscast and it is so obvious that actors don't know what they are doing, that the result became an utter disaster, without making any point or interest for us. The film just meanders among ludiculous situations that are not so funny, dotted with meaningless violence. I don't write any complaint about the actors, but as for Banderas, who co-executive produced the film, I really want to say: what happened to him!? Where is cool Zorro? He intentionally goes for portraying an unusual character (a con man who turns a murderer ... NO!), but this is not what we want. I really miss him in his splendid Spanish film era, and wish that for once he would go back to his roots with masterful guide of Pedro Almodvar. Zero Talent for Mimicry Ruins Daft Caper As a villain in his native tongue, or your well-meaning slightly gormless, salt-of-the-earth best mate, Bob Hoskins has the roles cornered. But, bless him, he hasn't a bone of mimicry in his cuddly tubby bod. This is a silly enough story as it is, further bluntened by the sort of genius miscasting that agents and studio hacks usually only dream of. Unlike their actress sisters, Brit male thespians are not known for convincing American accents. That Branagh fellow in 'Dead Again' defines the malaise. In the flop under discussion, Bob H is meant to be a cheery con-man monk from the deep south. His inability to hit a single convincing vowel is made further excruciating by the slides into dud South African or, more understandable, his native south London drawl. Painful - and Hoskins being no fool about the roles he can take, the man himself probably chafed and winced just as keenly. There is More on Heaven and Earth I am 48 years old. Had I seen this movie 25 years ago, I would have considered it unforgivably absurd. Today, I welcome it with it's view that takes in the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful, and loves it unconditionally and unreservedly.<BR>Everyone of the characters in this movie reminds me strongly of someone I have personally known (of course, I do live in central Texas). The events are unconventional. This is comforting and reassuring, for as I have lived my life in Texas, there are so many events that I think to myself, "No one would believe this if I told it straight." It is a strain to continually strive to reconstruct and present one's life as being conventional and normal and acceptable. I wonder if it is just me, or just central Texas, or just my socio-economic category ( identical, at this writing to that of the characters in this movie) that makes me feel "not normal." Anyway, at this stage of my life, I am no longer worried about achieving normalcy, although for years it was a prime concern. Enjoy this movie of life, love, death, and grief, and know, that on some level, this is normal. Buy White River at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on White River Search with the Priority Search Engine on White River This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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