COMEDY
This tired sequel to the surprise 2001 hit—a pleasing light comedy about a gawky American girl who turned out to be heir to the throne of a European principality—brings the rechristened Princess Mia from San Francisco to her true home, Genovia. There she will assume the throne when she turns 21. The appealing Hathaway hasn't changed from the first movie. Fawnlike with bursts of clumping athletic vigor, she looks like Julia Roberts with a hint of Liza Minnelli in the lips and soft eyes. But director Garry Marshall made an awful mistake bringing Genovia to life. The palace looks like an inferior luxury hotel catering to business groups: flocked wallpaper, murals of village scenes, cramped reception areas. Couldn't the parliament arrange a Trading Spaces deal with some prettier little country—say, Monaco?
The movie passes muster as a romantic fantasy for girls, especially when Mia gets caught up in a political fight for her title. Will she secure the crown by settling for an arranged marriage with a nice British lord (Callum Blue)? Or will she risk everything to date the boy she loves, a local royal who happens to be her rival for the throne (Pine, louche in a nonthreatening O.C. kind of way)? Grown-ups have Julie Andrews, once again starchy yet maternal as the queen, and the occasional odd joke. My hopes rose at the beginning when a guest at a royal fete declared, "I hope they serve string cheese." Beyond that, it's mostly those hideous Genovian postcards. (G)
Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Peter Krause, Naomi Watts
DRAMA
The adulterous foursome in We Don't Live Here Anymore are so saturated with recriminatory emotions—guilt, anger, shame—the movie feels damp and oxygen-depleted. Adapted from stories by Andre Dubus (whose "Killings" inspired In the Bedroom), it's a bell jar reverberating with arguments. If only Dr. Phil could bring his hammer down on the glass and free everyone into the air.
Jack (Ruffalo), a college English teacher, is married to Terry (Dern) but attracted to her best friend, Edith (Watts), who happens to be married to his best friend, Hank (Krause), a writing instructor. Once Jack and Edith have gone ahead and flung themselves into their fling, a spiteful Terry accepts an offer to sleep with Hank. Then comes a four-way crash that is prolonged and messy.
The performances, as directed by John Curran, are varied and all expertly keyed. Ruffalo underplays with his rumpled, boyish naturalism; Dern tears through her scenes with high theatrical fury, all but rending her garments; Krause is remote and bemused; Watts, for a few scenes, glows with unforced erotic happiness. If anything, though, the harmony is a bit too perfect: The cast is like an old string quartet that has already toured all the capitals of Europe and will be coming soon to a college campus auditorium near you. (R)
Rhys Ifans, Miranda Otto
COMEDY
Danny Morgan (Ifans), a construction worker, gets no respect at home. His live-in girlfriend (or "de facto," as such partners are called in Australia, where this studiously whimsical movie is set) condescendingly labels him "one of the little people." So he's not all that upset when one day, after idly tying helium-inflated balloons to the deck chair in which he is sitting, he floats away from his backyard in suburban Sydney. Danny lands in a far-off small town, where he passes himself off as a college professor and falls for the local meter maid (Otto).
Danny Deckchair is as substantive as the helium in those balloons, but its heart is in the right place. Ifans (Notting Hill) and Otto (The Lord of the Rings 2 and 3) give performances that are touchingly sincere. The big flaw here is believability: One can accept the flying chair, but when hordes of TV reporters start searching for Danny, it seems improbable that his mug wouldn't be plastered all over the tube, allowing residents of his new town to identify him. But silly me, I forgot, it's just a movie. (PG-13)
Stander
Tom Jane (The Punisher) gives the performance of his career playing a South African cop who, disillusioned by the brutality of apartheid, took to robbing banks in the 1970s. This tough, often amusing movie, based on a true story, stands out among late summer releases. Catch it. (R)
Collateral
Starring as a bad guy for a change, Tom Cruise is chillingly effective as a paid assassin in a compelling thriller. He recruits a cab driver (Jamie Foxx, also terrific) at gunpoint to serve as his chauffeur over a long night's journey through L.A. Michael Mann (Heat) directed. (R)
The Village
The first half of this suspense film is effective enough, but once writer-director M. Night, Shyamalan (Signs) reveals his first big twist, it all goes poof. (PG-13)
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Miramax, $29.99)
Movie:
A surprisingly touching counterpart to the bloody, brilliant Vol. 1, with Uma Thurman (even better here than in the first installment) continuing to hunt down the people who tried to kill her. Extras: A punchless making-of feature (director Quentin Tarantino eschews insightful anecdotes in favor of grandiose statements such as "Vol. 1 is the questions, Vol. 2 is the answers"); an entertaining deleted scene featuring David Carradine (Bill) squaring off against a vengeance-seeking gang; energetic footage of composer Robert Rodriguez and his band performing at the premiere. (R)
13 Going on 30 (Columbia TriStar, $28.95)
Movie:
Alias superspy Jennifer Garner proves herself just as adept at romantic comedy with an effervescent turn as a teen who literally grows up overnight, morphing into a 30-year-old magazine editor. Extras: The actors sweetly reminisce about their own awkward adolescent years (self-described "band geek" Garner backs up her claim with photos); 18 skippable deleted scenes; frank commentary from director Gary Winick about making the sometimes-exasperating leap from indies to studio filmmaking. (PG-13)
The Martin Scorsese Collection (Warner, $59.92)
Movie:
The director's 1990 mob masterpiece GoodFellas is the crown jewel of this set, which also includes two lesser classics, 1973's Mean Streets and 1985's After Hours, along with a pair of promising early efforts, 1974's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and his 1968 debut, Who's That Knocking at My Door. Extras: Scorsese plays film-school professor in five engrossing commentaries, packed with richly detailed stories; a wonderfully informative GoodFellas retrospective documentary. (R and PG)
- Contributors:
- Tom Gliatto,
- Leah Rozen.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
