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Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
TADPOLE
A broad comedy that tries to be light on its feet, but never quite takes
off. Wise beyond his years, Voltaire-quoting Oscar (Stanford), 15, returns
to his father's Upper East Side home for the Thanksgiving weekend from an
exclusive boarding school. Ignoring the attention of teenage girls, he has
eyes for only one woman--his stepmother, Eve (Weaver). Too afraid to blurt
out his feelings for her, he instead offers, "If everything could be
reduced
to verbalizable facts, we wouldn't have any need for music, would we?"
After
a night on the town, he drunkenly hooks up with Eve's best friend, the
seductive firecracker Diane (Neuwirth), while she is wearing Eve's red
scarf. Embarrassed the morning after, he demands a promise from Diane not
to
tell a soul about their rendezvous, but all hell breaks loose in the
climatic restaurant scene. Thanks to
Neuwirth, this scene almost achieves a screwball sensibility. She has a
light and playful touch that turns the film into a buoyant farce whenever
she is on screen. However, Sanford too often plays the angry, but hopeful,
young man with a dark undertone that takes the air out of this
not-quite-floating balloon. And as the object of his affection, Weaver is
remote. When confronting Diane after the revelation, she plays the scene
too
casually.
DVD Features: Revealing production details such as which scenes were
deleted, as well as the film's technical flaws, director Winick's DVD
commentary appeals mostly to filmmakers. He points out mistakes that are
not
obviously noticeable and make others glaringly conspicuous. (Look out for
the mysterious flashes in Grand Central Station). KT
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