Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
Directed by: Robert Cary. Produced by: Aimee Schoof & Isen Robbins. Written by: Robert Cary & Isabel Rose. Director of Photography: Horacio Marquinez. Edited by: Robert Reitano. Music by: Andrew Hollander & Steven Lutvak. Released by: Samuel Goldwyn. Country of Origin: USA. 99 min. Rated: PG-13. With: Isabel Rose, Cameron Bancroft, Eartha Kitt & Andrew McCarthy.
In this nostalgic valentine to New York romance, Billie Golden (newcomer
Isabel
Rose, who looks like a redheaded Nancy Travis) not only has her head
in
the
clouds, but belongs in another era. Dressed in second-hand clothes,
à
la
Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly, she swoons to old movie musicals, and
sings only pre-1960 material in her cabaret act at the JFK Skylark
Lounge.
Her anthem is "I Can't Give You Anything but Love."
At
32, she stills lives with her boozing and pill-popping mom in Queens
and
waits tables. After a disastrous audition, thanks to the erratic tempo
of
the accompanist, she renounces show business. A chance encounter with
her
high school crush, Greg Ellenbogen (Bancroft), a square-jawed but stiff
lawyer on the rise, leads to a whirlwind courtship. He wants her to
give up pursuing a career and
settle
down with him in paradise - Connecticut. But it becomes too obvious what
decision she should make. Serving tea to grand dame Eartha Kitt (played
by
her charismatic self), Billie receives a timely pearl of wisdom.
It
is
not accidental if this confection reminds you of the '80s sitcom
of
the same name. The pace and banter are also in the mode of My Big Fat
Greek
Wedding, replete with reaction shots and a few scenes ending
abruptly.
Fortunately, the ending is refreshingly clear-headed and not easily
resolved. Although there are many stock characters - the saucy best
friend, two
Stepford
wives - the acting, especially by Rose, is for the most part understated.
The
lush score by Andrew Hollander and Steven Lutvak compliments the standards sung by
Rose,
whose light soprano at time sounds pleasantly like Madonna. Without the bawdiness
and
irony of the Doris Day tribute Down With Love,
Anything but Love
will also bring to mind the comedies of Judy Holliday. Kent Turner
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