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TADPOLE
Directed by: Gary Winick.
Produced by: Alexis Alexanian, Dolly Hall & Winick.
Written by: Heather McGowan, Niels Mueller & Winick.
Director of Photography: Hubert Taczanowski.
Edited by: Susan Littenberg.
Music by: Renaud Pion.
Released by: Miramax.
Country of Origin: USA. 78 min. Rated: PG-13.
With: Aaron Stanford, Sigourney Weaver & Beb Neuwirth.
DVD Features: Commentary by Director Winick.

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
August 29, 2003

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