December 16, 2003

Stuck On You

It's not the best work that the Farrelly Brothers (Bobby and Peter) have done, but like pizza, even bad is good. Although they've had mentally challenged people in their films before, this time around the Farrellys actually feature a handicap (conjoined twins) as the running gag...and it doesn't get old, even at 120 minutes. The twins are played by Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear, and as much as I like Damon as an actor and in this film, it's Kinnear that makes the film work. Damon's Bob character is a bit dopey and perfection content to maintain his life in Martha's Vineyard as a master short order cook, but Kinnear's Walk has ambition and wants to take his success as a local actor to Hollywood. You must see Kinnear's "one-man" show at the local community theatre as Truman Capote. Brilliant! The two decide to move to Hollywood and give Walt's acting career a shot.

Since conjoined twins aren't exactly hot property in L.A., it's not surprising that the pair find it difficult to get work. They do find an agent in the form of Seymour Cassel's Morty O'Reilly, the sleaziest agent ever in films. He's great. The boys rent a cruddy motel room at the Rising Star and meet super sexy Latina Barbie Eva Mendes (OUT OF TIME), as a bubbly airhead whose an actress but has mainly done lingerie modeling. Bob has been carrying on an internet romance with an Asian woman named May (Wen Yahnn Shih), whom he's never met but since she lives in L.A., he thinks he might try to hook up. The only problem is he's never mentioned that he's a conjoined twin. After a series of failed audition, Walt decides it may be time to head back east when he's spotted by Cher (played, oddly enough, by the real Oscar-winning actress), who wants him as her leading man in her new T.V. series. What she really wants is to not do T.V. at all and she's hoping the network will kill the show after seeing the pilot and she'll be off the hook. Instead the network sticks with the show and it becomes a huge hit. It looks like things are going great for the guys, so great in fact, they start to wonder if it's time they thought about being separated. The share a liver and there's some risk that Walt will die upon separation. I don't want to get too much deeper into the story, but STUCK ON YOU sneaks up on you and actually wins your heart while it making you giggle. Kinnear and Damon are a terrific comedy team, and you rarely find yourself laughing at what the can't do because they're connecting; you laugh at what they can do (let's just say, Walt has much better luck with the ladies than Bob).

Besides Cher, another extremely talented and famous actress makes a cameo in STUCK ON YOU that I won't ruin, but her appearance elevates this film in ways I didn't think possible. STUCK ON YOU is a totally enjoyable, sometimes off-color, always smile-inducing film. Check it out.

Posted by sprokopy at December 16, 2003 07:25 PM