'Love Serenade'

'Picture Perfect'

and romance, always focusing on Rated PG-13
W
the one lover that got away. The
cc
sisters' already tempestuous re-
is a bit about
-
icture
Perfect
m its title, one might expect lationship is further strained by
ove, a bitabout fantasy, a bit 13 ,
L ove Serenade to be an elab- the arrival of new neighbor Ken
about
fitting in. But mostly its i
orate tale of everlasting ro- Sherry, a mysterious disc jockey
about Jennifer Aniston's body.
mance set against the from the big city who has relocat-
She of the famous hairdo plays
backdrop of some exotic locale or ed to their humble little town.
Kate
Mosley, arising star in Mer-
Sherry, whose radio shtick in- cer Advertising
historic event.
Agency in New
But, in actuality, the film is an cludes a fondness for Barry White York, where she maintains a spa-
and
a
penchant
for
waxing
poet-
offbeat little Australian story fo-
does apartment, a great wardrobe
cused on an introvert, an extro- ic, arrogantly shrugs off Vicki- • - and a tight relationship with her
Ann's advances but happily lures mother (Olympia Dukakis).
vert and a pervert.
The introvert and extrovert are the innoc,entpimity into his lair,
But when she dearns from a
at one point purring, sympathetic co-worker (Illeana
Dimity and Vicki-Ann, sis-
"Lucky for you, virgins Douglas) that she'd rise faster if
ters and roommates, whose
MOVIES
are my specialty." Soon, only she were "settled" — engaged
only purpose together
Sherry is revealed to be "and/or married with a wardrobe
seems to be mutual torment.
Picture Perfect.
Dimity, a quirky loner, works as nothing more than a cad, as he befitting an executive rather than Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Bacon in
discards Dimity for her a girl about town —she goes to
Sadly, the comedy here is less dudes Bacon and Mohr. But her
sister and then tries to work, creating a fiance for herself
breasts threaten to upstage her
woo her back. His boorish (an earnest wedding videograph- than Perfect. A messy (and mean) performance. They are every-
ways ultimately unitethe er with whom she was pho-
breakup scene that where.
siblings in a surprising tographed at a friend's
And the moral of the story is
Kate manages to
MOVIES
act of Sisterhockl and ret- wedding) and buying a bunch
stage at the dinner is shaky, at best: If you are engaged
ribution.
too hysterical to be fun- or married and own a closetful
. g of
of cool new clothes, all of which
While one can question showcase her cleavage and legs, ny. Dinner conversation strains to tiny cocktail . dresses, you
the morality of the film's but seem out of synch with the cor-
. be witty , and we only wish Kate far. Even a lie will get you a win-
conclusion, one can't
ate e a catches
large ad
agency
por
the
eye
of
Sam
would wake up and smell the cof- dow office.
quarrel with much else in
She
thus
of
Kevin
I3acon),
a
womanizer
at
the
fee:
Nick is a nice guy. Give him a
this likable, eccentric
movie. Both 'Miranda agency who prefers his ladies chance. she doesn't, and by then,
— Julie Edgar,
Alas,
she'
Otto and Rebecca Frith committed to somebody other then
Rebecca Frith and Miranda Otto in Shirleyfiarrett's
s
her
colleagues
hate
poor
Nick.
Nat-,
as Dimiti and Vicki-Ann, himself, and voil a, believes
Sam backs off when he
Love Serenade.
respectively, display such made a perfect life for herself. Un- urally,
learns she doesn't have a fiance.
a
touching
vulnerability
and
deft
Outstanding
a waitress in a perpetually emp-
til ... and this is where Picture Per That leaves Kate, a self-desCribed
takes a farcical turn. Kate
ty Chinese restaurant, while her comic touch that you can't help
until
she
con.
girl," all
Very Good
must find this videographer (Jay "gond
boisterously prissy sister operates but feel the pain of their predica- must
ne,fergiNiinghcea,
alote15-
ea
thelie
te
a
ments.
And
George
Shevtsov's
Mohr), get him to have dinner fees Mercer -(Kevin Dunn), and ini- ..
a beauty salon.'
Good
Mr.
Although neither appears to Sherry is wonderfully despicable with
w important agency people and tides a romance with Nick. Novi
have any aptitude in matters of as one of the most rotten charac- breakup with him during dinner her life is really perfect.
Fair
the heart, Vicki-Ann constantly ters to slither across the screen in so that she can shake the lie and
Aniston has a natural charm
spouts off inanities on men, sex years.
that carries this picture, even with No Bagels
keep the guy (Sam).
Awful
a
good'
supporting
cast
that
in-
Julie Edgar is our senior writer.
Richard Halprin is an
Richard Halprin
attorney I film critic.
Much of Air Force One plays
At a political dinner in Rus-
out
like an airborne Die Hard,
Rated PG-13
sia following the general's cap- minus
the smirks and one-lin-
ture, Marshall creates a stir by ers. And,
yes, the dialogue is
s film goers, we have declaring a new U.S. policy drippy and the characters are
watched Harrison Ford against negotiating with terror-
cardboard cutouts, in-
evolve from hot-rod racer ists. It's not long before this
cluding a vice presi-
MOVIES
to intergalactic pilot to CIA new policy is tested, as Air
dent played by Glenn
One,
the
presidential
agent extraordinaire, and so it Force
Close and a military ad-
should come as no surprise that airplane, is hijacked by the
viser played by Fargo's William
our favorite hero has ascended imprisoned general's loyal sol- Macy.
to the Oval Office in Air Force diers, led by Korshunov (Gary
Somehow, though, it still adds
Oldman), while still within up to escapist entertainment.
One.
Ford plays James Marshall, Russian air space. Things are Deep down, everyone wants to
a U.S. president of such integri- complicated further by the pres- believe in a bold, decisive presi-
ty and principle that he could ence of the president's wife and dent, and Harrison Ford gives
only exist in the movies. Early daughter aboard the plane.
Wolfgang Pe-
At first, the hijackers are cis- us one. Director
in the film, we see the United
in
(In the Line of Fire)
terson
and Russia launch a joint mayed when they learn that the knows that we have seen varia-
assault on rebel Russian Gen- president has been safely jetti- tions of this story before and
eral Radik, an old-fashioned soned in an escape pod; soon tweaks our expectations enough
Marxist bent on restoring com- they are enraged to find that to make it all seem fresh.
munism to Mother Russia at someone still on the plane has
any cost. ' been thinning their legions. Fi-
ct 4® 1/2
nally, they are shocked to dis-
cover
that
their
mysterious
Richard Halprin is an
—Richard Halprin
nemesia is the president himself.
attorney I film critic.
Force
One
Harrison Ford is presidential in Air

PH OTO BY ELISE LOC

Rated R

Bagel Barometer

010
OU

'Air Force One'