ARTS Tuesday, September 5,
A basic lack of 'Trust': New Moore film falls flat

2006 - The Michigan Daily - 9A

By Mary Kate Varnau
Daily Arts Writer
Like any first impression,
titles are important. A bad title
is like that
date who
calls 25 min- Trust the
utes after Man
showtime At the State
to let you Theater
know he'll Fox Searchlight
be late -
two strikes
before the night's even begun.
Consider the title of the new
romantic dramedy starring
Julianne Moore ("Far From
Heaven"). "Trust the Man" is so
banal, so generic, that it could
very well apply to half the films
now in theaters. It piques little
interest, doesn't offer any sig-
nificant insight and - above all
- it's boring.
At least in that sense, the label
befits the product. The movie
is a hundred minutes of mildly
entertaining, well performed
and wholly unmoving routine.
That's not to say the well-
rounded cast is at fault for the
script's triviality. Billy Crudup
("Big Fish") and Maggie Gyl-

lenhaal ("World 'rade Center")
convincingly join Moore and
David Duchovny (TV's "The X-
Files") to form a pair of mid-life
couples with commitment issues.
While the latter play a married
couple whose physical chemis-
try is sadly depleting under the
pressure of raising two small
children, Crudup, as Moore's
brother, takes the phobic route as
a quirky, underachieving cynic
who refuses to take the plunge
and marry his girlfriend of seven
years (Gyllenhaal).
After a series of infidelities
and some of the most unsuc-
cessful counseling sessions of
all time that fail both to resolve
the couples' issues or provide
any humor, the relationships fall
predictably to pieces.
It's easy to see where each of
the couples go wrong (as well
as how they're going to work
out), but harder to pinpoint
exactly what makes the film a
flop. All four principal actors
deliver deliberate, passionate
performances, particularly Gyl-
lenhaal, who shines in her role
as a perky children's author. But
even Gyllenhaal's performance
can only lend so much depth to
the film's impenetrable blanket
of superficiality.

TELEVISION
Continued from Page 8A
leaned toward the numbing "Two
and a Half Men." Though view-
ers are scarce on those busy
Thursday nights (a combination
of "Survivor," "CSI," "Grey's
Anatomy" and "Smallville"
attracts just about everyone),
these comedies and a resurgent
"ER" have at least made NBC
respectable again on the night it
made "Must-See TV."
Even so, a disturbing trend
arises here. "Arrested" was can-
celled despite nearly universal
critical acclaim, and "The Office"
and "Christine," which together
fielded the top comedic actor
and actress, are both midseason
replacements - fillers for failed
shows. It's hard to believe that in
an age when networks flagrantly
shove "Skating with Celebri-
ties" down our throats in order
to increase ad revenue, the major
networks could fail to see the
potential of such fine shows and
actors. Indeed, the marketing fias-
co that was Fox's feeble attempt
to promote "Arrested" proves we
can't depend on networks to tell
us what's good.
Or the Emmys, for that matter.
- Syed wishes he could salchow
like those celebrities. Give him
tips at galad@umich.edu.

"So, do you really think aliens exi
The material itself is dead
weight, right there on the awk-
ward cusp between the light
humor of romantic comedy
and the more serious drama of
a relationship study. The film
doesn't commit to either style,

Est?"
and so it wavers between the at all, it only does so like a half-
two, never achieving any decent way decent date - entertaining,
humor or introspection. It ulti- occupying and totally unaffect-
mately relies on generic melo- ing. It's difficult to pinpoint the
drama to achieve its half-baked cause of the film's failure, but
conclusion. the effect - or lack thereof -
If "Trust the Man" succeeds on the viewer is unmistakable.