Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Pauline Kael

“If there were justice in the world of entertainment, Baby Boom would be unwatchable. But Diane Keaton gives a smashing, glamorous performance that rides over many of the inanities. As soon as you see J.C. striding through the corridors of power, her suit cinched in by a broad belt, her body swinging and lurching forward, as if she were diving into the challenges of the day, you know that she finds success sexy. Her having all this drive is played for farce, and Keaton keeps you alert to every shade of pride and panic J.C. feels. J.C. is an utlra-feminine executive, a wide-eyed charmer, with a breathless ditziness that may remind you of Jean Arthur in The More the Merrier. She does funny, flighty things, and Keaton shows you the core of confusion that they come out of. She's funniest when J.C. loses control, as in her scene with a Vermont plumber (Britt Leach) who tells her the well has gone dry: she expostulates, then collapses. Keaton is acting in a different range from the frequently inspired work she did in Shoot the Moon, The Little Drummer Girl, Mrs. Soffel, and Crimes of the Heart. Her J.C. is star acting, but she doesn't treat it like hack work. J.C. gets a kick out of business success; it's a form of conquest, and it satisfies her vanity--it's like being the best student at school. But she also knows that it's time to graduate and find out what else is out there.”

Pauline Kael
The New Yorker, October 19, 1987
Hooked, pp 377-378

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home