Kansas City

Robert Altman's Jazz-Infused Homage to His Hometown is Like Most, but Not All, of the Maverick Directors Filmography, it's a Love it or Leave it Affair.

His Most Successful, Financial and Critical, Movies don't Fit in that Box with Altman's Others that Part the Majority of Fans and Critics like the "Red Sea".

"Nashville" (1975) and "The Player" (1992) are Exceptions.

With "Kansas City" the Writer-Director is in Familiar Territory Again as there are Folks and Critics on Both Sides of Altman's Vision.

His Modus-Operandi has Always been to Never Compromise and Play the Maverick to the End,

You Need Talent to Survive for so Long in His World of Making Movies Apart from the Maddening Crowd of Hollywood.

His Film-Making Talent is Rarely Criticized. But His Movies are Frequently.

This is a Luscious Looking Film and the Free Form/Improv Jazz Soundtrack is its Reason for Being.

The Period Detail Drips from the Screen.

The Music is a Delight.

Harry Belafonte Steals the Acting Honors and Rants Endlessly about the Human Condition while Whiffing Cocaine and Murdering Anyone who Dares Double-Cross.

Jennifer Jason Leigh's Lead Performance is a Sticking-Point for Sticklers Wanting Perhaps a more Nuanced Take.

Nope, Not Going to Happen.

It's an Over-the-Top Cartoony, Stereotypical Gangster-Moll Cliche and it Comes Off Thick and In-Your-Face and Seems Silly.

Even if You Consider it a Disastrous Dramatic Overkill, the Film is so Good Otherwise that it can be Sloughed Off as an Altman/Leigh Indulgence.

The Film's Saving Grace is the Eye and Ear Candy...it's a Treat.

Bottom line, whether you love or hate "Kansas City" will depend on your reaction to Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance. Leigh's character Blondie anchors the story as a desperate wife trying to save her husband from the gangsters he tried to rob. Leigh looks great in this role, she is fit and trim which makes her face cuter and her character more fragile looking. The contrast between her almost angelic appearance and her tough persona is intentional because the toughness is an affectation, qualities she has adopted because she loves her husband and they are a turn-on for him.

Her's is the key performance of the film, the twist is her emulation of Kansas City native Jean Harlow ("The Public Enemy" and "Girl from Missoui"). Watch Harlow in "Red Headed Woman" and you will see the incredible physical resemblance between the two actresses. Personally I found it both touching and humorous; her character worthy of the brave heroine hall of fame. But it is almost a caricature and some viewer will be put off by this tiny woman talking so tough.

As in "Nashville", there are great songs (but jazz rather than country) throughout the film. It is important to realize that "Blondie's" behavior is intended to mirror the "cutting contests" between the jazz musicians on-stage at the club. Just as the musicians borrow from one another and weave each others stuff into what they are improvising, "Blondie" borrows from the movies and weaves Harlow's tough girl phrases and expressions into her conversation.

Leigh and Miranda Richardson spend most of the film in each other's company. Although Richardson's character is doped up on laudanum (tincture of opium) most of the time, you get the idea that she is taking in a lot more of the situation than she is letting on. There is almost a "Thelma and Louise" quality to their relationship, in part because Leigh doing Harlow ends up sounding a lot like Geena Davis doing Geena Davis. The two women are polar opposites in the way they react to the desperation in their lives; one has lost all restraint, the other has lost everything but restraint.

Richardson's character is unexpectedly touching. An emotional bond is subtly forged between the two women as the film proceeds, with Richarson gradually becoming totally protective of her kidnapper. The ending is shocking but you understand the motivation, then looking back you pick up on the various foreshadowing devices that Altman placed throughout the film. He goes out with a bass duet of Duke Ellington's "Solitude" performed by Ron Carter and Christian McBride.

Like many films with downbeat endings, "Kansas City" is destined to be more appreciated 25 years after its release.

Like the films of Orson Welles, Federico Fellini or Woody Allen, there's almost always a reason to watch, even if the completed whole doesn't quite add up to the sum of it's parts. Kansas City fits that bill for me.

Altman weaves his usual rich tapestry of lives affected by history in a city alive with jazz and political chicanery, and Kansas City is worth watching for the unexpectedly mesmerizing performance by Harry Belafonte as "Seldom Seen," mobster boss.

The jazz on display is equally dazzling, but just when your mind is settling into some rich, heady music, the film cuts back to the deadly, mannered, whiny performance turned in by Jennifer Jason Leigh; when most film fans recall the disaster that became Godfather III, the director's indulgence of the lackluster performance turned in by Sofia Coppola comes to mind; Leigh's performance similarly affects the tone of Kansas City, and since she is the protagonist, the film's interest flags with her director-free indulgence in some kind of method acting that fails to evoke much but self-indulgence.

In short, Kansas City is well worth a look for superb mise-en-scene,for the music and atmosphere, but is deeply frustrating for it's central performance.

Kansas City is absolutely stunning! Jazz is played practically throughout the entire movie, and one scene in particular could have gone on forever as far as I'm concerned. You'll know which scene I mean when you see it! A real get up and jump 10 minutes or so. Jennifer Jason Leigh was at her best. It was a complex role and her development of the character was incredible. Belefonte was chilling! Altman really picked up a sense of the time and place. This is a must see for jazz fans.

I happen to like this film... apparently quite a bit more than most people. I even still have a copy of it on VHS somewhere. First and foremost is the music. Absolutely INCREDIBLE old time jazz. The best scene to me is clearly the 'battle' between the sax players at the club. The music in the club throughout the movie and the background score during the non-club scenes is about as good as it gets. And I'm not really a huge jazz guy though I have always liked the Miles Davis - John Coltrane type stuff. This is my favorite non - Angelo Badalamente (sp?)film score. Seriously, see this flick just for the music alone.

And, see it for Miranda Richardson who is AWESOME in this movie. I think she really steals the show in this one. J. Jason Leigh is solid and plays the part of a not too bright, not very successful midwest girl decently. Also, Harry Belafonte is great as Seldom Seen and he just looks and sounds the part so well. Steve Buscemi, Dermot Mulroney and the woman who plays J. Jason Leigh's sister are all quite good in supporting roles, and Michael Murphy is perfect for the part of the slightly confused, yet somewhat powerful husband to the kidnapped Richardson character.

The clothes, cars, and look of the film is nicely done (cmon it IS an Altman picture!!!) and really does make you feel as if you are in Missouri circa 1935-1940. Add to that a slightly twisted ending and you have a really good and def. underrated film that I really want to see again... on DVD this time to REALLY crank up the music scenes. I give Kansas City 7.5/10