Carolina - Auf der Suche nach Mr. Perfect

Another magnificent film from Stiles, and another Film Festival movie. I waited and waited for this film to be released in Region 1 so that I could snag it, and then promptly bought it from Canada. Carolina (Stiles) is gloriously and comically oblivious to Albert's (Nivola) obvious love for her. You'll laugh at Grandma Mirabeau's (MacLaine) outrageous humor, you'll sigh with Albert each time Carolina doesn't see what's obviously there, and you'll rage with them when they lash out in anger for lack of a better defense. But, it's a movie after all, so you'll be smiling in the end. It's a wonderful film that had my attention from the very first scene. One of the best romantic comedies I've seen in years.

Carolina (Julia Stiles) might be termed the sane one in an Addams-like family. Her grandmother (Shirley MacLaine) is notorious for doing and saying what she likes in their southern town. Sister Georgia is single and pregnant from a one night stand and sister Maine is a rocking horse-riding, lottery obsessed girl. The family's father is a semi-recovering alcoholic who turned to drink after the mother's death. Oh, and Aunt Marilyn is a madam. Only Carolina seems to be the white bread type, having a job in television and a British businessman for a boyfriend. However, Carolina has a long relationship with the handsome writer next door, Albert (Alessandro Nivola). It has been a friendship; could it ever be anything else? Amid the chaos of a very strange family situation, a nice love story emerges. Stiles is wonderful as the beautiful young lady who loves her family but hopes to live a more sedate life. MacLaine is really quite nice, also, as the eccentric grandmother and the other cast members are fine. However, the story is a stroll down life in extremes, careening from one bizarre incident to another. Maybe there are families like this one but, if you ever meet one, run for your life. That said, if you wish to locate another sorta-romcom for the evening, you might try this one, especially if you have seen most of the other light comedy-and-romance films that are out there.

The "troubled teen gets tough love" genre is a well-loved genre, ever since The Blackboard Jungle in 1955. I watch a lot of these movies, and Carolina is a pretty good one.

The troubled teen in this one is actually an adult, but it's still the same type of movie. Julia Stiles, whose "too cool for school" attitude is perfectly plastered on her perpetually sourpuss face, is mad at her family because they're eccentric and she's trying to mature into a mainstream young woman. Her name is Carolina because everyone in her family is named after the state in which they were born, and she despises her name just as much as her eccentric relatives.

If you've seen a lot of these movies, like I have, you pretty much know the formula. Carolina doesn't stray too far from the typical mold, but if you're in the mood for a little cheese in your movies and relatives who are too wacky to be realistic, give this one a whirl.

This movie has been a long time coming. After waiting a year for Miramax to release it in the US, I picked up the DVD via Canada. Although not perfect, it was sweet and very well acted. Ms. Stiles continues her skill of creating a new personality for each of her screen appearances, and she has NEVER looked better. Her range is amazing. She once again delivers a very powerful performance. In fact, all of the actors were impressive. Shirley MacLaine's role is more than a cameo, and she delivers. Randy Quaid was a pleasant surprise. In a role where he could easily have gone over the top; he didn't. Azura Skye did a great job and had several very memorable moments. I look forward to seeing her again. The child actress chosen to play the young Carolina is an uncanny young version of Ms. Stiles. Along with the acting, the dialog was consistently smart and sharp. Miramax should release and promote this film for no other reason than it contains some of the all-time great movie lines. Not every aspect or scene worked for me, but most did. I enjoyed and recommend it.

Poor Shirley MacLaine. I have seen her in other movies (just today "Guarding Tess) so I know she can be good, but judging by her acting in this film one would think she is a bad actress. Here she plays another in a long line of eccentric characters. The problem is she is no longer in her 20s and can be cute and kooky as in "The Apartment", "What a Way to Go!", and "Sweet Charity".

Judging from the entire movie, the movie script fails her as the script is terrible. However Ms. MacLaine has been in the movie business since 1955 and has appeared in a number of excellent movies so she at least could have made her role good in this bad movie. Nope. Not in this movie. Take for instance the scene where she talks to the screen in the movie theater and then harangues the young usher who comes to ask her to be quiet. Dreadful performance in a dreadful scene. It is also an unnecessary scene as we already know MacLaine's character is embarrassing to her granddaughters.

Julia Stiles again plays a young uptight woman who needs to learn to loosen up. Ms. Stiles has acted since 1994, many years prior to this 2003 movie. She has experience playing this role before, i.e. in "10 Things I Hate About You" from 1999. Stiles also could have brought something interesting to her role here. She didn't.

The characters in this movie were all eccentric characters who were one dimensional and annoying, and not real at all.

Stiles played an uptight woman who never had more than three dates with one person. Her best friend is man (she has no women friends) who lives near her apartment. He writes romance novels under a fake name, has a crush on her, and she has no idea. Duh. As the best male friend in movies is often stereotypically a gay man, I initially thought he was gay. When he hired the gay housecleaning duo to clean her apartment, I was sure he was gay. Speaking of the gay house cleaners, talk about an offensive stereotype.

Anyway, her best friend is not gay, and although he claims to understand her well and can predict she will act a certain way - and tells her so, when she does act the way he knew she would, he gets upset. Huh? All a plot device to have "boy lose girl".

I don't think Stiles, MacLaine, or most any of the actors, cared for this movie. They must have been in it either because of an obligation or they needed the money.

Watching this movie is a waste of time, and I bet the actors wish they hadn't wasted their time making this movie.