The Whole Truth

THE WHOLE TRUTH is a unique comedy. The premise of an acting teacher who coaches defendants to transform themselves into the appearance of innocence is completely original. Actress Elisabeth Rohm (in a departure from dramatic roles like LAW AND ORDER) portrays a self-deluded acting coach with touches of Carole Lombard, Lucille Ball, and the young Diane Keaton. In a surprising turn Eric Roberts plays a foreign mobster who is both scary and hilarious. For those familiar with Roberts playing dark dramatic characters, this role will be a revelation. Sean Patrick Flanery (BOONDOCK SAINTS) is a once successful television actor who has hit a rough patch. The superb supporting cast includes comic actors Rick Overton as a henchman, John Fugelsang as a prosecuting attorney, and Jim Holmes as an ethically challenged defense attorney. Beneath the comedy is a commentary on how easily justice can be "gamed" by the unscrupulous.

I'm truly puzzled by some of the negative responses from some at the Seattle Film Festival. The audience I saw it with (there were two screenings) was entertained. THE WHOLE TRUTH is that rare PG comedy for adult sensibilities.

Elisabeth Rohm stars in "The Whole Truth" from 2009, also starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Eric Roberts, and Tin Tin, a dog who is the best actor in the film.

The premise is a funny one: an acting coach, Angela Masters, prepares defendants for court, making them look and sound amazing so that they are found not guilty. One of her clients is a Russian mobster, played by Eric Roberts.

The only problem with this movie is its horrific direction. It is so over the top that it is embarrassing. Elisabeth Rohm, a good actress, a beautiful woman, screams and shouts her way through her role. Eric Roberts hams it up but good. If the movie had been toned down a little, it would have been so much better.

Only Sean Patrick Flannery and Tin Tin the dog emerge with their dignity intact. Pisay Pao, who plays Angela's maid, is good, but I think I missed something. From what I can gather, she pretends to be her own, elderly aunt, and when Angela is out of the house, she is her young self, seeing clients in an office. It took me the whole movie to figure out her profession. I think it was financial planning.

Not recommended unless your idea of comedy is overdone performances.

If you have time to kill you might enjoy laughing at the movie. Not with the movie.

Comedies are a dime a dozen nowadays so they are becoming harder and harder to top. There are times when a filmmaker attempts to try to take on a subject with comedy to make a statement about which is a tricky thing to make work. The latest film The Whole Truth seems to be doing this with the legal system sporting a decent cast including Elisabeth Rohm, Sean Patrick Flanery, and Eric Roberts, but does it accomplish in delivering its message and the comedy?

The Whole Truth follows an acting coach whose client list are accused criminals in the attempt to make them presentable for court. When she over hears one of her clients she helped free is planning a crime and has targeted her for murder, she is forced to use her own teachings to change herself and in doing so finds out who she really is. There are some pretty funny moments in this film, mostly thanks to Eric Roberts, but sadly it mostly gets lost in itself. Without the explanation of where the filmmaker is trying to go and tell the audience this film is really all over the place and convoluted. Once you understand the message the movie makes a bit more sense, but still has some issues flowing smoothly. At first it makes complete sense and then it starts to jump around a bit and loses you. The performances are all decent, with Roberts being the most stand out of the bunch. His over the top performance is so ridiculous that it is way more entertaining than it deserves to be. The rest of the cast deliver what they can, but it's hard to tell if they want it to be an over the top comedy or it just happens to play out that way.

This isn't a horrible movie, but at the same time it struggles trying to come together. As mentioned the message is key to understand what they are trying to tell the audience which is a social commentary on the legal system to really appreciate any aspect of this film.

There are some movies that start badly, but make me hope for something worth staying for. Sometimes I am rewarded, sometimes I end up just satisfied enough and sometimes I just laugh at the train wreck that is unfolding before me...

...and sometimes, I get to the 30 minute mark and realize that the movie was always dead on arrival, and that there really isn't even a shred of hope.

Welcome to "The Whole Truth".

The "You're lucky I'm not Korean" line (spoken to a dog...oh, I get it!) was one of many painful and embarrassingly bad attempts at humor. I mean without exaggeration that the writing is truly cringe-worthy. Ever watch amateur comedians flop on stage and feel embarrassed for them? Yeah...it's that bad.

I heard a few quiet (and possibly just nervous/embarrassed) giggles in the first half hour. For a movie that promised "rapid-fire" laughs, there was a painful amount of silence in the theatre.

Additionally, the soundtrack was right out of a sitcom pilot that never got picked up for a first season, the acting was forced and brutally unfunny, and the general feel of the movie was that of a decent concept given terribly amateur treatment.

Oddly, I read a comment about a test screening that went really well. The audience at the (sold out!) Seattle Int'l Film Festival screening would probably beg to differ, and the reviews on the SIFF site are very telling.

I would have been very curious to see the Q&A session after the movie. I can't help but wonder if anything of interest was said. Did the filmmakers receive any honest feedback? I've heard that Sundance audiences have actually booed and hissed at selected screenings...I've never seen that happen here.

Then again, I had to leave at the 30 minute mark. I couldn't take it anymore.