smck

Quirky little road movies are a dime a dozen; this one works so well because the quirkiness is so freshly realized, the writing so sharp and inventive, and the actors mostly right on target. Brothers Owen and Luke Wilson are screen naturals and I was especially fond of the luminous Lumi Cavazos (bringing depth and intelligence to a fairly standard love interest role) and the sweet natured Donny Caicedo(bringing subtle humor and a big heart to another role that could have been a throwaway); actors who deserve to be seen again.

If you've never seen "A Midsummer Night's Dream," this is probably as good an introduction as any.But it's a bit heavy-handed, not particularly funny, and downright ponderous at times. Rupert Everett and Michelle Pfeiffer are most successful and seem to be having a terrific time as the king and queen of fairies; elsewhere the likes of John Sessions, Max Wright, Sam Rockwell, Roger Rees and Gregory Jbara make the most of their limited screen time. The lovers are a bit bland (and a miscast Calista Flockhart would have made a much better "Hermia") and Stanley Tucci is..uh..puckish (if nothing else) as "Puck" but the real disaster is the "Bottom" of Kevin Kline. It would appear to be the perfect match, but it is a wearisome, uninventive performance. This is supposed to be FUN!

Mother and son get a wee bit too close one summer in this rather timidly told incest tale. The subject matter is of course, incendiary, but the filmmakers essentially let the audience off the hook, by skirting around the central theme. Doesn't amount to much.