La Montre, la Croix & la Manière

THE FAVOUR, THE WATCH AND THE VERY BIG FISH (3+ outta 4 stars) I hadn't seen this movie for along time but I remember thinking when it first came out that it didn't have much going for it. Seeing it a second time I was really surprised at how much more I liked the oddball storyline. Bob Hoskins plays a nerdy church photographer who is trying to complete a photo series of famous Biblical characters. Unfortunately he hasn't found the right Jesus yet and his boss (Michel Blanc) is putting on the pressure. Filling in for an ailing friend, Hoskins finds himself doing voice-over work for porn movies... where he meets Sybil, the girl of his dreams (Natasha Richardson), in the funniest scene in the movie. Hoskins finally finds the ideal Jesus in a sad-faced homeless man played by Jeff Goldblum... who, after becoming famous playing Jesus, begins to think that he might *really* be. Many, many complications arise... and lots of extremely odd plot twists and bizarre characterizations. The movie definitely does not go where you think it is going to. The actors all do great jobs... and the script is filled with witty one-liners... and even a serious aside or two. Definitely worth checking out if you like unusual movies.

This movie is certainly not everyone's cup of tea. Mine it is, big time. Rarely have I seen a movie that I liked more than this one. I wonder why others don't like it. What is it they don't see that I see? Or is there something that bothers them but not me? The pace is slow, yes, but there are a lot of details and twists to keep me easily entertained. And the pace is certainly faster than in Greenaway's movies. When I saw it the first time, I couldn't wait to see what weird happens next.

The movie is more strange that intellectual. However, I think it cannot be enjoyed by Americans who expect to enjoy a film also (only ?) if they leave their brains home. You might say there is something European in the whole thing.

Louis Aubinar (Bob Hoskins) is a photographer specializing in pictures of religious figures. He lives in Paris with his oddball sister Elizabeth and her crazier food like grinding up a whole swordfish. He does a favor doing a voice-over job. He is shocked to be dubbing porn beside fellow voice actor Sybil (Natasha Richardson). She confides in him about a depressed pianist (Jeff Goldblum). They worked at a restaurant and a spoiled girl offered Sybil a watch if she makes the pianist act happy. Sybil flirted with the pianist which improved his playing. The restaurant gained respect and then one night, the pianist became jealous of the violinist over Sybil and attacked him. He is taken to prison and now he is being released. Meanwhile Louis is having trouble finding the right Jesus until he sees the rain-soaked pianist in his window without knowing that he's Sybil's pianist.

This is a weird movie. Dubbing porn is hilarious. The rest are strange and lovely. I really only laughed at the porno scenes. The movie is quirky but not outrageous enough to be consistently funny. The energy is a bit on the low end. It needs a faster pace and some more energetic music.

This is a lovely piece of black humor and non sequitur, and I can't believe I never heard of it until a friend showed it to me last night. While it has some parts which are not absolutely necessary, most of it is splendidly daft and macabre, and seems like the sort of thing I would have heard about, considering my taste for such films as Delicatessen, Brazil, Naked Lunch, Repo Man and so on. Why didn't anyone tell me????

I saw this movie when it first came out and really liked it. I recall it didn't do that well, perhaps because the trailer for it was so badly done.

I decided to watch it again, and it's still very entertaining. It starts a little slow but gets nuttier and nuttier as it goes along. Jeff Goldblum is excellent as a volatile pianist and Bob Hoskins quite good as the meek protagonist. The plot is quite ingenious. The movie is quite silly and odd, and I can certainly see it wouldn't appeal to everyone, but for those who like quirky indie films, this is a great bet.