Somebody to Love

Yes, it's an okay film, somewhat formulaic (as some reviewers have pointed out) and well-acted (as other reviewers have pointed out). The real gem here, for people in the know, is the cameo by the late, great director Sam Fuller, as a man injured in a car accident (which has virtually nothing to do with the main plot). Fuller is totally himself, as he rants his way through all of his complaints about Hollywood, in his own inimitable style. It's great having him on screen and those who may know the man's films (including THE BIG RED ONE, SHOCK CORRIDOR, THE NAKED KISS, STEEL HELMET, 40 GUNS, and many others) will enjoy seeing the man behind the camera -- one of the great Hollywood personalities.

I had to watch this movie last February but back then wasn't available anywhere. Then a week before Christmas I searched on all my sources and I finally found it - Thank God! And I can't see why it has a terrible score of 5,4 and only 5 reviews to date (the last written in March 2009).

Mercedes (Rosie Perez) is a taxy dancer that works in a nightclub and at the beginning is left by George (Stanley Tucci), who was trying to get her a part in a movie. Some time later Mercedes meets with Harry Harrelson (Harvey Keitel), a washed up actor that considers himself a thespian and hides to Mercedes that is married. Mercedes is also courted by Ernesto, a young man that hasn't enough money for impressing her and is forced to ask it to his uncle Emilio (Anthony Quinn) who has LOTS of connections with the mob but Emilio refuses. After experiencing a bit with Harry until the truth comes out (when his wife suddenly arrives Mercedes has to escape from the window) and Ernesto is shot soon after, it all seems to be over for her but she finds on a nearby beach lots of cash: it was the gift that Ernesto made for her and he was shot by the mobsters because of it.

The plot is a bit depressing, I agree, but the movie itself has some pluses. First of all the acting was unexpectedly good. Perez, Keitel, Quinn, Tucci, Steve Buscemi, Quentin Tarantino and Sam Rockwell were all entertaining and there were some cute moments as well (such as when Mickey talks about his pet dove in the dressing room). And the ending, might seem tragic, but instead is nice because Ernesto died for winning his love for Mercedes.

Overall, an ok drama about search for love. Nice performances, some sad moments and some nice ones as well, and a double-edged ending... worth a watch since now is available again.

I'm sorry, but this movie is just way to shallow for me. In it, Perez is a taxi dancer with boyfriend Keitel trying to make it as an actress. First of all, what the hell is a taxi dancer? Even after sitting through this, I still don't know. Oh yeah, Perez also inspires DeLorenzo to follow her like a lovesick puppy. There's no reason behind the love, it just kind of happens. There are times when the characters and events really try to pull at your heartstrings, but it rarely works. The only character you really do feel anything for or with is Keitel's character, and that's only because he does such a good job with it. Any other actor and the character would have been just like the others.

The script is basically an uninspired rehashing about how hard it is to make it as an actor/actress. It's been done and said before, the language and dialog sounds like it was written by a street pimp. The ending is...well, I don't want to spoil it. Let's just say it feels unsatisfying. I'd be more upset if the story was any good to begin with. The directing is average with nothing truly wonderful, but nothing that is really painful to watch either. To reiterate the acting, the only one that does anything worth watching is Keitel. Though I could have lived on without seeing him in tiger print bikini underwear.

Oh yeah, Eddie Bunker shows up. As random as that mention is, that's how random it is in the film. And Tarantino does his director buddy a favor by showing up for about 20 seconds.

Rosie Perez is the lead in this very engaging affair, cast as Mercedes, a young woman from Brooklyn who has resolved to become a film actress although not favoured by her circumstances, living in East Los Angeles and struggling with a series of fruitless auditions for any sort of part at all. Mercedes has hooked up with a married and washed-up actor, Harry Harrelson (Harvey Keitel), who at one time had performed in a television Western series during the 1970s, and seldom since, accepting him as her lover, in part from loneliness, and as well from a hope that film parts will be coming her way because of his "contacts", but these latter are of small consequence as Harry is simply self-delusional in his attempts at recovering what he perceives as past cinematic renown. In order to adequately support herself financially, Mercedes toils as a taxi dancer in a downtown Los Angeles Skid Row dance hall/bar while she continues carrying on her efforts to succeed at the motion picture business, and it is while there at the dance palace that a young immigrant from Mexico, Ernesto (Michael DeLorenzo), falls in love with her and the largest portion of the narrative depicts his efforts to please the object of his affections, even if they may mean losing her altogether. This essentially tradition rooted melodrama is given only a moderate budget, despite the presence of a goodly number of well-known players, including Steve Buscemi, Anthony Quinn, and Stanley Tucci, and was kept in the can for about a year before its rather desultory distribution and leaden marketing efforts on its behalf, more's the pity as its solid production characteristics are firmly complemented by Alexandre Rockwell's admirably controlled direction, a consistent virtue of his work, and on display in this film from its very opening scene, frames that form a montage behind the credits, featuring Perez at Skid Row's Fifth and Main Streets. Rockwell has often demonstrated that he operates very closely indeed with his cast, and this holds true in this instance as he allows his actors to create their roles while any ad libbing is neatened nicely via the editing process, resulting in an artistic success for the director, despite negative comments from some mainstream evaluators. The film's scoring is aesthetically spot on with a good deal of it contributed by Tito Larriva, who also plays as band boss for the taxi dancers. Acting honours here must go to the ever vital Perez, although nary a sub-par performance is turned in. A fair test for any film's quality is given when a viewer will watch it twice within a brief period. Sitting through this undervalued work will be considered a keen pleasure for many.

The three main characters are all hopeless, and yet you only feel sorry for one of them: Ernesto, hopelessly devoted to Mercedes. This was part of the frustration: screaming at Mercedes to get a clue and ditch the no-good Harry, to no avail.

Then there's the satisfaction: Steve Buscemi has a great part as a transvestite, and Harvey Keitel's moving story of his indignity playing a gorilla for a cheap TV movie is incredible. When you least expect it, Quentin Tarintino is doing half a monologue, and Anthony Quinn turns Ernesto into a wealthy man.

Time and again great moments appear in the story, but in the end it's hard to know what to feel about this movie. It doesn't have a happy ending, or even a complete one, but it somehow feels right.

This movie is strange, but then so am I; no wonder I liked it.