Beautiful Joe

I saw this film on TV, and though its bad sides, it's a quite enjoyable romantic comedy. I'm not a fan of romcoms in general, so any such film that I can stand must be pretty good. Of course, a big part of the reason are the leads, since I like both Billy Connelly and Sharon Stone, who, in their different ways, are not the typical sugary romcom stars, such as Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant etc. (A film with any of the mentioned is sure to make me want to throw up.) One of the setbacks is that I often get annoyed by actors doing a Southern accent, and it was no different here, but I got used to it after a while.

However, the performances are uneven. The plot with the bad guys is very bad. The mobsters are very unconvicing, and the guy from Ally McBeal is really awful. He was obviously trying to shed the good guy image and show he has 'range', but he's cartoonish and over-the-top. His character really hurt the film the most.

On the other hand, Connelly, Stone and the kids are fine, but I want to point out another performance that impressed me the most. Another TV face, not very famous - Roger Cross, who played the aliens Joshua/Cain in SF series 'First Wave', shows up in one scene, for about 2 or 3 minutes, as Stone's ex who's in jail, and proves that there are no small roles. If anything impressed me in this film, it's that scene - which proves you don't need much screen time or many lines to make a memorable character.

Due to a special affection for Scottish comedy legend Billy Connolly, I saw Beautiful Joe. I love low budget film and I love a good heart tugging story. Connolly's Joe is a charming character that one can't help but like from the films opening. A Scot playing an Irishman amused me, particularly that the extent of his Irish accent was to say "Tanks" instead of "Thanks", but Connolly's charm sees this of little annoyance. Sharon Stone, who I normally don't care for, hits all the right notes in a very good performance as the tough as nails barhopping single mother. The two leads play off each other wonderfully without being drawn into the sentimentality of the piece. The two child actors are also first rate, particularly in their scenes with Connolly. Ian Holm, Dan Florek and Gil Bellows provide some lovely touches in their small roles. The problem? The script is quite predictable and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to put it together. The unforgivable aspect however, is the constant view of the boom microphone in the shot. This doesn't happen just once, it happens several times and so obtrusively that it detracts from the viewers ability to get stuck into and believe the film (at least with this viewer it did). That aspect tainted the film badly, which is a shame because the work of Connolly and Stone is truly first rate. Visible boom microphone aside, Beautiful Joe is well worth seeing as a nice feel good film with some top notch acting.

A cute little film. I'm not familiar with this Billy Connolly, so I don't know if he really has that Irish brogue, or if he acted it. It was good, anyway. Sharon Stone continues to prove her acting range with a dramatic role (also with an accent). I had never heard of this film when it came on cable, but it was sweet. Worth catching the next time it comes on.

Though likable in many ways, `Beautiful Joe' is one of those maddeningly inconsistent movies in which the plot keeps getting in the way of the finer elements of the picture. Here we have a film that is far more effective in its moments of quiet contemplation than the moments in which it indulges in grand melodramatic gestures. The latter do not happen frequently enough to actually kill the picture, but you can't accuse them of not trying.

Writer/director Stephen Metcalfe has concocted a screenplay that is part romantic comedy, part `road movie' and part petty gangster picture. The mixture never really jells. The film focuses around a sweet, good-natured, hopelessly optimistic Irish immigrant so beloved in his heavily ethnic Bronx neighborhood that his neighbors have affectionately nicknamed him `Beautiful Joe.' One day Joe is informed by his doctor that he has a potentially life threatening brain tumor. Conveniently for purposes of the plot, Joe also happens to discover on that day (though everyone else seems to have long known it) that his slatternly wife has been cheating on him. This frees him up to load his van and set out in search of the adventure he never really experienced in his peaceful but humdrum existence. While in Kentucky, he meets `Hush' Mason, a down-on-her-luck gambler and exotic dancer with two children who also happens to be involved with a parcel of petty gangsters led by one `George the Geek' whose sadism emerges in his various dealings with Joe, Hush, her children and his own loyal henchmen.

`Beautiful Joe' is at its best when it concentrates on the quiet moments that occur between these two oddball people – one a rock of stability, sanity and virtue in a cruel, chaotic world and the other a mess of insecurities, weaknesses and vulnerabilities who needs someone like Joe to help pull her out of that world. When Sharon Stone and Billy Connolly share screen time together (along with Jurnee Smollett and Dillon Moen who play her children), the film is believable and touching. However, Metcalfe seems unwilling to leave well enough alone because he has injected into the film a truly awful subplot involving a group of bumbling gangsters who manage to bring the film crashing down every time they appear in a scene. Luckily for us and for the film, they disappear through long stretches of the movie's running time, allowing time for us to concentrate on the individuals at the story's core. Even here, however, some of the plot details seem unnecessarily hokey and distracting, such as Hush's son's refusal to talk being overcome at the last minute – an obvious device to squeeze as many tears out of the audience as is legally possible. Indeed, the whole final act overindulges itself on syrupy sentiment.

Connolly and Stone are both excellent in their roles, Connolly appearing strong, compassionate and virtuous all at the same time, while Stone displays just the right amount of feistiness and vulnerability to make her character ring true and likable.

A pity Metcalfe doesn't display the discipline of tone and plotting necessary to make this film a total triumph. But for the elements that are good in it – and they are indeed manifold – `Beautiful Joe' is a film that deserves to be seen and enjoyed.

This is a really beautiful film. Billy Connelly is tops and Sharon Stone again shows she can play a role vs. being a role. And the two kid actors! Wow, where did they find them?

Stone is wonderfully over and under played as the woman who life has dissed and who has no control over herself. Connelly is more than wonderful as the Irish immigrant who comes to love her, understand her and save her (and her children) from herself.

Watch it and enjoy it!