Por Bem ou por Mal

I finally saw this flick on sale for $4.99 at the local gay video rental place and had to snatch it up immediately! I watched it with the sole intention of seeing my hero Bea Arthur deliver a knockout performance, which she of course did. The overall plot is kind of hokey, (does anyone know why we should even care about Jason Alexander's character??) but Bea is fabulous as the Makeshift brothers' credit union-employee mom. Her dry, deadpan deliveries keep the humor moving right along, and this movie probably wouldn't have even registered on my scale without her.

Funny cameo scene by Rob Reiner, too. Watch for a very young Haley Joel Osment in that same scene.

***** out of 10

Except for a couple of amusing scenes featuring James Woods and Jason Alexander, this "comedy" is bereft of any originality or laughs. I had to rub my eyes in disbelief when I saw that it was filmed in the mid 90's! The only evidence that this wasn't an 80's movie was the presence of a young Hayley Joel Osment. Even George Costanza's love interest was sporting a massive 80's hairstyle.

The cheesy romantic plot just floats past like a bloated, rotting corpse. By '96 we'd already seen just about every variation on this style of comedy about a million times. Jason Alexander is simply playing a toned down version of George Costanza... Blah, I wasted my time watching this and now I'm wasting more by typing about it. Awful film.

See this movie directed by and starring Jason Alexander. It's not a one-of-a-kind movie, it's not an 'American Beauty' and it's not unforgettable. Heck, it's a one-star movie! It's got a good story idea, but the movie would've been a lot better if they had an excellent script, because some parts are just way out there. See it for Jason Alexander and Jay Mohr. Jay was downright hilarious. Jason was good at acting un-George-like.

The main problem was about 15 minutes in, I wanted to shoot the performers of the irritating background music. 'Okay, we get the point already! You're in a capella jazz group, now shut it!'

And, ladies, by the end of the movie, I'm sure you'll be thinking that Jason IS the most adorable guy on the planet, too, inside and out. Too bad he's married. (His wife's in the movie as the cop about three minutes from the end of the movie.)

8/10

Nobody is comparing but any movie in which we are damned to endure the presence of Jason Alexander necessarily has to remind us of the most inane and overrated TV show in history. I know, I'm one of the few misguided souls that think like that but this is a free country, or so they say. However, I think For Better Or Worst is a good example of what always has been my theory about Seinfeld. They just abuse the gullibility of their faithful audience by inserting recorded laughs through unfunny dialog and hoping the TV viewers tag along. They actually do and that has made a mediocre stand-up comedian one of the wealthiest and most famous of American entertainers. Don't take my word for it. Just watch Jason Alexander repeat his hysterical antics and see if you can laugh. Put a laugh machine under and tell me if it's not as funny as The Seinfeld Show. The movie has a good cast but nothing helps. The only one that manages to do something with his role, as usual, is James Woods. Marvelous Lolita Davidovich is forced to play some sentimental hybrid and she copes with it with great dignity but can't really shine. By the way, I don't want to sound too trivial but I sincerely can't imagine such a woman having any kind of affair with such a guy unless he's directing the movie. Joe Mantegna is totally wasted and the rest, including Bea Arthur, has really nothing to work on. One of the many uninspired lines in the movie says: "This is better than my soap!." No, it's not. Not even that.

certainly not a benchmark in American cinema, but all in all, a rather enjoyable little movie. Perfect for a lazy afternoon when you're not in the mood for anything in particular. It's been a long time since I've seen it but I remember it being a light, fun little fluff piece which I have a firm appreciation for. Bea Arthur's turn as the mother was a definite stand out. She's always good. It was also nice to see Jason Alexander emerge from his George cocoon and see that he really has acting chops. I'd have to say if this were out on DVD, I would buy it. Not much chance of that happening though is there?