Un cœur en balance

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?

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

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

Hilarious. A real "sleeper." I never heard of it until it appeared on INHD TV. So many surprises (not in any particular order): Lolita Davidovitch gives one of the very best (perhaps THE best)comic actress performances ever. What a waste of talent that we've seen so little of her. Who knew James Woods could be funny at all, let alone as funny as THIS? He creates a sleaze, with no redeeming qualities, yet we can't hate him, can't help but sort of actually like him. There's no hint of the menace for which he became a star. Jason Alexander is touching and funny, but I already knew that. What I didn't know was his talent for directing antic comedy. Jay Mohr has never been better. Bea Arthur is perfect as the somewhat befuddled mother. Rip Torn is on screen for only a few minutes, but every one is a comic jewel. Even Joe Montegna (an actor whose talent has always escaped me)almost is funny once or twice. The script is marvelous, with enough throwaway lines to make another movie. I seem to be a party of one here in my comments, but those who watched it with me laughed as much as I, and liked it as much.