Alchemy

Just caught this in its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. At the Q&A after, someone in the audience described this movie perfectly -- it's the kind of comedy Hollywood used to make so well, before the movies started drowning in their own stupidity. "Alchemy" is laugh- out-loud funny, immensely charming, a whole lot of fun, and -- amazingly enough -- doesn't insult your intelligence! Not much else to say about it, other than that (like my favorite documentary, "Spellbound") it's a movie that absolutely everyone should and will enjoy. Will be very curious to see how many millions this movie makes when the general public gets to see it.

Oh, and one other thing -- Tom Cavanagh (from "Ed") as "Jerry", the gay French computer program (you'll know what I mean when you see it)....Hilarious!!

5 August 2006. For those who really enjoyed this movie, do I have a much better one to suggest - Electric Dreams (1984). Even those it's 20 years old, this older movie has the soundtrack as well as a nice romantic comedy script that really touches the heart and goes to the essence of the artificial intelligence controversy. Alchemy, unfortunately seems forced, even though more likely scientifically more plausible than Electric Dreams or A.I., the need to introduce and change the rules of the game in favor the computer program makes for a rather dissonant and artificial flavor ironically. The comedy seems forced. The overall plot and the essence of the movie is decent, it just doesn't have the fun and magic that Electric Dreams had. Five out of Ten Stars.

Mal (Tom Cavanaugh) is a typical anti-social professor, totally obsessed with his own research. So much so that he has failed to do the 1st commandment of university instruction, "publish or perish". Therefore, unless he gets his recent findings into a major journal, his days are numbered as a researcher. His friend and colleague (Ileanna Douglas) has also tried to set Mal up with women but he has always been reluctant. Now, Mal turns to a former girlfriend (Nadia Dajani), who also happens to be an editor at a major woman's magazine called Belladonna, to help him get his current study into an article. You see, Mal has actually programmed a computer to "romance a woman" with catch phrases and displays of interest in what the woman actually says. Well, well. Therefore, Mal proposes an article about HIS computer competing for the affections of a chosen female against an actual male. The arrangements are made and the two other parties are selected, a pretty female named Samantha (Sarah Chalke) and a major masculine player, Dr. Love (Troy Rollins), also a professor. But, soon after the project starts, Samantha longs to meet the fellows she has been talking to so Mal must don the persona of a smooth Frenchman who, nevertheless, gets all of his lines from the computer ALONE and Dr. Love is, of course, himself. With two males in avid pursuit, which one will Sam choose? This is a cute, charming film despite having no major stars and an implausible premise. All of the actors do a fine job in their respected roles, although Douglas is virtually wasted. However, how nice to see Celeste Holm, as Mal's grandmother, for she is a major scene stealer. The obviously tight budget has resulted in a film that is only adequate in production values, for although the costumes are nice, the camera-work is amateurish. Nonetheless, if you adore romantic comedy and often are at odds in finding something new to watch, you should make efforts to locate this film. As in history, this Alchemy turns a somewhat leaden storyline into a golden experience for such viewers.

I happened to enjoy this flick. Although the plot-line was somewhat predictable, it's still good for some laughs. Tom is probably one of the best actors in his time and I think the character he had to portray in this movie fit him perfectly. Some may say that the movie looks like it was recorded from a TV show but come on, not every film maker can get the funding that some movies like Titanic and Troy and Lord of The Rings got. I think that we are all too used to the exaggeration of love. Chick flicks like "Serendipity" (I still love that movie but it's true) and adaptations of different Shakespeare pieces like "10 Things I Hate About You"... while they're excellent movies, their portrayal of love is mostly fictitious. I think this movie is somewhat refreshing. It simplifies the matter of love. Love can be too complicated some times and these fictitious movies fuel that complication. Sometimes you just need to sit back, relax and enjoy a movie that's simple. I think that is exactly what Alchemy is.

This is one of the worse movies I have ever seen. It reminded me of a bad pilot that never got picked up and instead got crammed into a poor excuse of a film. The story was stupid, the characters were shallow and not likable, and the jokes would not land. If you took Tom Cavanah out of this movie, it would have a below zero rating, but I have to admit he did an OK job considering how horrible the script was. This was the worse thing in the Tribeca Film festival (I saw home videos that turned out better than this). Do not see this movie unless you are a teenage girl who likes sappy, unsophisticated, not believable, and shallow material.