Falling

Michael is dead. So is Austro rap idol Falco. Falco leaves behind millions of grieving fans. In Michaels case, it comes down to four ex-girlfriends in various degrees of rage and mourning. As Nina, Brigitte, Carmen, and Nicole meet at Michael's funeral, they find they all have some unfinished business with the dead man or, more precisely, with each other. It's a promising setup, but it's going nowhere. There's simply too much nostalgia and too little character development. Also, I was confused by the fact that Barbara Albert mixes footage of varying quality and provenance (color, b/w, video) seemingly at random. So despite fine performances, especially by acclaimed theater actress Birgit Minichmayr and small-screen regular Nina Proll, I walked away with mixed feelings. If you like the idea of a thirty-something all-girl ensemble cast, check out "Schöne Frauen" instead, a much better movie with the added charm of QueenBee's wonderful soundtrack. For girls with a criminal record, rent "Bandits", and if you like them young, try Jan Peter's "Over the rainbow". If the girls should also be witches and include Sandra Bullock, I suggest "Practical Magic" or "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood". If you don't know what you like, you might even consider "Boys on the Side". Is this a full-service comment or what?

One way to judge if a movie is worth the time viewing is to examine it in terms of a consistent index which weighs the variables. On a scale of 1 to 10, we find the following. The acting rates a 6 simply because it is too uneven, and, at best, is television quality. The sets are nothing more than ordinary scenes, which, in some cases, appear to be things in the camera's view, meriting a 4. The dialog is actually quite good (an 8), and it is appropriate to the ordinariness of the characters. The plot seems disconnected (a 4), and it is difficult to get a good story from an episodic plot. The characters are very ordinary, causing one critic to see the film as a combination of THE BIG CHILL and SEX IN THE CITY. With this type of endorsement, it is difficult to give the characters more than a 6. The continuity in the film causes ups and downs from ordinary partying to philosophical proclamations which appear to have no relation (3 for continuity). Artistry, the final variable seems generally absent, probably because it is difficult to overcome the ordinary facets of the film, thereby meriting no more than a 3. In the final analysis, it is the very ordinary elements which make this an ordinary film. It is indeed difficult to make a silk purse from a sow's ear. Left Elbow Average: just below 5.