Walk All Over Me

I didn't think the bumbling bad guys worked at all. It would have been more effective if they were menacing. Most of the rest of the movie is played straight. It was an interesting enough premise.

Alberta (Leelee Sobieski) seems to do nothing but get herself involved with trouble. Fleeing one such scenario, she stows on a bus to Vancouver, to stay with her former babysitter (Tricia Helfer). Turns out her "aunt" Celene is now paying her bills as a dominatrix. Alberta is curious, and can't help but get involved, posing as Celene. This gets Leelee into some incredibly hot outfits (as well as more trouble). I suppose that was the main appeal for me in Walk All Over Me. Actually, I did enjoy it when Celene beats up the French-Canadian guy (or whatever the hell that accent was supposed to be. His name was Rene Leblanc, or something like that, so I'm making some assumptions). Am I sensing a theme? Celene, Rene, Alberta, in a Canadian production?

I'm surprised by the number of people who consider Leelee a bad actress. I've watched 3 of her movies in the last 2 nights, and she plays completely different characters in all of them. And I'm the first to point out a bad performance. Here, she plays a naive, meek young woman who gets to taste a little empowerment. She was quite good.

This movie gives a decent introduction to viewers who love to know what is S&M about. The storyline is not disturbing and people who accept this lifestyle will understand that its normal to watch this movie. Some might find it silly, but it was ok for me. The leading actress done a decent job in her performance

Tricia Helfer sparkles nicely in this "Bizarro World" comedy directed by Robert Cuffley. In some ways it hearkens back to the mid-1930s and to some of the great screwball comedies of that era, except with a much harder and daring edge to it. She's an old friend of the bungling ingénue from a hick town ( Lee Lee Sobieski ), who has made a niche for herself in the big bad city by becoming a pro dominatrix.

For those who don't know, being a dominatrix is a lifestyle choice with psychological and sexual overtones, but rarely involving actual sex. It is about psycho-sexual mind games and role-playing, with its own rules and subculture. In all of that, Helfer's characterization and charm seems to be admirably suited for the choice of Celine.

Sobieski takes a brilliant turn as the goofy young friend who simply cannot keep out of her own way. There is in all of this comedic action a dark undercurrent of criminal behavior, as Sobieski's character -- ironically named Alberta -- blunders her way into and out of real trouble where there's real violence done to the real people in her life. She's like a lightning rod in that regard.

The genius of the film lies in how the director and these two superb actresses move the story forward, almost effortlessly, as every time Alberta stumbles into a predicament whatever she does next fails to resolve the problem. It only brings a worse and yet even funnier predicament.

The DVD presentation is terrific and there's just enough of Sobieski's beautiful body shown ( for the right reasons ), to warrant this film having a most sensible R rating. There's just too much sexual role playing in the plot for young teens, and it is not something in the way of entertainment for pre-teen youngsters, at all, period.

Aside from that caveat, this is one goofy, wacky, well-done comedy.

The criminal behavior involved in the plot is diluted somewhat by the hapless nature of the three criminal characters. They are bad hombres for sure but just so darned incompetent that they don't really frighten anyone, all that much ... adults, that is.

They are not misunderstood, it should be noted, these characters -- but they are comically incoherent and impulsive.

So this film ought to and does get seven stars out of ten, with two additional boxes of popcorn tossed in for good measure.

A pleasant surprise that had some unexpected developments and interesting characters.

Naive small town girl Alberta (Leelee Sobieski) loses an envelop full of money. She runs from thugs escaping on a bus going to big city Vancouver. She reconnects with her old babysitter Celene (Tricia Helfer) who reluctantly lets her stay. She's surprised that Celene is now working from home as a dominatrix. She spills on Celene's expensive outfit. With no money from her grocery store job, she tries to pay Celene back by taking on Paul (Jacob Tierney) who applied to be Celene's client. Rene (Lothaire Bluteau) barges in with brothers Aaron and Isaac looking to retrieve his money from Paul. Alberta is over her head.

This is an odd quirky Canadian indie that should be funnier that it is. Sobieski is playing clueless but it's oddly unreal. It would be funnier to be broader. She may not be good enough as a comedic actress but she has never looked hotter. Her boobs look great and her pretend dominatrix dancing is sexy fun. At least, the music is fun. Helfer has a dry wit. There are a few good smirk-worthy moments which keeps this on track.