MolièreThe legendary playwright is better August 7,
2007 12:32:00 PM
MOLIÈRE: Where is the biting satire?
|
There is a burgeoning trend whereby the work of a legendary writer is attributed to some spurious personal experience, as if art needed a source to spring from other than the writer’s mind. Director Laurent Tirard trots out this benighted premise, taking on no less an artist than Molière and his most famous works, Tartuffe and Le misanthrope. That the result is less fun than actually watching Tartuffe is not surprising. What is surprising is how little humor Tirard and his lead, the usually charismatic Romain Duris, wrest from their tale of hidden identities, star-crossed lovers, and priggish bores. Duris plays Molière, who, pre-fame and bankrupt, is taken in by an idiot landowner (Fabrice Luchini) who needs his help in winning the beautiful and witty Célimène (Ludivine Sagnier). The plot mirrors that of Molière’s plays; what’s missing is the biting satire that got him in so much trouble back then and makes his work worth watching 350 years later.
|
|
|
- EXCLUSIVE: Mitt Romney claims that his father marched with MLK, but the record says otherwise
- Bush-administration lawyers could be nailed for their role in destroying evidence in the CIA scandal, thanks to a quiet Connecticut child-porn case
- Never mind its tough-girl alt-porn feminism: SuicideGirls has already moved on to a new generation
- Romney gains on McCain in crucial Golden State contest; Clinton's lead holds steady
- These guys couldn't turn on a radio
- The Phoenix looks with loving eyes at some of the worst people, places, and things in the world — and gives them a big hug
- EXCLUSIVE: Mitt Romney claims that his father marched with MLK, but the record says otherwise
- A million words for rice
- Rather than improving political discourse, Internet pundits are making things worse
- These guys couldn't turn on a radio
- Barack Obama sounds just like Deval Patrick. Is that good or bad?
- Bush-administration lawyers could be nailed for their role in destroying evidence in the CIA scandal, thanks to a quiet Connecticut child-porn case
|
-
Doesn't kick it soon enough
-
All funked up
-
Better than generic holiday fare
-
Introducing reggaetón
-
Crass and crude and mostly annoying humor
-
Predictability ensues
-
Oh my god, this movie totally sucks
-
A miserable family to watch
-
A familiar girl-power tale
|
- Ego supersized
- An uncomfortable horror/comedy hybrid
- Delivering the goods, especially if you like to watch a man submerged in acid
- The death of a city
- Reality TV has not killed the video star
- Not original "original" screenplay
- No catharsis here, just soft piano keys
- A $25 million dollar budget and a handheld camera
- A charmer
- Billy the Kid has trouble making it through high school
|
|
|
|