It is sad to see truly talented actors in bad entertainment vehicles. Bill Cosby in “Leonard Part VI,” Robert Duvall in “Days of Thunder,” Lynn Whitfield in “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate,” Al Pacino in “The Devil’s Advocate.” Al, you were Michael Corleone for crying out loud!
There are several talented young people in show biz today. Sean Penn, Edward Norton, Cate Blanchett and Christina Ricci come instantly to mind.
On Monday, I had the opportunity to go to the MGM Studios in Santa Monica to see an advanced screening of the new motion picture, “The Mod Squad.”
The corridors of the studio were lined with several of its Oscars for best picture; among them, “West Side Story,” “Rocky” and “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Trust me when I state that “The Mod Squad” will never be considered for anybody’s Oscar.
This film stars three of Hollywood’s finest young talents. Omar Epps won critical acclaim for his performance in John Singleton’s “Higher Learning.”
Claire Danes was universally praised for her television role on the former ABC series, “My So-Called Life,” as well as her work in “William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.”
His role in Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan,” (which I consider the greatest war movie ever made) is one of the many good performances that Giovanni Ribisi can list on his resume.
This movie is loaded with talent. The talent of the three lead actors made me think that it was impossible for this film to be bad, right? Oy, was I wrong.
This film is a dog, no, a DOOOG! for one big glaring reason that I usually require of my movies; SCRIPT!
My first observation of this movie is that it began in the middle of the script. I guess the editor was only given half a movie to edit. The audience gets no understanding of how “The Mod Squad” came together, nothing about their background and why they were chosen to be “The Mod Squad.”
We learn nothing about these characters on an emotional level that makes us care about them or find any particular reason to root for them.
All of the performances are OK for what the script gave the actors to work with, however, that is not much. I swear that Epps says 50 words of dialogue in the entire movie. Danes comes across as a ditzy and vulnerable blond (surprise, surprise).
Ribisi, while quirky and sometimes amusing, mostly plays the dumb member of “The Mod Squad.” He became so annoying to me that I began to wish for his character’s death half way through the film.
It is not even clear as to what “The Mod Squad” is even fighting against. I was able to decipher that it was something unoriginal about dirty cops and drug trade (as if the other 8,000 movies with similar plot lines were just not enough).
I found myself more bored and annoyed with this move than anything else. Although it only lasted 94 minutes, I felt as though I watched all 10 hours of “Roots” with none of the enlightenment that the Alex Haley-inspired mini-series brought some 20 years ago.
Perhaps, I am just too darn critical and opinionated, huh? After the screening of the movie on Monday, myself and the other members of the press were graced by the presence of the three stars of the film. When asked why they wanted to do the film not one of them said because of the story.
Reasons were given about wanting to work with each other and have fun, but nothing was said about the script. I understand why none of the stars commented on the script; because it is crap.
I have officially had it with big budgets for stars and special effects and no care for the story in Hollywood films. People don’t remember movies with weak story lines and no plots.
Classics are formed from good performances and good scripts. “The Godfather,” is probably one of the top five movies ever made. It is not remembered because of its special effects or its big name cast (because when the film was made only Marlon Brando was truly a big movie star.) The film is remembered because it has such a rich story.
I do not expect “The Mod Squad” to even try to come close to having a script near or at the level of “The Godfather.” However, I do expect the film to have some sort of compelling plot to keep my interest for 90 minutes.
The worst thing about this movie, besides the fact that it was made, is the fact that it wasted the talents of some fine actors all in exchange for a big-name artist soundtrack, a big-time marketing campaign, respectable levels of action and somewhere along the way some suit at MGM decided to finance a movie that is missing the single most important element of a movie, the story.
When this film opens March 26, you would be better off waiting to see the Squad on video and giving your box office dollars to some of the Academy Award winners that will be announced on Sunday.
Ribisi was in “Saving Private Ryan.” Go see that, it is far more worthy of your money and, more importantly, your time.
Simon Bouie, a senior broadcast major, is arts and entertainment editor of the Campus Times. He can be reached by e-mail at bouies@ulv.edu.
