Sunday, May 11, 2008
"For Love of the Game" review strikes out; college students should learn to leave the nest; since when is George Bush an "education governor"?
Sep 24, 1999 | "For Love of the Game"
REVIEWED BY ANDREW O'HEHIR
(09/17/99)
While Andrew O'Hehir is entitled to his opinion, let's consider that there isn't a man in America in his 40s who has the appeal with women that Kevin Costner has and always has had. Personally, I'm crazy about his acting abilities. Not only has O'Hehir written a review that contradicts all other reviews I have seen, but he comes off sounding a bit like a jealous schoolgirl. Would O'Hehir care to reconsider?
-- Janis Crist
"Romance"
REVIEWED BY RAY SAWHILL
(09/17/99)
Although I have not yet seen "Romance," I've been flying on the buzz of it since seeing a preview in my local art house a couple of weeks ago. Not since the preview of "Lost Highway" have I felt this way. Ray Sawhill's review had me nodding my head in agreement, as I can already sense the truth he mentions: "There's some just-among-us girls truth-telling in the film that resembles the sex-confession columns in the new grrrl-power-influenced women's magazines."
I often bemoan the lack of films in this genre -- they are usually pure porn with no story, or all story with no porn. Perhaps female filmmakers are the only ones who can successfully address this issue. Certainly the film version of "The Story of O" did not. Sawhill forgot to mention one film that I think resembles his description of "Romance" in many ways: "Belle du Jour." As in "Romance," the lead female character, played by Catherine Deneuve, is dissatisfied with her sex life and takes risks to satisfy her sexual cravings. Unlike in "Romance," her husband is perfectly willing to have sex with her. But she is not interested; instead, she fantasizes about being debased in a sexually charged way, and ends up working in a brothel not for the money, but for the thrill of it.
"Romance" is long overdue. I've almost gotten used to seeing women portrayed in ways that don't resemble any truth I've ever encountered. The way Sawhill described the masturbation scene sounds more realistic than the usual depictions: dressed in lingerie (for whom, themselves?), in some strange position, moaning and writhing long before orgasm. A woman would never allow any man to degrade her if it didn't speak ever so slightly to some other part of her. We must tread lightly here not to confuse the "No means no" issue, but I think Lisa Palac said it best: Degrade me when I ask you to. I'm relieved.
-- Amanda Wray
I watch very few movies, but sometimes the reviews in Salon are sufficiently intriguing that I will shock my friends by clamoring to see a film. So I find it absolutely maddening that release dates and locations are not available along with reviews. I live in San Francisco and spend about a week a month in Chicago. I want to see "Romance," but moviefone.com tells me this isn't possible in either city. The reviewer mentions that he saw it twice in New York, but where and when can I see it? This would be tremendously helpful.
-- Anil Gurnaney
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