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- "State and Main"
(Reviewed November 30, 2000)
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I expected this David Mamet written-and-produced sendup about a team of moviemakers invading a sleepy Vermont town to be better. Actually, I expected it to be a lot better. I was hoping it would be at
least as funny, quick and incisive as the wonderful but sadly deceased FOX-TV comedy series "Action" used to be every week. (R.I.P.)
It isn't. Instead, it is often obvious, slow and predictable. Instead of pitching its references high and inside, and not caring if the rubes in flyover country might miss a few of the jokes, "State and
Main" seems to have been written for lowest-common-denominator "Entertainment Tonight" viewers who have no connection with the industry but who think they are Hollywood savvy because they keep
up with weekend box-office grosses.
I've never been a huge Mamet fan to begin with. The only work of his I have seen that I thought was an unqualified success was "Glengarry Glen Ross," which was absolutely brilliant. But I'm
starting to wonder if it was a fluke. "The Spanish Prisoner" seemed so silly and obvious that its central scam resembled something that Angel from "The Rockford Files" might have come up with. In
"House of Games," the dupe had to be a complete moron for the plot to work. Screenplay-wise, Mamet wrote the god-awful remake of "The Postman Always Rings Twice," the egregious "The
Untouchables" and the dopey "We're No Angels." Okay, I liked "Wag the Dog," but I'm sort of predisposed to enjoy anything that mocks our horrible, horrible government, so that one doesn't count.
A couple of the "State and Main" casting decisions are remarkably wrongheaded. Alec Baldwin plays a superstar who is supposed to have a weakness for jailbait. Cast as the object of his affection
is Julia Stiles, who looks to be every day of her 19-going-on-20 real-life years. On "Action," at least their nymphet character (Reagan Bush, if I recall) actually looked underage.
Casting mistake number two: Am I the only guy in America who thinks Sarah Jessica Parker is a bit of a two-bagger in the looks department? Okay, hot body, but that face is not one that I see in
my dirty dreams. I am completely perplexed as to why she keeps getting trotted out in roles that are supposed to be filled by sexy bombshells.
There was one character I liked a lot in this movie: Annie, the deadpan, brighter-than-her-townsfolk bookstore owner played by Rebecca Pidgeon. I kept waiting for her scenes, because she was
so gosh-darn appealing. Imagine a sexy version of Janeane Garafolo (I know that's difficult), except with a knowing attitude that is more amusement than disgust.
Everyone else here is a stock character you've seen too many times before: the put-upon writer, the dictatorial director, the hot-headed producer, the bumbling mayor, the ditzy actress, the dumb
actor. And the ending makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
Great opening credits, though. (Really, I mean it.)
Back Row Grade: C ('cuz I'm feeling generous)
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