`Holy Smoke` often a Barron experience

Ruth Barron, fresh from the ashram of a religious mystic sect in India, turns on her mother and asks, "Why are you here on Earth? What is the point of your life?"

The mother, noticeably confused, turns to her daughter with slightly terrified eyes.

"Is this a trick question?" she asks.

A few minutes with the Barron Famly and you can quickly understand Mum`s confusion. There isn`t a well-examined life in the bunch. The Barrons don`t question their purpose. They are content to absorb popular culture. They consume. They work. They exist. They`re pretty much like anyone else. It is also pretty understandable that when daughter Ruth seeks enlightenment in India, their response is to save her. She`s not acting like everyone else.

This is some of the stuff that comes up in "Holy Smoke!" (Miramax, R), the Jane Campion black comedy about faith, purpose, belief and deprogramming. Ruth (Kate Winslet) is young, beautiful, intelligent - and adrift in the world. She`s smart enough to know that life, so far, hasn`t amounted to much. No surprise then, that when she encounters the guru Baba, she heads for the light and warmth of inner well-being that comes from feeling as if she belongs. Her family tricks her into returning home to Sydney where the No. 1 exit counselor in America is waiting to deprogram her.

P.J. Waters (Harvey Keitel) is a real piece of work. Lizard-skin boots, jet-black dyed hair. He`s vain, he`s soulless, he`s amoral, he`s a man without a belief system of his own,but a bottomless well of self-confidence. He`s simply a cult-disengagement technician, with a three-step system and a 3 percent rate of recidivism. And Ruth is simply case No. 190. However, the more the viewer is exposed to the Barron Family, the more you begin pulling for Ruth and her cult. In India, at least, she is surrounded by the illusion of purpose.

The family is nothing to come home to, if you know what I mean: A father in a cheap toupee who cheats on her mother. A sister-in-law who cheats on her brother. Brothers who are all brawn, little brain. Not one in the bunch has advanced the species. The high point of their lives is a night in the pub, getting blitzed and maybe doing a bit of rutting with the old girl later, age and the booze willing. She`s going to give up mystical enlightenment and her guru for this?

P.J. Waters efficiently strips away Ruth`s belief system but unleashes into the vacuum a far more complicated creature. With no ground beneath her, Ruth goes into a free fall. Ultimately she clings to Waters, who wants to do the right thing but finds the physical attraction of a woman a third his age irresistible. Soon, she is the one in command and he`s the one groveling. Another day, and they`re both in free fall without chutes.

It must have been a nervous studio publicist who labeled this a black comedy - which I think is Hollywood terminology for a not-especially-funny comedy. Real laughs are modest in number. There is a bit of whimsy in the eccentricity of the characters. The story, which Jane Campion wrote with sister Anna, isn`t especially complicated. It is thought-provoking, however.

Is the search for enlightenment in an Asian cult much worse than that of being a mindless consumer in a pointless society? What is the purpose of life? And what are the Campions getting at when they use so many Neil Diamond songs in the soundtrack? Sooner or later, everyone`s got to believe in something - even if it is the rectitude of Wal-Mart as a consumerist religion.ALSO THIS WEEK:

"Jerry and Tom" (Miramax, R) - Joe Mantegna (Tom) is a used-car salesman who moonlights as a hitman. Sam Rockwell (Jerry) is a young sales associate who gets wind of the sideline and becomes Mantegna`s protege in this dark comedy. He turns out to be a quick and enthusiastic study. Tom wants to retire but finds he needs to make one more hit to make it possible. Look for William H. Macy and Ted Danson in cameos.

"The Grandfather" (Miramax, PG) - A penniless and nearly blind count returns home to Spain from Peru where he has lost a fortune and soon enters into battle with his daughter-in-law. This was a 1998 Best Foreign Language Film nominee. Director Jose Luis Garci won an Oscar in 1983 for "To Begin Again."

"Supergirl" (Anchor Bay, VHS/DVD) - Director Jeannot Szwarc gets his day in the double-disc DVD version, containing the international version with an extra 10 minutes of story, as well as a director`s cut. Helen Slater stars as Supergirl. Faye Dunaway, Peter O`Toole and Mia Farrow also appear. There are actually four versions being released here, two VHS tapes - one full-frame, the other in wide-screen format. The single-disc DVD contains the longer international version.

"Tycus" (Paramount, R, VHS/rental, DVD/$30) - The title character in this film is a comet hurtling toward Earth. The fact that it is twice the size of the planet has motivated a mining company to build an underground Noah`s ark. The rest of the Earth`s population isn`t too thrilled with the limited-access underground city, once it finds out about the comet. Dennis Hopper, Peter Onorati and Finola Hughes star.

"Da Hip Hop Witch" (A-Pix, R, VHS/DVD) - An urban witch attacks hip-hop and rap artists in New York and New Jersey and a recording mogul has put up a reward for the capture of this supernatural terror. Five white kids from Massachusetts drive down to the projects to make a documentary about the witch and end up scattered all over the Big Apple. (Of course, it`s a vamp on the "Blair Witch Project.") A hit list of rappers make cameos, including Mobb Deep, Killah Priest, Eminem, Vanilla Ice, Vitamin C and more.COMING-OF-AGE VIDEOS:

"Here on Earth" (Fox, PG-13, VHS/DVD) - Chris Klein (star of "American Pie") is a cocky prep-school kid, Kelley, who has a run-in with some townies that results in trouble with the law. He must spend the summer helping to rebuild the local diner he destroyed while drag racing against Jasper (Josh Hartnett of "The Faculty," "Halloween H2O") - and he must live with Jasper`s family. Kelley loses no time falling in love with the daughter of the diner`s owner. The girl, Samantha (Leelee Sobieski of "Joan of Arc," "Never Been Kissed" and "Eyes Wide Shut"), happens to be Jasper`s girlfriend. Love blossoms in the pastoral western Massachusetts summer. Needless to say, Kelley, Samantha and Jasper will never be the same after this summer.

"Around the Fire" (A-Pix, R, VHS/DVD) - Devon Sawa is a prep-school student who discovers a family among the followers of a Grateful Dead-type band. (Probably Phish, whose music is in the movie, as is that of Bob Marley, Grateful Dead, Neville Brothers and Dire Straits, among others.) He also discovers the entrepreneurship of drug dealing. Ultimately, he learns about life, death, consequences and responsibility. An appealing story with an equally appealing cast that includes Tara Reid ("American Pie") and Eric Mabius ("Cruel Intentions"). Definite appeal to anyone who got off on "Outside Providence."DIRECT TO VIDEO THIS WEEK:

"Dragonheart: A New Beginning" (Universal, PG, VHS/rental, DVD/$20) - In this direct-to-video sequel to the popular "Dragonheart," a stable boy with dreams of knighthood (Chris Masterson, eldest son in TV`s "Malcolm in the Middle") discovers a young dragon in the dungeon of the monastery in which he resides. The boy, Geoff, sees the dragon as his ticket to knighthood, but the evil adviser to the King, Lord Osric (Harry Van Gorkum), also has designs on the dragon. Two mysterious travelers from the Far East have their own ideas about the fate of the magical creature, the last known dragon on Earth. Actor Robby Benson (voice of the Beast in Disney`s "Beauty and the Beast") supplies the dragon`s voice in this film. (Sean Connery was the voice of the dragon in the original "Dragonheart.")

"Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins" (Disney/Pixar,VHS/$25, DVD/$30) - In this direct-to-video, feature-length animated movie, Buzz is on his own turf - intergalactic space. No sharing screen time with "Toy Story" co-star Woody here. Tim Allen returns as the voice of Buzz Lightyear, hero of the cosmos. He`s joined by a couple of "Seinfeld" alumni, Wayne Knight (Evil Emperor Zurg) and Patrick Warburton (voice of the Little Green Men). Steve Furst of "Babylon Five," comic/actor Larry Miller and Nicole Sullivan of "Mad TV" lend voice to characters. Unlike the computer-animated "Toy Story" movies, this one is done the old-fashioned line-drawing way. Kitsch alert: "Star Trek" icon William Shatner performs the song "To Infinity and Beyond" over the closing credits.COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Sept. 1: Special-edition director`s cut of "Any Given Sunday."

Sept. 5: Two-hour documentary, "The Battle Over Citizen Kane."

Sept. 19: David Arquette comedy "Ready to Rumble."

Sept. 26: Young Buddhists discover soccer in "The Cup."

Oct. 10: Jackie Chan directs and stars in "Miracles."

Oct. 17: Third wave of the James Bond collection: "Diamonds Are Forever," "From Russia With Love," "The Living Daylights," "Octopussy," "A View to a Kill" and "You Only Live Twice."

(c) Copley News Service

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Author: Robert J. Hawkins