Stage plays don`t always translate to simpatico films

If "Simpatico" (New Line, R) were an actual horse race, the finish line would be several counties over and nobody would be able to agree on the course or the actual location of the finish line. It`s just that kind of movie. Well, it is another kind of movie, too: a movie made from a Broadway play, one written by Sam Shepard and directed by a stage director, Matthew Warchus. So, you`ve been warned.

The thing is, a lot of people will be sucked into renting this one because of the high profile cast - Sharon Stone, Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges above the title and Albert Finney, Catherine Keener and Shawn Hatosy below. Just remember, whipping your TV set won`t make the story move faster.

The story: Three young crazy kids rig a horse race and get away with it because they blackmail the racing commissioner. Nasty sex and illicit photos - the standard B-movie blackmail fodder. Twenty years later, one of them - Carter (Bridges) - is a very successful Kentucky horse breeder. He`s married to another accomplice (Stone). The third, Vinnie (Nolte), is a drunken derelict living in California. Vinnie has the blackmail photos and their presence is gnawing at his soul to the point that he wants to set things right. His gesture loosens the screws that barely hold down the sanity of his former compadres. Only the blackmailed commissioner (Finney), who lost everything and started anew, is untouched by the presence of the pictures. He has an angelic calm about himself, apparently having made peace with his personal corruption. (He makes a great we-all-make-mistakes politician - in another movie.)

It is a thin story, but a heck of a lot of verbal exposition, which is a significant problem with many plays adapted from the stage to the big screen. On stage, actors need to talk the audience not only through the story, but also through the circumstances, the scenery, the motivation - they talk a lot. It is an intellectual medium. In movies, the visuals take care of a lot of that and the audience willingly fills in the blanks - the visual medium, see?

Stage dialogue isn`t movie dialogue. They`re different breeds. That is most evident when Keener, a supermarket clerk enlisted by Carter to get back the photos, converses with Finney. It isn`t movie dialogue, which has cadence, rhythm, brevity. It has the feel of two people hurling large blocks of wood at each other. Nolte and Bridges give their usual quirky but brilliant performances. They always do. Stone is barely in the movie but satisfyingly accomplished when she is. She`s given very little time to establish herself as a woman eaten away from the inside - and she does it well. If only someone had been a little - no, a lot - less faithful to Shepard`s play. But they weren`t. They were respectful. And so we lose the opportunity to see an intelligent, provocative film.ALSO THIS WEEK:

"Beyond the Mat" (Universal, R and Unrated, VHS/rental, DVD/$30) - Fresh from his back-to-back triumphs as screenwriter for both the original "Nutty Professor" rip-off and its sequel, Barry W. Blaustein tackles a real profound topic here: professional wrestling. This is five years of Blaustein chumming with Terry Funk, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Mick "Mankind" Foley and some of the other gorillas in bikini briefs.

Here`s the hammer: For all their brawn and transparent choreography, these guys do get hurt. And that`s probably what keeps 30 million people coming back to watch them every week.

"The Tigger Movie" (Disney, G, VHS/under $25, DVD) - This is sweet old-fashioned animation for a sweet old-fashioned cast of characters, the Winnie the Pooh gang from Hundred Acre Wood. Tigger heads off in search of his family roots and eventually finds that he is truly a one of a kind.

"The Souler Opposite" (MTI, R, VHS/DVD) - Los Angeles stand-up comic Barry (Christopher Meloni) falls in love with political activist Thea Douglas (Janel Moloney). When their romance hits the skids, Thea hits the political trail in support of Jerry Brown`s presidential campaign - did I mention this takes place in 1992? Barry takes off in pursuit of his souler opposite. Timothy Busfield also stars in this romantic comedy.

"Around the Fire" (A-Pix, R, VHS/DVD) - Devon Sawa and Tara Reid are just a couple of neo-hippie kids following Phish or some similar band from concert to concert. She makes bread by selling healthy pan-fried tofu treats. He sells dope, then traipses back to his prep school when the weekend`s over. She lives the life. Soon enough, he has to learn it is about community and responsibility, even in a hippie caravan.

"Restaurant" (York/Maverick, R, DVD/$20) - The place is an upscale Hoboken, N.J., bar and grill called J.T. McClures. The staff is a bright-eyed group of twentysomethings with dreams and ambitions far beyond splitting the night`s tips. Adrian Brody, Elise Neal, Catherine Kellner, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Jesse L. Martin and Lauryn Hill make up the ensemble cast in this romantic drama.

"Agnes Browne" (USA, R, VHS/rental, DVD/$25) - Anjelica Huston is the title character and the director of this drama set in 1967 Dublin. She`s a strong woman suddenly widowed with seven children to feed. Selling fruit on Market Street, she finds love anew in the eye of French baker Pierre (Arno Chevrier).

"Not One Less" (Columbia TriStar, G, VHS/DVD) - From director Zhang Yimou ("Raise the Red Lantern") comes the story of a young Chinese woman ordered to a remote village to become a substitute teacher in an unruly class. When her eldest and most troublesome student abandons class to make his livelihood in the city, she pursues him, determined to bring him back into the fold.

"Mifune" (Columbia TriStar, R, VHS/DVD) - In this Danish comedy, a young groom is awoken on his wedding day to be told of his father`s sudden death. He leaves his bride and upscale friend behind to tend to his father`s affairs - the funeral, a run-down farm and a mentally handicapped brother, among them. With his new wife en route, the man suddenly discovers that his problems have only just begun.

"Supernova" (MGM, R, VHS/rental, DVD/$27) - Sci-fi suspense thriller takes place aboard the Nightingale, a medical vessel in deep space keeping a lonely vigil for travelers in trouble. One such cry for help yields a mysterious survivor aboard a disabled shuttle. The cast includes James Spader, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Lou Diamond Phillips and Robin Tunney.DVD UPDATE:

New to the DVD format this week: "Platoon," "Fargo," "Six Degrees of Separation" and "Kalifornia." Each priced under $20, from MGM.

Anchor Bay has packaged the DVD of "Repo Man" in a tin container designed to look like a 1984 California license plate, each numbered, up to 30,000. It contains the soundtrack CD and a 24-page booklet - $50.

A smooth lounge singer`s last television concert is captured on "Bobby Darin: Mack is Back!" from Questar. Darin died a few months later at age 37 from heart failure. Lots of other goodies are found on this disc. A must for fans. (To order: (800) 544-8422.)

When it comes to "The Matrix," the public clearly shouts "I want my DVD!" The disc has passed the 3 million mark, the No. 1 best seller of all time in the DVD format.COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Sept. 5: The cinematic realization of Bret Easton Ellis` sick and twisted novel, "American Psycho." The 10th anniversary DVD debut of "Edward Scissorhands."

Oct. 10: Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan in "Love & Basketball." The punk band Sex Pistols documentary "The Filth and the Fury."

Oct. 17: A rabbi, a priest and a gorgeous woman walk into a room together - no joke - this is the Ben Stiller/Edward Norton/Jenna Elfman comedy "Keeping the Faith."

Oct. 24: Playing hardball in the ballet corps in "Center Stage."

(c) Copley News Service

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: Robert J. Hawkins