Mixed Nuts
((Comedy -- color))
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Based on a French comic hit, it's lost something crucial in translation. The Americanization provides no clue to the original's appeal. Nor can one fathom why the material attracted a pedigree cast or the writing/directing talents of Nora Ephron.
Philip (Steve Martin) operates the help line Lifesavers. The ramshackle Venice office has a tote board that proudly proclaims: "Now Saving 1,423." Judging from his staff, it's a grossly inflated figure. In fact, the crew manning the phones could stand a little bit of counseling. Blanche Munchnik (Madeline Kahn) is a tart-tongued widow and Catherine (Rita Wilson) is repressed , living with her mom and dreaming of that white knight. She finds it difficult to be dry-eyed when callers unbridle their woes.
The holiday season isn't so cheery because the landlord has served notice on the service unless it can come up with a large chunk of dough. Somewhere in the mix, there's a parade of weirdos on the line and in the office. A pregnant woman (Juliette Lewis) blows hot and cold about her goof-off, ex-con boyfriend (Anthony LaPaglia), an Amazonian transvestite (Liev Schreiber) is looking for a dance partner, and a ukulele-playing delivery boy (Adam Sandler) is just plain irritating.
Ephron pitches the humor at a cacophonous level and displays the comic equivalent of two left feet in evolving an absurdist, slapstick yarn. Truly alarming is watching some fine performers, including Kahn and LaPaglia, at their very worst. The best the ensemble members can do is escape with a smattering of dignity.
The patent phoniness of the film seeps right down to its craft. Cameraman Sven Nykvist's work is markedly better on location than on the soundstages, and the production design is as loud, gaudy and unpleasant as the text.
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