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The first feel-good movie of '98
by Craig Roush
A Kinnopio film writer
There's a certain category of romantic comedies that critics and commentators like to call "feel-good" movies.
(Some might say that feel-good movies are the only romantic comedies which ever achieve any measure of success;
the rest are typically passed on by audiences and deep-sixed by critics.) These spirited flicks have a moderate
amount of emotion involved - more than your average film but not as much as a tearjerker; the cast of characters
is usually a fun-filled bunch that's very sympathetic to the audience; and the plot is a formulaic rag that has
us cheering for the characters by movie's end. And although it's certainly nowhere near the caliber of last year's
Academy Award feel-gooders (e.g. As Good As It Gets and
Good Will Hunting), Holy Man might rightly be termed the first
feel-good movie of '98.
The casting is not spectacular, and really, Jeff Goldblum is the only one at least semi-suited to the job.
He - like David Duchovny - does the straight-faced humor with talent and in Holy Man he works the crowd
well. Unfortunately, he never manages to land a solid baseline for the role and it comes off feeling unfulfilling.
That's unfortunate, because his role is central to the success of the entire movie and without gravity, both Kelly
Preston and Eddie Murphy have a tough time deciding where to go. It's not entirely Goldblum's fault, because the
Tom Schulman (Dead Poets Society) script isn't particularly well-written. Preston and Goldblum also can't
develop any romantic chemistry, and that side of the movie doesn't really shine either. If not for Goldblum's
ability to adapt well and Murphy's mirthful countenance, the acting corps would be in the red for this movie.
With what they've got, however, they managed to pull off a darn cute movie. Goldblum plays shopping network
exec Ricky Hayman, a man who's under constant pressure from the boss to boost sales. He's teamed up with
attractive co-worker Kate Newell (Preston), who, although initially cold to Ricky's not-so-suave advances,
eventually comes to like the fellow. The two discover latter-day prophet "G," a grinning, good-natured dude
played with skill by Eddie Murphy. G does many things well, including making people feel good about buying
things off of a shopping network. Ricky and Kate exploit this until Kate gets second thoughts; she backs out
and eventually leaves Ricky because he's too power-minded. It's up to Ricky, then, to do the right thing and
try to get the girl back. (And, since it's a romantic comedy, the ending is never really in doubt.)
The humor content is not outrageously hilarious, as it was in the action comedy
Rush Hour. Most of the one-liners are average, and there's no
extended comedic setups to speak of. But Schulman and Director Stephen Herek (Mr. Holland's Opus)
manage to overcome the quality problem with quantity. The jokes are at least semi-funny, and the whole lot
promotes a sort of tongue-in-cheek atmosphere that makes the movie more watchable. None of the specific
elements really work in Holy Man on an individual basis, but as a whole they come together nicely
and make this movie worth the price of the ticket. The only people who'll have problems with it are those
that expect an outright laugh-fest and don't watch the movie for its more humanitarian qualities. Indeed,
watching this movie should end up being a very enjoyable experience for all who attend.
Craig Roush, 1998
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