'RUDY' HARD TO FOLLOW MINUS 9-11 SCENES, USA BIOPIC LACKS FOCUS.Byline: David Kronke TV Critic THE PROBLEMS with ``Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani (born May 28, 1944) is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from the state of New York. Formerly Mayor of New York City, Giuliani is currently seeking the Republican nomination in the 2008 United States presidential election. Story'' only begin with its oddly redundant title. The film offers James Woods in the sort of role he was born to play - a brilliant, take-charge guy with a little bit of the demagogical dem·a·gog·ic also dem·a·gog·i·cal adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a demagogue. dem thug about him - and he can be galvanizing galvanizing, process of coating a metal, usually iron or steel, with a protective covering of zinc. Galvanized iron is prepared either by dipping iron, from which rust has been removed by the action of sulfuric acid, into molten zinc so that a thin layer of the zinc . But otherwise, the film is a mess, sometimes visibly so. ``Rudy'' opens on Sept. 10, 2001, as Giuliani reflects on his tenure as mayor and his lame-duck status: ``My name's poison right now,'' he opines Opines are low molecular weight compounds found in plant crown gall tumors produced by the parasitic bacterium Agrobacterium. Opine biosynthesis is catalyzed by specific enzymes encoded by genes contained in a small segment of DNA (known as the T-DNA, for 'transfer DNA') . That changes soon enough. Director Robert Dornhelm deftly juxtaposes iconic images from Sept. 11 with jittery, handheld video images of Woods (who fairly often resembles his subject) barking orders - if the intent had been simply to re-create a film documenting Giuliani's Herculean efforts of that day, it might have worked. But no - it collapses quickly into biopic bi·o·pic n. A film or television biography, often with fictionalized episodes. biopic Noun Informal a film based on the life of a famous person [bio(graphical) + pic(ture)] cliches. ``Rudy'' ping-pongs insanely back and forth in time; 90 seconds after horrific Sept. 11 imagery, we see Giuliani, accompanied by sentimentally amorous am·o·rous adj. 1. Strongly attracted or disposed to love, especially sexual love. 2. Indicative of love or sexual desire: an amorous glance. 3. piano tinklings, romancing Donna Hanover (portrayed by Penelope Ann Miller as if she were a lobotomized children's show host). Although he sounds like he's delivering a stump speech, that doesn't prevent him from scoring a smooch. The film essays Giuliani's triumphs as a federal prosecutor, busting mobsters Mobsters is a 1991 crime drama detailing the creation of the National Crime Syndicate/The Commission. Set in New York City during the Prohibition era, it's a somewhat fictionalized account of rise of Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Frank Costello, and Benjamin "Bugsy" and fighting Wall Street corruption, ascending to mayor and cleaning up the streets of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . It also charts his defeats - losing his first mayoral campaign, browbeating brow·beat tr.v. brow·beat, brow·beat·en , brow·beat·ing, brow·beats To intimidate or subjugate by an overbearing manner or domineering speech; bully. See Synonyms at intimidate. squeegee guys (leading to perceptions of what his aides call a ``kindness deficit'') and suffering as his administration is rocked by scandals and his personal life goes off the rails. Transitions are visibly klutzy - the loss of his first mayoral campaign is symbolized by the image of the second World Trade Center tower collapsing; his marriage and New York are shown crumbling almost simultaneously. If these juxtapositions are intentional, they're inexcusably exploitative; if not, the film is downright inept. And the fact that he has a son is not even mentioned until the famous moment when the boy disrupts his mayoral inauguration, which may leave viewers unversed in Giuliani's story wondering what's up with the kid in that scene. Nonetheless, Woods' work is solid, and when the film deals solely with Sept. 11 and its aftermath, it's on sure dramatic footing. But it tries to cram too much story into two hours, which sadly dissipates even its strongest moments. RUDY: THE RUDY GIULIANI STORY - Two stars What: James Woods stars as America's Mayor in this biopic. Where: USA Network. When: 8 tonight. In a nutshell: Woods is strong, but the execution is hackneyed. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) James Woods plays New York's former mayor in ``Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story.'' |
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