SCHOOL `SCANDAL' HAS LITTLE NARRATIVE CLASS.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic As long as we're in awards mode, how about bestowing the year's most-overrated tag on tag on Verb to add at the end of something: a throwaway remark, tagged on at the end of a casual conversation Verb 1. ``Notes on a Scandal,'' an over-the-top melodrama that takes Zoe Heller's first-rate page-turner and transforms it into something that's neither here nor there. Some critics can't help themselves with ``Notes'' because it stars Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA, (born 9 December 1934), usually known as Dame Judi Dench, is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Tony, three-time BAFTA, and six-time Laurence Olivier Award-winning English actress. and Cate Blanchett Catherine Élise Blanchett (born May 14, 1969), better known as Cate Blanchett, is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning Australian actress. She has also won various awards, most notably including two SAGs and two BAFTAs, making her one of a few actors who won all , two actresses who seem to get a free pass even though they make their share of duds just like everyone else. (Must be their accents.) Yes, they are talented. Smart, too. Smart enough that you wonder why they didn't question the misogynous mi·sog·y·nis·tic also mi·sog·y·nous adj. Of or characterized by a hatred of women. Adj. 1. misogynous - hating women in particular misogynistic ill-natured - having an irritable and unpleasant disposition direction the filmmakers took with Heller's material. Dench plays Barbara, a battle-ax history teacher who befriends first-year art instructor Sheba (Blanchett), who's more than a little overwhelmed by the ruffians at their British comprehensive school. The two women couldn't be more dissimilar. Barbara is cynical, judgmental judg·men·tal adj. 1. Of, relating to, or dependent on judgment: a judgmental error. 2. Inclined to make judgments, especially moral or personal ones: , friendless. Sheba is beautiful, married to a rich husband (the ever-dependable Bill Nighy) and a bit of a bohemian. Still they become fast friends. Until someone comes between them, someone who may cause the titular tit·u·lar adj. 1. Relating to, having the nature of, or constituting a title. 2. a. Existing in name only; nominal: the titular head of the family. b. scandal, someone who brings out Barbara's predatory instincts. And this is where the movie, which up to this point had been a pretty smartly observed character study, deteriorates into a nasty lesbian stalker saga. Here director Richard Eyre (``Iris'') and writer Patrick Marber (``Closer'') had two choices -- continue to play it straight or go for high camp. They chose a little from both columns, and the results are decidedly underwhelming un·der·whelm tr.v. un·der·whelmed, un·der·whelm·ing, un·der·whelms To fail to excite, stimulate, or impress: . Sure, watching Dench go gonzo gon·zo adj. Slang 1. Using an exaggerated, highly subjective style, especially in journalism: "a hyperkinetic, gonzo version of Graham Greene" New Yorker. 2. has its pleasures, but that -- not the story -- seems to be the movie's sole reason for being. Which makes the film's cop-out coda all the more puzzling. In Heller's book, the ending is stark. The winners and losers are clear. Here -- without giving too much away -- there are no consequences. It's wishy-washy, just like everything else in this muddle-headed movie. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp@dailynews.com NOTES ON A SCANDAL - Two and one half stars (R: language, sexual situations and content) Starring: Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett Director: Richard Eyre Running time: 1 hr. 38 min. Playing: Pacific's Arclight in Hollywood; Landmark's NuWilshire in Santa Monica. In a nutshell: Wishsy-washy movie can't decide if it wants to be a realistic character study or high camp. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Cate Blanchett, left, is a young art instructor, and Judi Dench is a veteran history teacher in ``Notes on a Scandal.'' |
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