Wolff rating: NOT BAD
Plot summary: Jokey retread of jiggle-vision show from the 70s, only starring modern-day stars.
Biased, pithy comments: This is a movie made entirely of air and energy. I'm normally supportive of movies that eschew substance for style, assuming what little substance there is makes sense and that the style is very, very cool. ``The Matrix,'' for instance, mixed Hong Kong action sensibilities with American comic books and Australian cityscapes to make something that, although not quite new, was certainly cool. Here, though, producer and star Barrymore has made sort of an elaborate stunt video with bits of dialogue and some (admittedly funny) near-cameos by really good actors like Bill Murray and Tom Green. It steals almost exclusively from ``The Matrix'' and maybe the films of John Woo, and it is here it fails to provide a pleasing-enough mix of cliches; why don't I just watch ``Matrix'' again? The story, which involves some of the trappings of the original series, is basically non-existent, and we're just supposed to coast on the chemistry of the stars and Carmen Diaz shakin' her booty at the camera, with moments of guy-wire assisted kung fu. I'm not saying I didn't have fun, but I laughed less at the jokes and more at the absurdity of the film itself. Still, you could have a worse evening at the movies, so I'm probably being unfair.
Other Notes: Green and Barrymore are in a long-standing relationship, and Barrymore and the hapless Luke Wilson were co-stars in ``Home Fries.''
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Bill Murray, Sam Rockwell, Kelly Lynch.
Directed by: John McGinty Nichol