This week, Siskel and Ebert review hot-shot lawyer Richard Gere fighting his toughest case in primal fear.
Cher must convince hitman Shaz Palminteri that she's always been faithful.
And ladies man Martin Lawrence discovers there's a thin line between love and hate.
He went in, he sees a figure, someone in the shadows kneeling over the body.
He blacks out. The next thing he knows, sirens are screaming, he's covered in blood.
The cops find him in a train tunnel, he's got the archbishop's ring in his pocket.
Richard Gere is a defense attorney who lands himself in the middle of a controversial murder trial in Primal Fear,
one of five new movies we'll review this week on Siskel and Ebert.
We'll also look at the movie Comeback of Cher, review Martin Lawrence's new comedy about fatal attractions,
and look at a strange fable about vigilante justice.
I'm Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times.
And I'm Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune.
Our first film is Primal Fear, and even though I admire one performance in the film tremendously,
I thought the rest of it was mostly absurd and tasteless.
Richard Gere stars as an egotistical criminal defense attorney in Chicago who takes on, indeed seeks out,
the toughest cases, including a young loner accused of slaughtering the archbishop of Chicago.
Here, Gere meets with his client, beautifully played by a promising new actor, Edward Norman.
But I'm not guilty, Mr. Bale.
I don't care. It doesn't matter. You keep your mouth shut. You don't say anything.
Well, you're going to say I'm not guilty.
I'll say whatever I say. You don't have to worry about it.
This is exactly what I'm talking about. This can't go on in a courtroom, so you might as well get used to it now.
I speak. You do not speak. Your job is just to sit there and look innocent.
Well, I am innocent.
That's it. That's exactly how I want you to look. That's exactly it.
Now, can you remember that? Look in the mirror if you have to. That's the look.
In one of many plot points that stretch credibility,
the prosecuting attorney turns out to be an old girlfriend played by Laura Linney.
You knew I was coming here, didn't you?
You knew I would defend him. That's why you took the case. You asked Shaughnessy for this, didn't you?
Oh, please.
What's the matter, Marty? Nervous?
Been a while since you rubbed up against a woman with a brain?
The courtroom scenes, when they're not predictable, are over the top, too,
including this behind-the-scenes showdown with the judge, Alfre Woodard.
I'm striking Shaughnessy's testimony from the record as irrelevant,
and I'm holding you in contempt to the tune of $10,000.
So what you're telling me is I can't get a fair trial in your courtroom, is that it?
Be very, very careful, Mr. Bale. You're in dangerous ground here.
The killing of and the accusations thrown at the archbishop are horrific.
A subplot involving real estate development isn't worthy of the murder intrigue.
Only the performance by Edward Norton, a young actor making his feature film debut,
has some soul and wit, and I look forward to seeing him in another film soon.
But aside from his work, which is terrific, thumbs down from me on Primal Fear.
Oh, thumbs up from me, Gene, and really with a lot of enthusiasm, too.
This is Richard Gere's best work in a long time. This is a terrific performance.
I thought that he mouthed all the standard things that an am...
you know, that like a high school kid would write about the law,
that everyone's entitled to a defense.
Are you going to criticize him for the script? You're not criticizing his performance now.
Wait a minute. I'm criticizing the movie, which is what you're supposed to be doing.
All of that is boilerplate, law 101. You've heard it all before.
This is the John Grisham genre, and it's better than the John Grisham films.
That isn't that much of a compliment.
We know that they're going to hype up all of the sensationalism,
that there's going to be a red herring to throw us off the track,
that there's going to be a surprise again.
And it's really well done. It's well visualized.
There's good music. There's good performances right through the movie.
The fact that he has this relationship with the woman who's on the other side is part of the formula.
I didn't object to that. And as far as gear is concerned,
this is a performance that goes back to American Gigolo or Mr. Jones.
Those were original guys. Roger, this is standard stuff.
The lawyer who takes on the tough cases.
There's such a thing as good genre stuff and bad genre stuff.
If you're a movie lover, you love genre stuff if it's done well.
This is done well.
I don't think the only thing, and the only thing that's done well,
is this performance by Edward Norton, who is a 26-year-old graduate of Yale Drama School,
first time on film. He's going to be doing good stuff.
I did think he was good, but I didn't realize he went to your school.
That explains it.
I didn't go to the drama school.
I believe that too.
Okay, next movie. And our next movie is A Thin Line Between Love and Hate,
which stars Martin Lawrence in a movie he wrote and directed himself
about a ladies man who picks up one lady too many.
As the movie opens, Lawrence has developed a major lust
for a mysterious real estate executive who visits the club he helps to manage,
but remains aloof.
Give this lady a glass of champagne.
Right up.
On the house. On me.
Would you want a glass of water?
I don't know what you're saying, but I'm not dying.
That's Lynn Whitfield as the elusive brandy who keeps her distance
as Lawrence continues his pursuit.
For example, he tries bringing flowers to her office only to be tossed out by security.
Oh, that's cold.
Next.
You sick ass toy cops. I'll show you how much they care about you.
They ain't even give you no gun.
You're flash like cops. I see you. I see you.
Finally begins to get somewhere with Brandy, but then she puts him to the ultimate test.
I love you.
I love you.
All this time he's been seeing other women.
Then he gets a shock when he learns that Brandy killed her former husband.
He tries to put some distance between them, but now it's Brandy who's relentless in her pursuit.
You don't come around here harassing me.
Nobody mess with my baby. Nobody.
I've been wanting to meet you.
Get out of here. Watch out for your son.
Buried somewhere in the screenplay for a thin line between love and hate
is an interesting and original story, I suppose, about a man who basically deserves
the fatal attraction treatment because of the way that he treats women.
But Martin Lawrence tries to put in too many other things.
The main line of the plot gets sidetracked for unnecessary supporting characters
and side excursions and along the way it loses its urgency.
We have to keep being reminded of what the story is really about.
Lawrence is a promising actor and director, but he needs to take a harder look at his screenplay.
Yeah, I think you hit it exactly. What is this film about?
I mean, is it just about the turnabout when he finds out that his worst fears are confirmed?
Is that the joke? I mean, is that supposed to make us laugh?
It's a awfully long setup for very, very little payoff.
Coming up next, Cher returns to the movies after a long absence
and her character is targeted for murder in Faithful.
You know, I never did anything to my husband. I mean, I loved him more than anybody possibly could.
Well, that was your mistake, babe. You loved him too much.
Oh, hang on. Man and Uncle are on vacation. I gotta go feed their cat.
Where'd they go?
Somebody's goofy, I bet.
Yeah, what's that thing called?
Rocking chairs and shuffleboard.
Or maybe they went to some seminar.
Kunaps love that educational stuff.
Hey, I guess if you have to work all year, you're just too tired to party.
Yeah, it's scary. You hit a certain age and boom!
You don't know how to have fun anymore.
Call 1-407-W-Disney to make the dream come true.
Man, I wish there was a way to keep from growing up.
You know, FedEx and the Dream Team have a lot in common.
They're fast. We're fast.
They've got moves. We've got a few moves of our own.
We both spend a lot of time in the air.
They get called for traveling.
We travel when we're called.
They're masters at grabbing, defying, slamming, jamming, bow-lying, dumb.
Well, okay. So they got us there.
FedEx, proud sponsor of the USA Basketball Dream Team. Neat, huh?
Our goal at American Furniture Warehouse is to satisfy the customer.
We do it by combining the guaranteed lowest everyday price
with our 30-day customer satisfaction guarantee
and a guaranteed all-time delivery.
When you shop at an American Furniture Warehouse Superstore,
you're going to be able to select from more furniture at better prices
than you can anywhere else.
It's just that simple.
American Furniture Warehouse
It's the tax-relief sale at Douglas Toyota, the Toyota Warehouse.
Buy any car or truck, pay no monthly payment,
and receive up to $2,000 on a new or used vehicle.
It's not too tight. A body weight's all you need.
Let's do it.
Ask your Fantastic Sam Stylist for the botanical perms.
Full-volume curls and flowing waves with a soft botanical fragrance.
Feel the difference.
Fantastic Sams, where two heads are better than one.
My mother's the only one who ever called me Anthony.
I'm sure we said Tony sounded like a hoodlum's name.
Is your mother alive?
Hey, what do you want from me? Stop with all these questions now.
Come on, you sound like my shrink.
You're in therapy?
That Cher in her first leading role in the movies in six years.
It's been a long time.
She's playing a wife targeted for murder by her child.
She's playing a mother-in-law.
It's been a long time. She's playing a wife targeted for murder
by her cheating husband in Faithful,
a new comedy about love, marriage, and murder written by her co-star,
Chaz Palminteri, most recently seen in Diabolique.
He plays a hitman hired to rub her out,
but naturally she charms the hitman before he can shoot her.
My husband's been cheating on me for ten years, and I can't even do it once.
You're stupid.
Ten years he's been doing it to you, and you had a shot to do it and didn't.
Bad move.
Well, obviously you've never been in love.
I've been in love.
What happened?
It didn't work out.
Why?
I had to kill a father.
That's one of the film's better gags.
Soon the hitman is so undone by her, he calls his shrink from her home
and asks, what should he do in this situation?
Psychiatrist is played by the film's director, Paul Mazursky.
Then let that woman go, Tony.
You have a chance to prove something to yourself.
I gotta do it, Doc.
Tony, you don't have to do anything but die and pay taxes.
I won't pay taxes.
Of course, Sheriff's husband, Ryan O'Neill, comes home,
and now the tables are turned.
Listen, I'm your husband. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you.
I need the truth.
I'm telling you the truth.
Where'd you get that?
A friend. Or should I say your friend?
You know, I don't know what you're talking about.
Put the gun down.
You know, he made the same mistake you did, Jack.
He thought with that thing between his legs,
and now you're gonna end up just like him, dead.
I thought the structure of Faithful was totally predictable.
You just know that if the hitman's got out to hit her,
that she's gonna charm him.
Also, the structure, I think, took away from the ideas being discussed,
marriage and faithfulness.
Faithful originally was a stage play,
and it does seem overly written when translated to the screen.
I like seeing Cher again.
I wanna see her get out of those infomercials
and back on the big screen where she belongs.
I enjoyed the opening scenes of this picture,
but eventually, I think Faithful just wears out its welcome.
A mixed but negative review for me.
Yeah, a mixed but negative for me, too, and for mostly the same reasons.
You know, Cher was really at the top of her form as an actress
when she quit for some reason.
I mean, she had Academy Award nominations and everything else.
It wasn't like she couldn't get work,
and why would somebody decide to spend six years selling cosmetics on television?
It couldn't have, maybe it was, just the money.
I don't know. She belongs in the movie.
She's good as a movie actress. She's good here.
The movie isn't so great, but...
No, Moonstruck, I mean, I don't know how you could...
I would think that you would be able to leverage yourself off of Moonstruck
to do anything.
Silkwood, I mean, she really has all the weapons,
and I'm glad she's starting to use them.
I wish she'd picked a better picture.
Me, too.
Okay, when we come back, liberals invite conservatives to dinner,
but don't drink the wine at the Last Supper.
It's all right.
It's all right.
It's all right.
So how are your dentures? Are they still hurting?
No, benzidine stops the pain.
Benzidine stays on sore spots, relieves pain for hours.
Dentist recommended benzidine.
Kids are taking over The Oprah Show.
The crew, the audience, the hosts.
I've never been so glad to be up for winter in my life.
They wrote me thousands of letters.
When you have the wedding, can I come, too?
Now they want answers. Next, Oprah.
Look for the best in talk.
Look for Oprah, weekdays on 7.
Rocky's Fever is here.
Monday at 5, don't miss 7 News, live from Coors Field.
Get the lowdown on low-dose, best parking, best food.
And Tony Zarella uncovers the best-kept secret in baseball.
Highlights of opening day and more, Monday on 7 News at 5.
I fought for my country. I killed for my country.
All the while you guys were laughing back here, hoping we'd fall on our faces.
Please stop it! Calm down, Pat.
A group of liberal graduate students invite him out to dinner after he gives one of them a lift home,
and he turns out to be a fanatic right-wing bigot in that scene from The Last Supper.
And so you might think, OK, this is a movie against the right-wing,
but it's a whole lot more complicated than that,
revealing its liberal characters as capable of the most appalling moral outrages.
And later in that scene, they kill their visitor, more or less in self-defense.