MY
GIANT
RATING: 6 / 10 --> Barely recommendable
Review Date:
April 18, 1998
Director:
Michael Lehmann
Writer:
David Seltzer
Producers:
Billy Crystal and Peter Schindler
Actors:
Billy Crystal as Sammy Kanin
Gheorghe Muresan as Max
Kathleen Quinlan as Serena
Kanin
Genre:
Comedy
Year of Release: 1998
Michael Lehmann's follow-up to the funny and touching THE TRUTH
ABOUT CATS AND DOGS (7.5/10) doesn't come close to that film, or
his directorial debut of HEATHERS (8/10), one of JoBlo's personal
favourites. Crystal is also credited as one of the people who
came up with the "story" for this film.
PLOT:
Fast-talking agent from New York (Crystal) gets his life saved by
a gigantic man in Romania (Muresan) and decides to bring him back
to America for a shot at success in the world of entertainment.
CRITIQUE:
This film is anything but a comedy. Yes, it does have some funny
scenes. Yes, it does feature Billy Crystal, the successful host
of the Oscars, cracking us up from year to year. But no,
unfortunately for all those going into this film expecting a
yuck-fest...'tis not to be, my friends. This film is rooted in
sentimentality and the manipulation of emotions (in its
characters and for the audience). Most of the film involved a
sub-plot about the "giant" coming to America to find
his long-lost love (nothing funny about that), and the fact that
he may have some health problems (nothing funny about that
either).
As a general film, it does work on some emotional levels, but as
a comedy, it is definitely not something you would recommend to
your friends for a "good laugh". Muresan is excellent
as the puppy-eyed "giant" who doesn't want nor need
much out of life. Crystal is generic as usual, and does little to
distinguish his character from every other neurotic,
wise-cracking Jewish yuppie that he's played over the years (Did
I just describe Crystal as a "person" or his
"character"? Too close to call. I guess the man's
acting abilities don't necessarily stretch from his own persona).
Funny at times, overly sentimental at others.
Overall, the movie doesn't deliver many laughs (one unique scene
featuring the real Steven Seagal is pretty cool, and pretty big
on Seagal's part, as the scene essentially makes fun of him-word
on the street is that Seagal originally turned the part down, but
after hearing that Van Damme might take it, he curiously
reconsidered), has a disappointing ending, and seems to use
Muresan's pure innocence and naiveté to garner emotional
attachment from the audience (worked a little bit, but after a
while....). The good points, well, not too many, but I guess I
was never really bored or angry during the entire screening, so
that's a plus. A flaccid recommendation indeed.
Little Known Facts:
The film is dedicated to Andre. That's "Andre the
Giant" to the laymen.
A scene featuring Mr. Muresan having to drink wine to get
"tipsy", and being hauled onto a horse by a crane, is
based on an actual occurence during the filming of Rob Reiner's
PRINCESS BRIDE (8/10), when Andre the Giant also ran into some
problems attempting to mount a horse.
Billy Crystal stands 5"8, while Muresan towers at 7"7.
Muresan's mom was 5"7 and his dad was only 5"9. He
wears a size 19 shoe, and plays professional basketball in the
NBA with the Washington Wizards.
Billy Crystal once studied film and television direction at NYU,
partially under the tutelage of filmmaker Martin Scorsese (TAXI
DRIVER 8/10, GOODFELLAS 9/10 ).
(c) 1998 Berge Garabedian
Movie Reviews by Berge Garabedian
Movie Reviews starting with "M"
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