‘Paper Empire’ Sets Entire Third Season Shoot At Saudi Arabia’s Film AlUla
Cryptocurrency drama Paper Empire will film the entirety of its 10-episode third season at Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning shooting hub and location Film AlUla. Created and directed by Robert Gillings, the high-profile cast will feature Robert Davi, Denise Richards, Kelsey Grammar, Carole Alt, Helena Mattsson, Wesley Snipes, Anne Archer, Richard Grieco, Robert Knepper, Steve Guttenberg among a host of returning and guest stars. The action-drama series is produced by Robert Gillings Productions, Tadross Media Group and Inner Circle Films. “We are delighted the Paper Empire team will be basing their new season in AlUla, we’ve worked with the creative team to provide locations which underscore the glamour, opulence and world-class production value of the series,” said Film AlUla Director Charlene Deleon-Jones.
BBC Acquires Dark Irish Drama Series
The BBC and Australia’s Sbs have acquired Clean Sweep,...
Cryptocurrency drama Paper Empire will film the entirety of its 10-episode third season at Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning shooting hub and location Film AlUla. Created and directed by Robert Gillings, the high-profile cast will feature Robert Davi, Denise Richards, Kelsey Grammar, Carole Alt, Helena Mattsson, Wesley Snipes, Anne Archer, Richard Grieco, Robert Knepper, Steve Guttenberg among a host of returning and guest stars. The action-drama series is produced by Robert Gillings Productions, Tadross Media Group and Inner Circle Films. “We are delighted the Paper Empire team will be basing their new season in AlUla, we’ve worked with the creative team to provide locations which underscore the glamour, opulence and world-class production value of the series,” said Film AlUla Director Charlene Deleon-Jones.
BBC Acquires Dark Irish Drama Series
The BBC and Australia’s Sbs have acquired Clean Sweep,...
- 6/21/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow and Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Emirati Movie
British actor Jefferson Hall will soon appear on screen in Emirati director Nayla Al Khaja’s psychological thriller “Three,” about a young boy who appears to be possessed.
Al Khaja – who is known for standout shorts including horror film “The Shadow” and “Animal” that both play on Netflix – has just wrapped the independently-produced “Three,” her debut feature, which was shot in Thailand.
Besides, Hall, “Three” also stars Faten Ahmed; Noura Alabed (“Wiladah”); veteran U.A.E. actor Mari Al Halyan (“On Borrowed Time”); Mohannad Bin Huthail (“Rashash”) and emerging Emirati talent Saud Alzarooni.
“Three” marks a rare case of a drama in which a Brit becomes enmeshed with the core of an Emirati family. The film unfolds in an unspecified modern-day Middle Eastern city, where a young boy named Ahmed begins exhibiting strange behavior, eventually leading his mother Maryam, to believe he is possessed. As the plot thickens,...
British actor Jefferson Hall will soon appear on screen in Emirati director Nayla Al Khaja’s psychological thriller “Three,” about a young boy who appears to be possessed.
Al Khaja – who is known for standout shorts including horror film “The Shadow” and “Animal” that both play on Netflix – has just wrapped the independently-produced “Three,” her debut feature, which was shot in Thailand.
Besides, Hall, “Three” also stars Faten Ahmed; Noura Alabed (“Wiladah”); veteran U.A.E. actor Mari Al Halyan (“On Borrowed Time”); Mohannad Bin Huthail (“Rashash”) and emerging Emirati talent Saud Alzarooni.
“Three” marks a rare case of a drama in which a Brit becomes enmeshed with the core of an Emirati family. The film unfolds in an unspecified modern-day Middle Eastern city, where a young boy named Ahmed begins exhibiting strange behavior, eventually leading his mother Maryam, to believe he is possessed. As the plot thickens,...
- 6/21/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Paradigm Talent Agency on Thursday announced its hiring of Varun Monga as a Literary Content Agent, along with the promotions of Sanam Sarani and Sheridan March to Agent.
Sarani will serve as a Brand Partnerships Agent, cultivating brand opportunities for clients, in addition to booking conventions and serving clients in digital media. March, meanwhile, will focus on developing unique emerging clients as an Emerging Talent Agent. Both will join Monga in working out of Paradigm’s Los Angeles office.
Monga joins Paradigm after three years at Kaplan Stahler Agency, where he represented diverse assortment of writers and directors across film and TV. Notable creatives he’s repped to date include Gary Tieche, Bobby Mort (Loudermilk), Kim Clements (Next), Mollie and Ben St. John (Arcane), Jett Garrison (Gen V), Hussain Pirani (FBI: International), Mary Castellanos (George & Tammy), Ajani Jackson (Law & Order) and Michael Poisson (Tom Swift), to name a few.
Sarani will serve as a Brand Partnerships Agent, cultivating brand opportunities for clients, in addition to booking conventions and serving clients in digital media. March, meanwhile, will focus on developing unique emerging clients as an Emerging Talent Agent. Both will join Monga in working out of Paradigm’s Los Angeles office.
Monga joins Paradigm after three years at Kaplan Stahler Agency, where he represented diverse assortment of writers and directors across film and TV. Notable creatives he’s repped to date include Gary Tieche, Bobby Mort (Loudermilk), Kim Clements (Next), Mollie and Ben St. John (Arcane), Jett Garrison (Gen V), Hussain Pirani (FBI: International), Mary Castellanos (George & Tammy), Ajani Jackson (Law & Order) and Michael Poisson (Tom Swift), to name a few.
- 3/16/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Zdf Studios Boards Charlene McKenna Thriller ‘Clean Sweep,’ Set for Sundance Now and Rte (Exclusive)
Adding to its growing roster of overseas drama titles, Germany’s Zdf Studios has snagged international distribution rights to “Clean Sweep,” a six-part Irish thriller which is set to premiere on Sundance Now and Irish public broadcaster RTÉ.
“Clean Sweep” stars Charlene McKenna, Captain Swing in “Peaky Blinders,” in a crime drama told from the point-of-view of the killer who is also, unusually, a self-sacrificing mother and wife. Filming is now underway.
McKenna, whose credits take in “Bloodlands” and “Vienna Blood,” plays Shelly Mohan, a woman living a quiet life in Western Ireland as a housewife and mother of three who kills her former partner in crime when he threatens to expose her dark past.
With her unsuspecting husband, a Garda detective, hunting for the murderer, Shelly has to contend with the pressures of a tightening noose as well as continuing to care for an ailing son, her unfaithful husband...
“Clean Sweep” stars Charlene McKenna, Captain Swing in “Peaky Blinders,” in a crime drama told from the point-of-view of the killer who is also, unusually, a self-sacrificing mother and wife. Filming is now underway.
McKenna, whose credits take in “Bloodlands” and “Vienna Blood,” plays Shelly Mohan, a woman living a quiet life in Western Ireland as a housewife and mother of three who kills her former partner in crime when he threatens to expose her dark past.
With her unsuspecting husband, a Garda detective, hunting for the murderer, Shelly has to contend with the pressures of a tightening noose as well as continuing to care for an ailing son, her unfaithful husband...
- 7/27/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix announced that the sixth and final season of “Lucifer” will premiere Sept. 10 on the streaming service.
Although the former Fox drama that was resurrected at Netflix has been thought to be ending before, “this is it…for real this time,” they say.
At the end of the fifth season the titular devil (Tom Ellis) almost became God, and now the world is unraveling without an almighty deity to preside over things, leaving Lucifer with a really tough decision on his hands.
In addition to Ellis, Lauren German, D.B. Woodside, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Rachael Harris, Aimee Garcia and Kevin Alejandro also star in the series.
Also in the Comic-Con@Home roundup…
Dates
Amazon Prime Video announced that upcoming fantasy series “The Wheel of Time” will debut in November. The series is adapted by showrunner Rafe Judkins from Robert Jordan’s book series of the same name and stars Rosamund Pike as Moiraine,...
Although the former Fox drama that was resurrected at Netflix has been thought to be ending before, “this is it…for real this time,” they say.
At the end of the fifth season the titular devil (Tom Ellis) almost became God, and now the world is unraveling without an almighty deity to preside over things, leaving Lucifer with a really tough decision on his hands.
In addition to Ellis, Lauren German, D.B. Woodside, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Rachael Harris, Aimee Garcia and Kevin Alejandro also star in the series.
Also in the Comic-Con@Home roundup…
Dates
Amazon Prime Video announced that upcoming fantasy series “The Wheel of Time” will debut in November. The series is adapted by showrunner Rafe Judkins from Robert Jordan’s book series of the same name and stars Rosamund Pike as Moiraine,...
- 7/23/2021
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
God's plan for the end of the world enters Phase 2 and Cassidy and Tulip hit the Outback on a typically bananas episode of Preacher.
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This Preacher review contains spoilers.
Preacher Season 4 Episode 6
Preacher is a show that can be difficult to review, if only because in any given episode, a lot of things happen. Barring a bottle episode or an episode focused on a specific character, there's a lot of ground to cover. For example, in “The Lost Apostle,” every major character in Preacher is active and involved throughout the episode. Granted, some of the scenes are simple—Jesus, Hitler, and Starr are snacking and negotiating around a conference table—but it's still a subplot to potentially discuss, and figuring out what to talk about can be a daunting task.
So, focus will be drawn to the scenes in Preacher that echoed one of my all-time favorite movies,...
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This Preacher review contains spoilers.
Preacher Season 4 Episode 6
Preacher is a show that can be difficult to review, if only because in any given episode, a lot of things happen. Barring a bottle episode or an episode focused on a specific character, there's a lot of ground to cover. For example, in “The Lost Apostle,” every major character in Preacher is active and involved throughout the episode. Granted, some of the scenes are simple—Jesus, Hitler, and Starr are snacking and negotiating around a conference table—but it's still a subplot to potentially discuss, and figuring out what to talk about can be a daunting task.
So, focus will be drawn to the scenes in Preacher that echoed one of my all-time favorite movies,...
- 9/2/2019
- Den of Geek
Lifetime Movie Network is taking a contemporary look at the seven deadly sins.
The cable network is moving with production on "Seven Deadly Sins," a four-hour miniseries based on Robin Wasserman's "Seven Deadly Sins" series of novels: "Lust," "Greed," "Envy," "Wrath," "Gluttony," "Sloth" and "Pride."
"Without a Trace" alum Eric Close is set to star in the mini, written by Gary Tieche and to be directed by Jeff Renfroe.
Dreama Walker ("Gossip Girl"), Rachel Melvin ("Days of Our Lives"), Jared Keeso ("The Guard"), Emma Lahana ("The Guard"), Greyston Holt ("Durham County") and Steven Grayhm ("Taken") co-star in the project. It is slated to begin production late this month for a 2010 premiere.
In "Sins," Harper (Walker) is a manipulative queen bee at her high school whose popularity is usurped when a transfer student (Melvin) comes to town, seduces Harper's boyfriend (Keeso) and shamelessly pursues handsome French teacher Mr. Powell (Close).
Meanwhile,...
The cable network is moving with production on "Seven Deadly Sins," a four-hour miniseries based on Robin Wasserman's "Seven Deadly Sins" series of novels: "Lust," "Greed," "Envy," "Wrath," "Gluttony," "Sloth" and "Pride."
"Without a Trace" alum Eric Close is set to star in the mini, written by Gary Tieche and to be directed by Jeff Renfroe.
Dreama Walker ("Gossip Girl"), Rachel Melvin ("Days of Our Lives"), Jared Keeso ("The Guard"), Emma Lahana ("The Guard"), Greyston Holt ("Durham County") and Steven Grayhm ("Taken") co-star in the project. It is slated to begin production late this month for a 2010 premiere.
In "Sins," Harper (Walker) is a manipulative queen bee at her high school whose popularity is usurped when a transfer student (Melvin) comes to town, seduces Harper's boyfriend (Keeso) and shamelessly pursues handsome French teacher Mr. Powell (Close).
Meanwhile,...
- 8/11/2009
- by By Nellie Andreeva
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Veteran showrunner John Eisendrath has inked a two-year overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television.
Under the seven-figure pact, which begins in June, when Eisendrath's current deal with ABC TV Studio expires, the "Alias" executive producer will develop new projects for 20th TV.
Eisendrath already is in business with 20th TV. He has been loaned out by ABC TV Studio to join "Supreme Courtships", 20th TV's one-hour pilot for Fox, as executive producer/showrunner.
"John is exactly the kind of creator and proven showrunner we are always on the lookout for at this studio," 20th TV president Dana Walden said. "He's great with character and relationships, but he can also deliver the intricate storytelling of a procedural. The enthusiasm he has brought to 'Supreme Courtships' has been fantastic; he's already offered so many great ideas."
On "Courtships", a soapy comedic drama about the personal and professional lives of six Supreme Court clerks and the judges they work for, Eisendrath will serve as an executive producer alongside the project's writer Gary Tieche, Marty Adelstein and Michael Thorn.
Under the seven-figure pact, which begins in June, when Eisendrath's current deal with ABC TV Studio expires, the "Alias" executive producer will develop new projects for 20th TV.
Eisendrath already is in business with 20th TV. He has been loaned out by ABC TV Studio to join "Supreme Courtships", 20th TV's one-hour pilot for Fox, as executive producer/showrunner.
"John is exactly the kind of creator and proven showrunner we are always on the lookout for at this studio," 20th TV president Dana Walden said. "He's great with character and relationships, but he can also deliver the intricate storytelling of a procedural. The enthusiasm he has brought to 'Supreme Courtships' has been fantastic; he's already offered so many great ideas."
On "Courtships", a soapy comedic drama about the personal and professional lives of six Supreme Court clerks and the judges they work for, Eisendrath will serve as an executive producer alongside the project's writer Gary Tieche, Marty Adelstein and Michael Thorn.
- 2/15/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The producers are not quite sure what to call this movie -- "Speaking of Sex" in Europe, "Mr. Happy" in North America. The title dilemma is emblematic of this sex comedy because it gyrates among numerous satirical targets: sex therapists, lawyers, the insurance industry, big medicine. It's topped by a deliriously loopy supporting performance from Bill Murray as a rabid insurance-defense lawyer. What Murray did for "Rushmore", he's likely to do for John McNaughton's comic sex-capade, which had its world premiere at the 37th annual Chicago International Film Festival.
With Murray's deadpan foolery and enough cunning lingual jokery to fuel 10 seasons of "Sex and the City", the film would seem to have a happy time in college towns and big cities. And, in the jargon of the movie, it could stroke steamy dates as a video rental. Look for Murray to garner critical honors come high awards season, which should further seduce audiences.
Dan and Melinda (Jay Mohr and Melora Walters), a Boise, Idaho, couple, are having sack trouble, which causes Melinda to seek a sex therapist, whom she finds on a bus-stop bench advertisement. Not surprisingly, the sex guru, Dr. Emily Paige Lara Flynn Boyle), is about as helpful as a 976 number. But she at least pawns Melinda off on a depression wiz.
A slightly funny thing happens on the way to the depression guy: Melinda has elevator sex, and it turns out it's with the shrink she was going to see, Dr. Klink (James Spader). However, Klink has a raging case of male menopause complete with a little red Corvette. When word of his professional dalliance gets back to Emily, she goes nutso, filing a grievance with a watchdog medical organization that is out to cut off the, er, license of any therapist making it with a patient.
While "Sex" flounces along in this jagged, old-style "Love, American Style" plot line crammed with verbal and slapstick boobery, it is stroked with zany asides. Admittedly hyperactive and skewering everything in its path, "Sex" is packed with enough brainy satirical salvos to overcome the overly excited narrative, a credit to screenwriter Gary Tieche's fertile humor.
Buffed, coifed and big-hatted, Murray oozes manipulation and insincerity as trial lawyer Ezri Stovall. With a slick blue tie and faux cowboy hat, Murray doles out lethal high-mountain justice to those who dare to take on the Idaho medical insurance establishment. Murray's droll delivery, dismissive glances and utterly high-handed demeanor are a hoot throughout, easily the high mark of the comedy.
Under McNaughton's direction, the performances are ripe with inspired nuttiness, including most prominently Catherine O'Hara as a lusty corporate lawyer and Spader as the frazzled Freudian.
When jokes flounder and Murray is not around, the comedy is juiced by production designer Joseph T. Garrity's loony concoctions, including Murray's dizzy High Plains lawyer office complete with stuffed bear and pretentious Remington rip-offs. Similarly, Kimberly A. Tillman's wiggy costumes are a droll indictment of the Potato State's unique sartorial splendor.
SPEAKING OF SEX
Studio Canal presents
an Omnibus and Les Film Alain Sarde production
A presentation of Les Films Alain Sarde
Producers: Rob Scheidlinger, Alain Sarde, Pierre Edelman
Director: John McNaughton
Screenwriter: Gary Tieche
Co-producers: David Fanning, Steven A. Jones
Director of photography: Ralf Bode
Production designer: Joseph T. Garrity
Costume designer: Kimberly A. Tillman
Editor: Elena Maganini
Art director: Cathy Phillips
Color/stereo
Cast:
Dr. Roger Klink: James Spader
Dr. Emily Paige: Lara Flynn Boyle
Dan: Jay Mohr
Melinda: Melora Walters
Ezri Stovall: Bill Murray
Connie Barker: Catherine O'Hara
Larry: Paul Schulze
Jennifer Klink: Megan Mullally
Felix: Hart Bochner
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
With Murray's deadpan foolery and enough cunning lingual jokery to fuel 10 seasons of "Sex and the City", the film would seem to have a happy time in college towns and big cities. And, in the jargon of the movie, it could stroke steamy dates as a video rental. Look for Murray to garner critical honors come high awards season, which should further seduce audiences.
Dan and Melinda (Jay Mohr and Melora Walters), a Boise, Idaho, couple, are having sack trouble, which causes Melinda to seek a sex therapist, whom she finds on a bus-stop bench advertisement. Not surprisingly, the sex guru, Dr. Emily Paige Lara Flynn Boyle), is about as helpful as a 976 number. But she at least pawns Melinda off on a depression wiz.
A slightly funny thing happens on the way to the depression guy: Melinda has elevator sex, and it turns out it's with the shrink she was going to see, Dr. Klink (James Spader). However, Klink has a raging case of male menopause complete with a little red Corvette. When word of his professional dalliance gets back to Emily, she goes nutso, filing a grievance with a watchdog medical organization that is out to cut off the, er, license of any therapist making it with a patient.
While "Sex" flounces along in this jagged, old-style "Love, American Style" plot line crammed with verbal and slapstick boobery, it is stroked with zany asides. Admittedly hyperactive and skewering everything in its path, "Sex" is packed with enough brainy satirical salvos to overcome the overly excited narrative, a credit to screenwriter Gary Tieche's fertile humor.
Buffed, coifed and big-hatted, Murray oozes manipulation and insincerity as trial lawyer Ezri Stovall. With a slick blue tie and faux cowboy hat, Murray doles out lethal high-mountain justice to those who dare to take on the Idaho medical insurance establishment. Murray's droll delivery, dismissive glances and utterly high-handed demeanor are a hoot throughout, easily the high mark of the comedy.
Under McNaughton's direction, the performances are ripe with inspired nuttiness, including most prominently Catherine O'Hara as a lusty corporate lawyer and Spader as the frazzled Freudian.
When jokes flounder and Murray is not around, the comedy is juiced by production designer Joseph T. Garrity's loony concoctions, including Murray's dizzy High Plains lawyer office complete with stuffed bear and pretentious Remington rip-offs. Similarly, Kimberly A. Tillman's wiggy costumes are a droll indictment of the Potato State's unique sartorial splendor.
SPEAKING OF SEX
Studio Canal presents
an Omnibus and Les Film Alain Sarde production
A presentation of Les Films Alain Sarde
Producers: Rob Scheidlinger, Alain Sarde, Pierre Edelman
Director: John McNaughton
Screenwriter: Gary Tieche
Co-producers: David Fanning, Steven A. Jones
Director of photography: Ralf Bode
Production designer: Joseph T. Garrity
Costume designer: Kimberly A. Tillman
Editor: Elena Maganini
Art director: Cathy Phillips
Color/stereo
Cast:
Dr. Roger Klink: James Spader
Dr. Emily Paige: Lara Flynn Boyle
Dan: Jay Mohr
Melinda: Melora Walters
Ezri Stovall: Bill Murray
Connie Barker: Catherine O'Hara
Larry: Paul Schulze
Jennifer Klink: Megan Mullally
Felix: Hart Bochner
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
The producers are not quite sure what to call this movie -- "Speaking of Sex" in Europe, "Mr. Happy" in North America. The title dilemma is emblematic of this sex comedy because it gyrates among numerous satirical targets: sex therapists, lawyers, the insurance industry, big medicine. It's topped by a deliriously loopy supporting performance from Bill Murray as a rabid insurance-defense lawyer. What Murray did for "Rushmore", he's likely to do for John McNaughton's comic sex-capade, which had its world premiere at the 37th annual Chicago International Film Festival.
With Murray's deadpan foolery and enough cunning lingual jokery to fuel 10 seasons of "Sex and the City", the film would seem to have a happy time in college towns and big cities. And, in the jargon of the movie, it could stroke steamy dates as a video rental. Look for Murray to garner critical honors come high awards season, which should further seduce audiences.
Dan and Melinda (Jay Mohr and Melora Walters), a Boise, Idaho, couple, are having sack trouble, which causes Melinda to seek a sex therapist, whom she finds on a bus-stop bench advertisement. Not surprisingly, the sex guru, Dr. Emily Paige Lara Flynn Boyle), is about as helpful as a 976 number. But she at least pawns Melinda off on a depression wiz.
A slightly funny thing happens on the way to the depression guy: Melinda has elevator sex, and it turns out it's with the shrink she was going to see, Dr. Klink (James Spader). However, Klink has a raging case of male menopause complete with a little red Corvette. When word of his professional dalliance gets back to Emily, she goes nutso, filing a grievance with a watchdog medical organization that is out to cut off the, er, license of any therapist making it with a patient.
While "Sex" flounces along in this jagged, old-style "Love, American Style" plot line crammed with verbal and slapstick boobery, it is stroked with zany asides. Admittedly hyperactive and skewering everything in its path, "Sex" is packed with enough brainy satirical salvos to overcome the overly excited narrative, a credit to screenwriter Gary Tieche's fertile humor.
Buffed, coifed and big-hatted, Murray oozes manipulation and insincerity as trial lawyer Ezri Stovall. With a slick blue tie and faux cowboy hat, Murray doles out lethal high-mountain justice to those who dare to take on the Idaho medical insurance establishment. Murray's droll delivery, dismissive glances and utterly high-handed demeanor are a hoot throughout, easily the high mark of the comedy.
Under McNaughton's direction, the performances are ripe with inspired nuttiness, including most prominently Catherine O'Hara as a lusty corporate lawyer and Spader as the frazzled Freudian.
When jokes flounder and Murray is not around, the comedy is juiced by production designer Joseph T. Garrity's loony concoctions, including Murray's dizzy High Plains lawyer office complete with stuffed bear and pretentious Remington rip-offs. Similarly, Kimberly A. Tillman's wiggy costumes are a droll indictment of the Potato State's unique sartorial splendor.
SPEAKING OF SEX
Studio Canal presents
an Omnibus and Les Film Alain Sarde production
A presentation of Les Films Alain Sarde
Producers: Rob Scheidlinger, Alain Sarde, Pierre Edelman
Director: John McNaughton
Screenwriter: Gary Tieche
Co-producers: David Fanning, Steven A. Jones
Director of photography: Ralf Bode
Production designer: Joseph T. Garrity
Costume designer: Kimberly A. Tillman
Editor: Elena Maganini
Art director: Cathy Phillips
Color/stereo
Cast:
Dr. Roger Klink: James Spader
Dr. Emily Paige: Lara Flynn Boyle
Dan: Jay Mohr
Melinda: Melora Walters
Ezri Stovall: Bill Murray
Connie Barker: Catherine O'Hara
Larry: Paul Schulze
Jennifer Klink: Megan Mullally
Felix: Hart Bochner
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
With Murray's deadpan foolery and enough cunning lingual jokery to fuel 10 seasons of "Sex and the City", the film would seem to have a happy time in college towns and big cities. And, in the jargon of the movie, it could stroke steamy dates as a video rental. Look for Murray to garner critical honors come high awards season, which should further seduce audiences.
Dan and Melinda (Jay Mohr and Melora Walters), a Boise, Idaho, couple, are having sack trouble, which causes Melinda to seek a sex therapist, whom she finds on a bus-stop bench advertisement. Not surprisingly, the sex guru, Dr. Emily Paige Lara Flynn Boyle), is about as helpful as a 976 number. But she at least pawns Melinda off on a depression wiz.
A slightly funny thing happens on the way to the depression guy: Melinda has elevator sex, and it turns out it's with the shrink she was going to see, Dr. Klink (James Spader). However, Klink has a raging case of male menopause complete with a little red Corvette. When word of his professional dalliance gets back to Emily, she goes nutso, filing a grievance with a watchdog medical organization that is out to cut off the, er, license of any therapist making it with a patient.
While "Sex" flounces along in this jagged, old-style "Love, American Style" plot line crammed with verbal and slapstick boobery, it is stroked with zany asides. Admittedly hyperactive and skewering everything in its path, "Sex" is packed with enough brainy satirical salvos to overcome the overly excited narrative, a credit to screenwriter Gary Tieche's fertile humor.
Buffed, coifed and big-hatted, Murray oozes manipulation and insincerity as trial lawyer Ezri Stovall. With a slick blue tie and faux cowboy hat, Murray doles out lethal high-mountain justice to those who dare to take on the Idaho medical insurance establishment. Murray's droll delivery, dismissive glances and utterly high-handed demeanor are a hoot throughout, easily the high mark of the comedy.
Under McNaughton's direction, the performances are ripe with inspired nuttiness, including most prominently Catherine O'Hara as a lusty corporate lawyer and Spader as the frazzled Freudian.
When jokes flounder and Murray is not around, the comedy is juiced by production designer Joseph T. Garrity's loony concoctions, including Murray's dizzy High Plains lawyer office complete with stuffed bear and pretentious Remington rip-offs. Similarly, Kimberly A. Tillman's wiggy costumes are a droll indictment of the Potato State's unique sartorial splendor.
SPEAKING OF SEX
Studio Canal presents
an Omnibus and Les Film Alain Sarde production
A presentation of Les Films Alain Sarde
Producers: Rob Scheidlinger, Alain Sarde, Pierre Edelman
Director: John McNaughton
Screenwriter: Gary Tieche
Co-producers: David Fanning, Steven A. Jones
Director of photography: Ralf Bode
Production designer: Joseph T. Garrity
Costume designer: Kimberly A. Tillman
Editor: Elena Maganini
Art director: Cathy Phillips
Color/stereo
Cast:
Dr. Roger Klink: James Spader
Dr. Emily Paige: Lara Flynn Boyle
Dan: Jay Mohr
Melinda: Melora Walters
Ezri Stovall: Bill Murray
Connie Barker: Catherine O'Hara
Larry: Paul Schulze
Jennifer Klink: Megan Mullally
Felix: Hart Bochner
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 11/2/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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