Word: bogdanovich
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Directed by Peter Bogdanovich Screenplay by Howard Sackler, Paul Theroux and Peter Bogdanovich...
When a director's three latest films are commercial and critical bombs like Daisy Miller, At Long Last Love and Nickelodeon, where does he go next? In Peter Bogdanovich's case, it is back to basics. Saint Jack, the director's first film since 1976, is a sharp departure from the projects of his Hollywood heyday. Adapted from a Paul Theroux novel set in Singapore, the movie has a small budget, no big stars and not a single loving reference to a classic screwball comedy. Cybill Shepherd is nowhere in sight...
Still, some habits die hard. If Saint Jack is not another complete embarrassment for Bogdanovich, it nonetheless reveals his deficiencies as a film maker. Again he describes emotions without ever feeling them; he flogs tired ideas to death and gets bland performances from his cast. Saint Jack shows off Bogdanovich's considerable craftsmanship, but it has the look of a high-minded movie, too empty to arouse any emotion other than indifference...
There is plenty of tame local color, including what must be some of the least erotic whorehouse sequences ever recorded in an R-rated film. Unlike Novelist Theroux, Bogdanovich does not have a particularly keen descriptive eye; he goes for tourist snapshots instead of true grit. Except for Denholm Elliott, who offers a fastidious portrait of a typically down-and-out British colonial, the actors do little to help the proceedings. Gazzara is fairly blameless, given his flat role, but the miscasting of his con-man nemesis is a disaster. Had a strong actor played the villain, who recalls Harry...
...Duane Fuller (A) 17.41; 2. Erik Christensen (N) 17.11; 3. Ken Jansson (D) 16.90; 4. Tim Spears (Y) 16.31; 5. Bogdanovich (Penn...