Word: cleverisms
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...pass his legislation, Clinton must hold together a fragile alliance of liberals and conservatives. George Bush sponsored a package that was similar in many ways to Clinton's, only to see it die in the Senate. To forestall such failure, Clinton's bill depends largely on a clever bit of horse trading. The idea is that liberals -- eager to appear hard-nosed -- would accept the death penalty and the limitations on habeas corpus appeals in order to get the gun control they so ardently desire, while conservatives, eager to appear constructive, would make the reverse trade...
There's no denying, though, that Free Willy is a clever movie toy for the kid market. Most of the time Willy is played by Keiko, a killer whale (actually a type of dolphin) that the company found in a seaquarium in Mexico City. But frequently Keiko is spelled by a stunt double: a high-tech robot coated with 3,000 lbs. of eurythane rubber. (There is also a Turbo Willy - -- essentially the top of the whale, with mammoth hydraulic propellers on the bottom.) How real were the fake Willys? Persuasive enough so that the real Willy got the hots...
...budget television spots had little substance--their main message amounted to "vote for me because my opponent is a millionaire"--but they were clever and witty, and perhaps most importantly, they made Wellstone look like he was a born loser, coming from behind. The candidate looked the part: short, unattractive, with disheveled hair and a goofy demeanor. (To gain pity point, you've got to cultivate the right image; although Wisconsin candidate Russ Feingold eventually won a Senate seat, his come-from-behind ads, though similar in content to Wellstone's, were far less effective. Feingold, a visibly slick state...
Orlando is not without secrets, however. Although played by a woman, the character begins as a man accompanied by clever narration meant to create a suspension of disbelief. Though a glance is enough to see through this, as the story progresses it gets easier and easier to see Swinton as a man. Just when this happens, however, Orlando wakes up one morning to discover that he has become a woman. Addressing the audience, Orlando explains things by simply saying, "Just a different sex, nothing else changed...
...movie gets buried in paperwork; there's too much walking and talking. (See Tom think. See Tom brood. See Tom make photocopies. See Tom amble across his living room -- in slow motion.) And at the end, too much running and gunning. Maybe every thriller demands a chase, but a clever thriller deserves a better one. On that endless, aimless run, Mitch loses his way, and The Firm goes flabby...