`Husbands and Wives,' lite
MercuryNews.com | 08/18/2006 | `Husbands and Wives,' lite
Posted on Fri, Aug. 18, 2006
By David Germain
Associated Press
``Trust the Man,'' a romantic comedy from writer-filmmaker Bart Freundlich, features a top-notch cast -- Julianne Moore, David Duchovny, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Billy Crudup, among others.
But despite its potential, this attempt at an urbane, adult chronicle of love and marriage is a disappointment, with too many phony plot contrivances and stereotypical characters: the thirtysomething man-child who can't commit; the longtime girlfriend obsessed about a baby; the career-oriented woman who won't have sex with her spouse; the neglected hubby who finds what he's looking for elsewhere.
Moore and Duchovny play a seemingly affectionate couple well adjusted to their working-woman, stay-at-home-dad roles. Yet they don't have sex, and that's not for any apparent reason but to push Freundlich's artificial story forward. Similarly, Crudup's character is a big, goofy kid who refuses to grow up only so the filmmaker can set him at odds with his girlfriend (Gyllenhaal).
Moore, who co-starred in husband Freundlich's ``The Myth of Fingerprints'' and ``World Traveler,'' plays Rebecca, a successful Hollywood actress performing on stage in New York. Husband Tom (Duchovny) minds their two kids, and the couple visits a marriage counselor (Garry Shandling). But after complaining about their non-existent sex life, they then cuddle and kiss on the street like romantic fools.
Tom's best pal is Rebecca's brother, Tobey (Crudup), who has dated Elaine (Gyllenhaal) for eight years but keeps resisting her desire to marry and start a family.
If these characters are synthetic, the performers are not. Moore and Duchovny, who starred in the alien-invasion comedy ``Evolution,'' have a relaxed grace. Crudup displays a nice comic charm, and Gyllenhaal infuses far more depth into her character than the script does.
In addition to Shandling's cameo, there's Ellen Barkin playing a book editor whose encounter with Elaine seems potentially meaningful but goes nowhere. Eva Mendes is Tobey's old flame, and James Le Gros manages some quirky humor as a new suitor of Elaine.
``Trust the Man'' plays out like a lightweight version of Woody Allen's ``Husbands and Wives,'' with the leads struggling to resolve their issues while an audience of strangers looks on.
Unfortunately, what Freundlich intended to be a literate, insightful piece becomes a trivial, empty farce that isn't even funny.
`Trust the Man'
**
Rated: R (profanity, sexual content)
Cast: Julianne Moore, David Duchovny, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Billy Crudup, Garry Shandling, Ellen Barkin, Eva Mendes, James Le Gros
Writer-director: Bart Freundlich
Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
By David Germain
Associated Press
``Trust the Man,'' a romantic comedy from writer-filmmaker Bart Freundlich, features a top-notch cast -- Julianne Moore, David Duchovny, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Billy Crudup, among others.
But despite its potential, this attempt at an urbane, adult chronicle of love and marriage is a disappointment, with too many phony plot contrivances and stereotypical characters: the thirtysomething man-child who can't commit; the longtime girlfriend obsessed about a baby; the career-oriented woman who won't have sex with her spouse; the neglected hubby who finds what he's looking for elsewhere.
Moore and Duchovny play a seemingly affectionate couple well adjusted to their working-woman, stay-at-home-dad roles. Yet they don't have sex, and that's not for any apparent reason but to push Freundlich's artificial story forward. Similarly, Crudup's character is a big, goofy kid who refuses to grow up only so the filmmaker can set him at odds with his girlfriend (Gyllenhaal).
Moore, who co-starred in husband Freundlich's ``The Myth of Fingerprints'' and ``World Traveler,'' plays Rebecca, a successful Hollywood actress performing on stage in New York. Husband Tom (Duchovny) minds their two kids, and the couple visits a marriage counselor (Garry Shandling). But after complaining about their non-existent sex life, they then cuddle and kiss on the street like romantic fools.
Tom's best pal is Rebecca's brother, Tobey (Crudup), who has dated Elaine (Gyllenhaal) for eight years but keeps resisting her desire to marry and start a family.
If these characters are synthetic, the performers are not. Moore and Duchovny, who starred in the alien-invasion comedy ``Evolution,'' have a relaxed grace. Crudup displays a nice comic charm, and Gyllenhaal infuses far more depth into her character than the script does.
In addition to Shandling's cameo, there's Ellen Barkin playing a book editor whose encounter with Elaine seems potentially meaningful but goes nowhere. Eva Mendes is Tobey's old flame, and James Le Gros manages some quirky humor as a new suitor of Elaine.
``Trust the Man'' plays out like a lightweight version of Woody Allen's ``Husbands and Wives,'' with the leads struggling to resolve their issues while an audience of strangers looks on.
Unfortunately, what Freundlich intended to be a literate, insightful piece becomes a trivial, empty farce that isn't even funny.
`Trust the Man'
**
Rated: R (profanity, sexual content)
Cast: Julianne Moore, David Duchovny, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Billy Crudup, Garry Shandling, Ellen Barkin, Eva Mendes, James Le Gros
Writer-director: Bart Freundlich
Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes