32 North Shore News - Friday, October 13, 2000

T S in

fi an fal 1S to cross his

Dr. T and the Women a

. waste of too

‘Dr. Tand the Women kk (out of 5) . Directed by Robert - : Altman, Starring Richard Gere, Shelley Long, ~ .-Farrah Faweett, Kate '» Hudson and Laura Dern.

* Robert Altman has’ -- “had a lengthy. but-cre- _, atively spotty career. - - His latest, Dr’ T and ©: the: Women, i is another .: Altman signature - ensemble piece, but’ without the wit and

‘timing of i its predeces-.. :

Richard Gere ‘sare’ as Sullivan “Dr..T”. Travis, - . treasured Ob/Gyn to the

Dailas uppercrust. He ‘is sur-.. ;

rounded che an all-female | staff and clieniele, a a wife :

gaggle of empty headed society, women Who '

Office suggests

that theré* 5 nowhere they'd her be than

i (I've got news. fo!

I-don’t:

good-looking the: doc:is: there’s just. no way. to speculum sexy.

Nevertheless, the hissy-fit

Dr.T:’s waiting r6om.-And

wait they do... for hours, Dr.

T. has ‘as: much impact ‘on his i; patients”. psychological ail-

many talents

ments as their gynecological

ones. Dr. T’s assistant — ~

Carolyn (Shelley Long, ina

slapstick role) tries vainly to ‘rein the women in and keep

order..." L

Adding to the mounting chaos in Travis’ life is the

“n-slow mental decline ‘of his

Wife Kate (Farrah Fawcett); :‘and the impending marriage of his elder daughter Dee .” Dee, a Dallas Cowboys

: cheerleading alternate with a-

suspicious choice for maid of honour. ... *:

“Unfortunately, Faweett’ Ss,

portrayal of Kate gives men-

tal illness a bad name. Kate = |

is suffering from a “Hestia‘ complex,” which apparently

‘:is what happens to rich and

happy women when the ‘Garden: Club gets boring (an ‘interesting concept that is Pnever fully ex) lored).:

- Faweett’s biggest scene is “a buck-naked romp through a'shopping mall fountain. - (Did Aleman think the audi- ence. wouldn't catch on to ~ Kate’s fragile mental state if she were only partially » clothed? Or did he hate to waste Fawcett’s natural .

learly at case. here; and is at his’ most like- able, in the role of a man constantly surrounded by women: Despite the contin: ual ‘stroking of his ego, Altman’s Dr.:T has nothing © but reverence ‘and tender--

Bur the female a actors don’t fare as well: Helen

” Hunt as Bree, the golf pro, *

is too emotionally cold for - us to believe that Dr.:T

ing marriage vows for her. Laura Dern is capable but underwritten as Peggy,

Kate’s champagne-swilling sister, who moves into the

: Travis mansion with her

three toddlers (girls, of course) in tow,

And back to Dr. T’s women: never having been to the Lone Star state | can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure that the portrayal of every last one of the women as petty, scheming, spoiled, vacuous or ven-

omous shopaholics won't sit

well with the women of

Dallas.

And the last scene?

- Without giving anything ~

away I can only say that if it was intended to, be’ pro- -

- found, it totally ‘missed its mark.

Ie’s almost as it Altman looked at the film, thought it lacked something, and added the scene for shock/- water cooler conv ersation value.

The narrative flows along

nicely enough and the

‘premise is promising, but = fas cari- |

© “eatures and never elfeit! 90 ~much interest from the audi-.. ‘ence. A top-notch collection’ “of actors put to waste, and a

- + big disappointment from the

: director of such gems as

the women come o

M*A*S*H and ‘The Player.

“Tabot and Dawson “Eclectic Acoustic duo:

Oct 20 @ om e

Solas “Wrish/American traditional band : is Oct 23. @ 8pm ;

ae “Kenny Werner “Acclaimed international pianist

: iit t concert with “A” Band & NiteCap

Dec g. @ @ pm

~ 2055 Purcell Way, North Nae : Box. Office: 990- 7810