Merrilee Dale Movies
In the tradition of This Is Spinal Tap, producer/ director/ star Tim Robbins' Bob Roberts is a satire disguised as a documentary. Robbins plays the titular Roberts, a wealthy, well-connected young man running for a senatorial seat in Pennsylvania. On the surface, Roberts is an ingratiating glad-hander, a sincere believer in the restoration of such intangibles as national pride, family values, etc. But the longer Roberts is followed about by documentary filmmaker Brian Murray, the more we become aware that the candidate is a textbook case of cynicism and contempt. Only Giancarlo Esposito, a reporter for an underground newspaper, is willing to dig beneath Roberts' veneer--a habit that leads to the film's ironic conclusion. Several well-known actors make cameo appearances as TV commentators, notably Tim Robbins' longtime partner Susan Sarandon. Bob Roberts started out as a Tim Robbins-directed short subject for the TV series Saturday Night Live, then was expanded into a $4 million feature. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
Hear No Evil, while based on the interesting premise of a deaf woman stalked by a relentless killer, is a well-crafted but predictable mystery thriller. Jillian (Marlee Matlin), a physical trainer is unknowingly given a valuable stolen coin. The theft of the coin was planned by a corrupt and sadistic police lieutenant (Martin Sheen) who needs the coin to fund his retirement, and he pursues Jillian in order to get it. Director Robert Greenwald, who also directed The Burning Bed, does a good job in showing the victim's courage and resourcefulness in her desperate situation. Matlin is good as Jillian, and does not use her deafness as a crutch to generate sympathy but portrays Jillian as an independent and strong woman. The plot gets bogged down with too many cliched twists and subplots, including a romance which slows the movie and adds nothing of interest in the development of the characters and their motivations. Hear No Evil, similar in theme to the excellent Wait Until Dark, lacks the focus and intensity necessary in a good thriller and wastes its excellent cast. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marlee Matlin, D.B. Sweeney, (more)
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