Co-directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (THE CELLULOID CLOSET) follow the dotted line without coloring outside of it, accompanying Linda on a superficial journey from life with her martinet parents in Florida to a quickie marriage to strip-club owner Chuck Traynor (Peter Sarsgaard) to a starring role in director Gerard Damiano’s (Hank Azaria) groundbreaking porno.
None of it has any flavor, and no attempt is made to understand how Linda ended up the most celebrated porn star of the 1970s. Hell, she didn’t even know how to perform fellatio, and ten minutes after Traynor teaches her to breathe while blowing, she’s in New York City auditioning for Damiano and producer Butch Peraino (Bobby Cannavale). What made her decide on such a radical career move? Dunno. LOVELACE doesn’t say, nor does it pry too heavily into her marriage to Traynor beyond his cartoonish spiral into drugs and spousal abuse.
Have fun spotting the silly celebrity cameos: Chris Noth (THE GOOD WIFE) as DEEP THROAT’s deep pockets, Adam Brody (THE O.C.) playing Harry Reems as a himbo, Chloe Sevigny for two seconds, Wes Bentley, Lisa Gay Hamilton (THE PRACTICE), Debi Mazar, Eric Roberts, and a miscast James Franco as Hugh Hefner. Stone and Patrick actually give wonderfully understated performances as Linda’s folks, and they made me wonder whether this story told from their point of view would be more interesting. Lovelace’s drug addiction and LINDA LOVELACE FOR PRESIDENT go unmentioned.
Dan Zukovic's "THE LAST BIG THING", called the "best unknown American film of the 1990's in the film book "Defining Moments in Movies" (Editor: Chris Fujiwara), was recently released on DVD and Netflix by Vanguard Cinema (http://www.vanguardcinema.com/thelastbigthing/thelastbigthing.htm), and is currently debuting on Cable Video On Demand, including Fandor. Featuring an important early role by 2011 Best Supporting Actor Oscar Nominee Mark Ruffalo ("The Avengers", "Shutter Island", "The Kids Are Alright"), "THE LAST BIG THING" had a US theatrical release in 1998, and gained a cult following over several years of screenings on the Showtime Networks.
ReplyDeleteTRAILER: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi856622873/
"A distinctly brilliant and original work." Kevin Thomas - Los Angeles Times
"A satire whose sharpest moments echo the tone of a Nathaniel West novel...Nasty Fun!"
Stephen Holden - New York Times
"One of the cleverest recent satires on contemporary Los Angeles...a very funny sleeper!"
Michael Wilmington - Chicago Tribune
"One of the few truly original low budget comedies of recent years." John Hartl - Seattle Times
"'The Last Big Thing' is freakin' hilarious! The most important and overlooked indie film
of the 1990's!" Chris Gore - Film Threat