REVIEW: WALKING AND TALKING (1996)
WALKING AND TALKING
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.0
Alternative Scale: *** out of ****
United States, 1996
Release date: beginning 7/96 (limited)
Running Length: 1:30
MPAA Classification: R (Sex, profanity, mature themes)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Catherine Keener, Anne Heche, Liev Schreiber, Todd Field,
Kevin Corrigan
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Producers: Ted Hope and James Schamus
Screenplay: Nicole Holofcener
Cinematography: Michael Spiller
Music: Billy Bragg
U.S. Distributor: Miramax Films
"I wonder if I'll ever know what it's like to not break up with
someone," laments Amelia (Catherine Keener). Meanwhile, her lifelong
best friend, Laura (Anne Heche), is about to tie the knot with her beau,
Frank (Todd Field). This dynamic -- the relationship between a
perpetually single young woman and her soon-to-be-wed soul-sister --
forms the core of Nicole Holofcener's debut feature, WALKING AND
TALKING. And, while the two women's romantic entanglements are part of
the story, it's the chemistry between them that keeps the film on the
right track.
WALKING AND TALKING is real. It's also, by turns, funny, charming,
and even a little touching. Holofcener has an ear for dialogue, and, as
is often the case with the best character-centered films, a chief
pleasure is simply enjoying what the participants have to say to one
another. The two leading ladies represent another asset. Anne Heche
(one of Alec Baldwin's victims in THE JUROR) and Catherine Keener
(LIVING IN OBLIVION) are effective in both comic and dramatic scenes.
Each has mastered the knack of giving a completely unforced performance.
Once they step into character, they never slip out.
WALKING AND TALKING successfully navigates a minefield of familiar
territory. The storyline, which is essentially a slice-of-life, doesn't
attempt anything big, but it offers a number of small surprises. Just
when you think you know how one romantic entanglement is going to turn
out, Holofcener throws in a little twist. That's not to say that the
plot is masterful (in fact, it's rather simple), but there's enough
there to hold the viewer's interest.
While the meat of the movie is about Amelia and Laura, and the
manner in which facing the future forces them to acknowledge unwanted
changes in their relationship, there are a few men around. The most
prominent is Frank, Laura's intended. Played by Todd Field (RUBY IN
PARADISE, TWISTER), he seems to be the rock-solid sort, and it's
difficult to say whether Amelia is more jealous of his steadiness or his
closeness to Laura. Then there's Andrew, Amelia's screwed-up best male
friend. Played by Liev Schreiber (whose last film was DENISE CALLS UP -
- this is acknowledged by an in-joke that has Andrew engaged in a
telephone relationship), he's a likable neurotic who's addicted to
pornography and smells his armpits for comfort. Finally, there's Bill
(Kevin Corrigan), the "ugly" video store clerk who tries his best to
worm his way into Amelia's heart. And, although he turns her off by
laughing at her dying cat and taking her to a nerds-only, horror movie
convention, she's the one who places the greatest obstacle in the way of
a relationship.
While WALKING AND TALKING is pretty light fare, it's not without
substance. Both Amelia and Laura are confused about the future, albeit
in different ways. They're afraid of change, even though they recognize
it's inevitable, and each suffers from the typical Generation X lack of
self-esteem. Amelia sits alone in her room, stroking her cancer-riddled
cat and listening to "music to slit your wrists by", and Laura bemoans
her career choice, saying that she's not a good therapist because she
makes her patients worse. Even though these two don't need each other
the way they once did, their mutual importance is still apparent.
WALKING AND TALKING ends by giving us closure without wrapping
everything up in a neat package. Because the main characters are both
women, the writer/director is a woman, and the themes relate to female
bonding, this will inevitably be pegged as a "chick flick." That's an
unfortunate appellation, because WALKING AND TALKING has universal
appeal. Many of the issues it approaches have less to do with gender
than with the simple condition of living in the '90s -- something we are
all afflicted with.
- James Berardinelli
e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net
ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin