Well, I don't know, but no type of bad review would keep me away from a film that has Kevin Spacey in it, not to mention Sean Penn. I'm hoping this is a matter of taste, because I love the talent involved and simply have to believe in them. Until we get more word, here ya go....
Considering the impressive roster of actors present and the pedigree of the script’s source, I expected a hell of a lot more from Hurlyburly than I got. The only aspect of it I could fully recommend is the performance of Kevin Spacey, which is as nuanced as ever. For me, Spacey’s fast becoming the Gene Hackman of his generation—you never realize he’s acting even as he piles up a heap of subtle, impressive performances.
As for the rest of the cast, Penn’s performance has been touted in some circles—and is certainly explosive—but he shows you everything he’s got in the film’s first hour, making the second hour rather tedious as he continuously raves through scene after scene. The performance may have worked on stage—where such energy is far more necessary—but on film it’s overwhelms one too quickly and left me squirming in my seat, annoyed at the character’s screeching, teary self-indulgence.
Shandling is funny in a comparatively small role. He seems to be doing a take on his Larry Sanders character, but hey I loved Larry Sanders! Let him do it! Other actors don’t leave a particularly favorable impression.
Chazz Palminteri’s obsessive bitterness wore on the nerves, Anna Paquin’s tart wasn’t nearly tart enough and Meg Ryan was just plain wrong. This type of character—the strung-out cocksucker—is not her strong suit at all. The film may have been better served if less prominent actresses had been cast in these roles. Both actresses are supposed to be portraying sexually accommodating women but at no time does this come across viscerally on screen.
All in all, the film is pretty dreary. Not only are the characters self-obsessed jerks, but the play was not adapted terribly well. Every scene goes very long and there is an overwhelming sense that you’re watching a filmed play—it’s painfully static.
Hurlyburly ran over two hours and considering how repetitious many of the scenes were the film would have benefited greatly from severe paring. I had high hopes for this one and am sad to say that I can only give it the slightest of recommendations, mostly for Spacey’s performance and the first hour of Penn’s.
