Well, that Shakespearian GraveDigger attended a screening in Glendale, CA on 1/11/98 of Billy Crystal's latest project, MY GIANT. He didn't care for it that much, and yes the review does contain some spoilers. Remember this is a very advance test screening, so somethings can change, and undoubtedly the film had a temp track. If you saw the film and agreed or disagreed with The GraveDigger's views, let me know. The more opinions create a fairer look at the film. Enjoy...
For those of us who can remember the caustic edge and warm sentimentism that Billy Crystal brought to films like "When Harry Met Sally..." and "City Clickers", his last few movie outings have been exhaustive disappointments. In this vein, I'm still getting my energy back from a screening of "My Giant", an alleged comedy starring Crystal and NBA-player Gheorghe Muresan.
The plot concerns down-and-out talent agent Sam Kamen (Crystal), who discovers an actual giant (Muresan) living in Romania. After a too-long first act in which he gets the seven-and-a-half footer work on a European film, Kamen convinces the large man to come to America, where the new Steven Seagal film desperately needs a villian of stature. This leads to an amusing scene in which Seagal plays a parody of himself (though even that fades fast, as Seagal retreats into hamfisted corniness, learning to love the big guy).
Kathleen Quinlan does some good work as Kamen's long-suffering wife, but she appears too briefly. Instead the film is stuck with Crystal, still in "Father's Day" and "City Slickers 2" mode, trying too hard to pass off jokes that are only marginally funny. It's not a good sign when the King of Oscar Hosts is out-acted by Washington Wizard center Muresan, making his film debut.
Kamen is the sort of self-centered, egotistical careerist that a only truly charming actor could make likable. Instead, smart-alec Crystal is too cloying, assuming the audience will root for him just because things aren't going well for him. Once we understand that all his problems are of his own making, however, we pretty must stop caring. For example, there seems to be absolutely no reason the man is separated from his wife other than the fact that, despite his laments, he is unwilling to resolve their problems. This is best observed in an inexplicable scene in which he spends his son's birthday on the set of Steven Seagal's movie. And this occurs during the supposedly happy ending!
"My Giant" offers further proof that Crystal's days as cute and clever leading comedic man are over, and that a future of annual Oscar-hosting gigs is the best we can look forward to.
