Simply Perfect

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Dr. Eugene Sands (David Duchovny) was stripped of his license when he operated while high. He is at a bar scoring drugs. There's a shooting and he helps the victim getting the attention of Claire (Angelina Jolie). Goons bring Sands to counterfeiter Raymond Blossom (Timothy Hutton) who hires him as a personal doctor. Claire is Blossom's girlfriend and Sands is paid $10k for saving his 'friend' at the bar.Timothy Hutton is not a good tough guy. When he's surrounded by other actors who always play tough, he looks silly. The movie feels fake on its own but he just makes it worst. He should forget about the blond hair and the slick clothes. They don't fit him. He's better off with a nice suit and act like a CEO. Duchovny is not good enough as a drug addict either. Jolie is oozing sexuality. Most of the movie struggles for pace and tension. This is trying for neo-noir crime drama with the style and the narration. It fails badly. The wipes, the camera effects, the locations and all the rest seem to be trying way too hard to make a bad movie more interesting.

Don't let his tanned and muscular good looks fool you; underneath that healthy exterior, Los Angeles doctor David Duchovny (as Eugene Sands) is a washed-up drug addict. Stripped of his medical license after operating while high, Mr. Duchovny makes a barroom dope deal at the same time someone is shot. Duchovny uses his medical knowledge to save the otherwise mortally wounded crook. This attracts attention from blond crime boss Timothy Hutton (as Raymond "Ray" Blossom), who rewards Duchovny and uses him as a personal physician. This way, Mr. Hutton can save lives while avoiding hospitals and police. Hutton comes with a strikingly beautiful girlfriend avec especially sensuous lips, painted bright red – yes, it's uber-attractive Angelina Jolie (as Claire)...You don't have to be told, but things get complicated when Duchovny and Ms. Jolie become mutually attracted...Leading the capable supporting players is steely-eyed FBI agent Michael Massee (as Gage). He also wants to deal with Duchovny. This production, directed by Andy Wilson from a Mark Haskell Smith script, moves along well. There are more than a couple problems, however. Duchovny, propelled to stardom on TV's "The X-Files", delivers some terminally ill narration; it should have declared inoperable and put of its misery. As far as looking like a drug addict, Duchovny's more cool than strung-out; that's okay, but we're never really sure why he's one of the least stoned-looking members of the cast. Anthony B. Richmond's cinematography is fine, but Mr. Wilson includes double-exposure and scene transition/dissolves effects that look more like mistakes than effects.***** Playing God (10/17/97) Andy Wilson ~ David Duchovny, Timothy Hutton, Angelina Jolie, Michael Massee

I know there aren't any ties between Baywatch and this movie. Except that they are shot in California, and more exactly in LA and its surroundings. Those locations struck me strongly while watching this movie. The audience moves as well in downtown than in the country, alternating beach and forest. The views you can find here complete the dreamy, cool ones of Baywatch, and even I didn't go there, I think this movie offers a good picture of the real LA. And really, I don't like very much this environment for a living and I prefer the San Francisco area.Now, the story is original but the gimmick (a doctor for healing thugs) is too much used. After the first one, the script becomes a collection of what-if: what-if the doctor visits junk heads, what if the doctor cures the wife's boss, etc..Then, I am perplexed with the cast: Hutton has really no charisma for a nutty and violent boss. On the contrary, Jolie and above all, Duchvony are excellent. I really appreciate Duchovny, because he is a tall man but he is also quiet. He knows what he wants but he doesn't speak a lot. I like his humor, dry, detached that fits well with his personality. I'am sure that without this hot ticket, this movie would be actually left in limbs.NB: my trailer proposes a love scene between the two but it has been cut from the movie.

Wow. I thought this might be insipid but it was even worse than I imagined! Sometimes I like to watch a good "car-crash" movie: those that are so bad that you can't look away because you want to see how bad they can possibly get. This is really the only reason I could leave the television on - morbid fascination. It wasn't so much the acting, which was only mediocre or slightly worse than one would expect from this cast, but the premise and the plot which never should have seen the light of day. The script, too, is groan-inducing. As for cinematography, did anyone else notice that they used a "curtains drawing" segue device, like in an old 50's TV show...but without irony? At first I thought they must be kidding but the movie takes itself too seriously to have used this in a tongue-in-cheek manner. Don't even ask me about the score...the only high point is the final song, by Morcheeba. I guess they wanted to leave people with something for their $8...glad I saw it on TV!!!!! Just silly! I wonder if this is why Timothy Hutton has had trouble finding much work recently? I guess if you don't expect much, and want to watch a mindless thriller, it would be better than spending an evening clipping your toenails, which is why it merits a 2.