PARK CITY, Utah -- "The 24-Hour Woman" needs a rest in this contemporary satire of the frazzling of modern women sucked into believing they can do and have it all with little or no downside. Featuring Rosie Perez, this well-intentioned comedy is unfortunately packed with so many loose threads, instantaneous shifts of plot and motivation that it more resembles a network sitcom pilot than a feature film.
That is not to say this Sundance Film Festival selection, which premieres at the fest tonight, is not without its dramatic and comic charms -- overall, it makes some solid points about how child-raising is denigrated in this smugly enlightened, careerist age.
In this Shooting Gallery presentation, Perez stars as a frenzied TV producer of a morning show geared toward the distaff demographic. Grace is clearly on the way up in her career and new marriage to one of the show's hosts, aspiring action hero Eddie (Diego Serrano).
When it's learned that Grace is pregnant, the show's piranha-like executive producer (Patti Lupone) decides to milk the pregnancy for ratings hay: The show goes into a deep-pregnancy mode in which all facets of Grace's changing condition are explored, poked and put up for public view -- glamorizing pregnancy while propagandizing for the ability of the career woman to do it all.
Not surprisingly, pregnancy itself is not all happy talk and fun times: Grace's weight gain and the emotional drain of having her life put on public display begin to fray at her pretensions of being a superwoman.
One part "Network", two pinches of "Mr. Mom" and a dose of satire on "Oprah/Rosie/Roseanne"-ish talk shows," "The 24-Hour Woman", like the film's heroine, often tries to juggle too many divergent tasks. It never settles into a comfortable narrative rhythm, gyrating with tonal swings and often repeating itself with redundant comic scenes.
Still, its central theme -- that pregnancy and child-rearing is underappreciated in this society -- is smartly detailed as Grace endures the slings and arrows of snide careerist women, as well as the callow smugness of her "supportive" husband. Particularly touching is a subplot involving Grace's assistant, Madeline (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), a mother of three returning to the workplace whose truculent husband Roy (Wendell Price) is none too happy to emasculate his manhood by being a househusband. The exhausting balancing act that Madeline must maintain between family and work is perhaps the film's most powerful thread.
The players deserve praise for their adroit performances. In particular, Perez is engaging as the woman who feels pressured into doing it all. Jean-Baptiste's measured performance as the working mother of three brims with smart detail, while Price is well-cast as the feisty, old-time male provider. Serrano is appropriately charismatic and callow as Grace's immature husband, while Lupone is industry-perfect as a callous, cold-hearted careerist.
Despite the sometimes scattered nature of the storytelling, screenwriters Nancy Savoca and Richard Guay have created credible, sympathetic characters and cleverly shown the incredible demands and talents it takes to raise children. Under director Nancy Savoca's empathetic guidance, the story, even when it fails to jell, rings true.
Unfortunately, the sometimes scattered scripting and the film's laggardly pacing often sink it into the doldrums. Technically, Bob Shaw's production design is first-rate, telling and funny, while Kathleen Mobley's costumes captures the frenzy of the workplace as well as the insecurities of people who try to balance too much and, ironically, become out of balance themselves.
Unfortunately, the production is marred by some dreadful sound work, with the dialogue sometimes nearly inaudible, particularly when the background score and noise kick in with action-movie gusto.
THE 24-HOUR WOMAN
Artisan Entertainment
The Shooting Gallery presents
a Redeemable Features/Exile Films production
in association with Dirt Road Prods.
Producers: Richard Guay, Larry Meistrich, Peter Newman
Director: Nancy Savoca
Screenwriters: Nancy Savoca, Richard Guay
Executive producers: Steve Carlis, Donald C. Carter, Daniel J. Victor
Director of photography: Teresa Medina
Co-producer: Rosie Perez
Editor: Camilla Toniolo
Production designer: Bob Shaw
Music: Louie Vega, Kenny Gonzalez
Music supervisors: Barry Cole, Christopher Covert
Casting: Sheila Jaffe, Georgianne Walken
Line producer: Diana Schmidt
Color/stereo
Cast:
Grace Santos: Rosie Perez
Madeline Labelle: Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Joan Marshall: Patti Lupone
Margo Lynn: Karen Duffy
Eddie Diaz: Diego Serrano
Roy Labelle: Wendell Price
Dr. Suzanne Pincus: Melissa Leo
Running time -- 96 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
That is not to say this Sundance Film Festival selection, which premieres at the fest tonight, is not without its dramatic and comic charms -- overall, it makes some solid points about how child-raising is denigrated in this smugly enlightened, careerist age.
In this Shooting Gallery presentation, Perez stars as a frenzied TV producer of a morning show geared toward the distaff demographic. Grace is clearly on the way up in her career and new marriage to one of the show's hosts, aspiring action hero Eddie (Diego Serrano).
When it's learned that Grace is pregnant, the show's piranha-like executive producer (Patti Lupone) decides to milk the pregnancy for ratings hay: The show goes into a deep-pregnancy mode in which all facets of Grace's changing condition are explored, poked and put up for public view -- glamorizing pregnancy while propagandizing for the ability of the career woman to do it all.
Not surprisingly, pregnancy itself is not all happy talk and fun times: Grace's weight gain and the emotional drain of having her life put on public display begin to fray at her pretensions of being a superwoman.
One part "Network", two pinches of "Mr. Mom" and a dose of satire on "Oprah/Rosie/Roseanne"-ish talk shows," "The 24-Hour Woman", like the film's heroine, often tries to juggle too many divergent tasks. It never settles into a comfortable narrative rhythm, gyrating with tonal swings and often repeating itself with redundant comic scenes.
Still, its central theme -- that pregnancy and child-rearing is underappreciated in this society -- is smartly detailed as Grace endures the slings and arrows of snide careerist women, as well as the callow smugness of her "supportive" husband. Particularly touching is a subplot involving Grace's assistant, Madeline (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), a mother of three returning to the workplace whose truculent husband Roy (Wendell Price) is none too happy to emasculate his manhood by being a househusband. The exhausting balancing act that Madeline must maintain between family and work is perhaps the film's most powerful thread.
The players deserve praise for their adroit performances. In particular, Perez is engaging as the woman who feels pressured into doing it all. Jean-Baptiste's measured performance as the working mother of three brims with smart detail, while Price is well-cast as the feisty, old-time male provider. Serrano is appropriately charismatic and callow as Grace's immature husband, while Lupone is industry-perfect as a callous, cold-hearted careerist.
Despite the sometimes scattered nature of the storytelling, screenwriters Nancy Savoca and Richard Guay have created credible, sympathetic characters and cleverly shown the incredible demands and talents it takes to raise children. Under director Nancy Savoca's empathetic guidance, the story, even when it fails to jell, rings true.
Unfortunately, the sometimes scattered scripting and the film's laggardly pacing often sink it into the doldrums. Technically, Bob Shaw's production design is first-rate, telling and funny, while Kathleen Mobley's costumes captures the frenzy of the workplace as well as the insecurities of people who try to balance too much and, ironically, become out of balance themselves.
Unfortunately, the production is marred by some dreadful sound work, with the dialogue sometimes nearly inaudible, particularly when the background score and noise kick in with action-movie gusto.
THE 24-HOUR WOMAN
Artisan Entertainment
The Shooting Gallery presents
a Redeemable Features/Exile Films production
in association with Dirt Road Prods.
Producers: Richard Guay, Larry Meistrich, Peter Newman
Director: Nancy Savoca
Screenwriters: Nancy Savoca, Richard Guay
Executive producers: Steve Carlis, Donald C. Carter, Daniel J. Victor
Director of photography: Teresa Medina
Co-producer: Rosie Perez
Editor: Camilla Toniolo
Production designer: Bob Shaw
Music: Louie Vega, Kenny Gonzalez
Music supervisors: Barry Cole, Christopher Covert
Casting: Sheila Jaffe, Georgianne Walken
Line producer: Diana Schmidt
Color/stereo
Cast:
Grace Santos: Rosie Perez
Madeline Labelle: Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Joan Marshall: Patti Lupone
Margo Lynn: Karen Duffy
Eddie Diaz: Diego Serrano
Roy Labelle: Wendell Price
Dr. Suzanne Pincus: Melissa Leo
Running time -- 96 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 1/22/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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