Rating: 
Summary: No es bueno --at all!
Review: (...) I was quite prepared to like it myself--good cast, intriguing source novel. You hope for the best, but sometimes you get the worst.This is one of those movies where you have to wonder if all involved couldn't see that it was going all wrong. Barbara Hershey had been on something of a roll in the late 80s. Why I remember a time when there were THREE Hershey movies playing simultaneously playing at the local art house in Albany, NY. (For the record, the were "A World Apart," "Shy People," and "The Last Temptation of Christ."). In this botch, she still manages to acquit herself fairly well, but it is plainly not the prestige project she was probably hoping for. As for Peter Falk, well, he does his Peter Falk shtick as per usual. It works better here than in, say, "Vibes," but he'd have done better to stick to Columbo films and the occasional art film like "Wings of Desire." The actor who comes off the best here is Keanu Reeves, believe it or not. Although this was relatively early in Keanu's career, he was already in desparate need of a "serious vehicle" after "Bill and Ted..." and other juvenilia had pretty much turned his name into a punch line for late night comedians. His role here is not all that demanding a one, really. He basically does the earnest, idealistic young writer bit with all the earnestness and idealism he can muster. It's not Academy Award caliber by any means, but he pulls it off well enough. The "art vs. life" theme that is the core of the film is so mangled that it seems like a bad joke. Falk's Pedro Carmichael is not an artist, but a hack, and Keanu's Martin Loader character is untested as an artist. Hershey's supposedly colorful Aunt Julia may be seen as something on an artist figure herself (or at least as a bohemian of sorts), but none of these characters really offers much in the way of vision or insight. It's mostly just craziness for craziness's sake (check out Pedro's inexplicable arrival in a fire truck at the movie's close--it seems more desparate and contrived than insprired madcap.) If you're a Reeves, Hershey or Falk fan, of course, you'll want to check this movie out. But to add to your collection?? Save your money and borrow it from the public library.
Rating:
Summary: No es bueno --at all!
Review: (...) I was quite prepared to like it myself--good cast, intriguing source novel. You hope for the best, but sometimes you get the worst. This is one of those movies where you have to wonder if all involved couldn't see that it was going all wrong. Barbara Hershey had been on something of a roll in the late 80s. Why I remember a time when there were THREE Hershey movies playing simultaneously playing at the local art house in Albany, NY. (For the record, the were "A World Apart," "Shy People," and "The Last Temptation of Christ."). In this botch, she still manages to acquit herself fairly well, but it is plainly not the prestige project she was probably hoping for. As for Peter Falk, well, he does his Peter Falk shtick as per usual. It works better here than in, say, "Vibes," but he'd have done better to stick to Columbo films and the occasional art film like "Wings of Desire." The actor who comes off the best here is Keanu Reeves, believe it or not. Although this was relatively early in Keanu's career, he was already in desparate need of a "serious vehicle" after "Bill and Ted..." and other juvenilia had pretty much turned his name into a punch line for late night comedians. His role here is not all that demanding a one, really. He basically does the earnest, idealistic young writer bit with all the earnestness and idealism he can muster. It's not Academy Award caliber by any means, but he pulls it off well enough. The "art vs. life" theme that is the core of the film is so mangled that it seems like a bad joke. Falk's Pedro Carmichael is not an artist, but a hack, and Keanu's Martin Loader character is untested as an artist. Hershey's supposedly colorful Aunt Julia may be seen as something on an artist figure herself (or at least as a bohemian of sorts), but none of these characters really offers much in the way of vision or insight. It's mostly just craziness for craziness's sake (check out Pedro's inexplicable arrival in a fire truck at the movie's close--it seems more desparate and contrived than insprired madcap.) If you're a Reeves, Hershey or Falk fan, of course, you'll want to check this movie out. But to add to your collection?? Save your money and borrow it from the public library.
Rating: 
Summary: funny & sexy
Review: A strange and clever film, with a great deal of humor, witty dialogue, and steamy heat in the Reeves/Hershey relationship.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Fun!
Review: A wonderfully entertaining, delightful and original movie. Peter Falk is the stand-out here and the beautiful Barbara Hershey shines. The consistenly dull Keanu Reeves is even bearable in this one. Just a great way to spend two hours with a smile on your face.
Rating:
Summary: Great Fun!
Review: A wonderfully entertaining, delightful and original movie. Peter Falk is the stand-out here and the beautiful Barbara Hershey shines. The consistenly dull Keanu Reeves is even bearable in this one. Just a great way to spend two hours with a smile on your face.
Rating:
Summary: Keanu Reeves......Komedy King!
Review: ALBANIANS BEWARE!, August 20, 1999 Reviewer: A viewer from LONDON, England I love this movie! It's a fine comedy. I love the romance, the schemes and betrayal, the surrealism of the piece. Keanu is very good as the clean cut,aloof, yet smitten 'young man'. I especially like the 'dream sequence' with the jealous rage and torment . Peter Falk does a good turn as Carmichael. He does very good accents. The animal jokes were great. The Albanian jokes are weird, but hilarious. For example 'You're driving like a one armed Albanian with crabs'. It works though. A classic film for any fans collection and the boppy soundtrack is a must too.
Rating:
Summary: Keanu Reeves......Komedy King!
Review: ALBANIANS BEWARE!, August 20, 1999 Reviewer: A viewer from LONDON, England I love this movie! It's a fine comedy. I love the romance, the schemes and betrayal, the surrealism of the piece. Keanu is very good as the clean cut,aloof, yet smitten 'young man'. I especially like the 'dream sequence' with the jealous rage and torment . Peter Falk does a good turn as Carmichael. He does very good accents. The animal jokes were great. The Albanian jokes are weird, but hilarious. For example 'You're driving like a one armed Albanian with crabs'. It works though. A classic film for any fans collection and the boppy soundtrack is a must too.
Rating:
Summary: sweet and funny early Keanu
Review: Based on Mario Vargas Llosa's semi-autobiographical novel "Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter", this is a charming film with some laughs, tenderness, and good performances. Peter Falk plays the highly imaginitive Pedro Carmichael, who writes radio soap operas. One of Pedro's plot devices is to pick a nation that he can blame everything on, and the lucky "country of the month" in his latest soap is Albania, which creates controversy, a huge audience, and eventual havoc. Some of the funniest moments in the film are when the soap opera "comes to life"...Dan Hedeya, as a one-eyed exterminator (watch for the neon rat over the front door of his mansion) is hilarious in his caricature of a crazed bigot. Barbara Hershey is excellent as the "older woman", and Keanu Reeves as Martin is utterly lovable in one of his most likable performances. He does well with his Louisiana accent, and portrays a youthful naivete that's engaging and believable...and oh my goodness, the man is a work of art. Total beauty in human form. One of my favorite scenes is between Martin and Pedro in the cafe, when Martin says: "I think I kinda want to be a writer...", and it's clever how the titles are read like an old radio show by Henry Gibson. The early 50's era is captured well in the art direction and Wynton Marsalis provides some terrific music. On the minus side, a few of Pedro's schemes are a little slow and weak, bogging the film down at times, but overall, if you're in the mood for some light and slightly off-beat entertainment, this might fit the bill.
Rating:
Summary: NEEDS to be on DVD
Review: Don't be put off by the presence of Keanu- he is very good in this funny, fanciful and generally wonderful movie. Barbara Hershey is also at her peak as the older Aunt who, despite being a total realist, can't help but fall in love with the smitten Keanu. Add in Peter Falk's fall-down-funny portrail of a famous radio serial writer who almost always is driven out of town and who helps to engineer their romance, a healthy dose of suspense, some magical realism, truly great cameos, and a clever and witty script, and you have just about the best time you can have on a sofa for two hours. The lush New Orleans setting and the wonderful flashes of the (totally hilarious) radio soap cry out for a DVD version. Just thinking about this movie brings a smile to my face. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: very funny
Review: Fast and funny. Great feel to movie really brings out New Orleans as it is. Keanu us very good in this light hearted comedy. A fun 2 hours.
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