Flawless

Rating:
Summary: Based on change, not death.
Review: I can understand why most people hated this movie: because it had the usual stereostypes. But what they are not seeing the realtionship that came about. It is a story that shows the world that people can change, even under the most odd of situations (here, it is a homophobe and a gay drag queen). It is actually somewhat inspiring to see this kind of relationship ensue and it is enjoyable. It nice to see a movie that focuses more on the happiness than the hatred.

Rating:
Summary: Based on change, not death.
Review: I can understand why most people hated this movie: because it had the usual stereostypes. But what they are not seeing the realtionship that came about. It is a story that shows the world that people can change, even under the most odd of situations (here, it is a homophobe and a gay drag queen). It is actually somewhat inspiring to see this kind of relationship ensue and it is enjoyable. It nice to see a movie that focuses more on the happiness than the hatred.

Rating:
Summary: Weird
Review: I don't often turn off a movie, but after twenty minutes both my wife and I looked at each other and said "I told you not to rent this!". Men in dresses...dark rooms...no plot...bad acting...cliches... rubbish! Don't waste your money. When I logged on to write a review to this movie I noticed it had received some very high ratings and initally I assumed that there must be two movies called 'flawless' but there aren't...different tastes I suppose and we are all free to comment. But I suspect that if you are straight, don't like transvestites and think Robert DeNero is an excellent actor then don't rent this movie.

Rating:
Summary: I Wonder About Reality Here
Review: I enjoyed watching this movie, in the sense that it moves along, and for Phillip Seymour Hoffman's performance (he was better than I have ever seen him). Then again, he got the good lines, and because De Niro, playing a cop who has had a stroke, can barely speak, he works double time for both of them. Unfortunately, other than that, and the gracious way Robert De Niro lets himself be upstaged consistently by Hoffman, there is little here of interest and not much reality. Were they going for "La Cage aux Folles"? See that instead--the origional.

Seeing two people work out their oppositional attitudes is always interesting, but this movie is top heavy and out of balance-- and the deck is stacked against De Niro. His performances should always be perfect--isn't that what we expect? He doesn't seem to be "into" this as an actor. It's puzzling. Perhaps he was trying something "new" again. What the heck is going on with him?

It's sort of cute, in parts, but not terribly real, I am afraid. Fun if you want to see a lot of drag queens yelling at gay republicans... that was my favorite scene. Dressed outrageously in full drag, the "ladies" really gave it to these poor suited up guys who are half out, half in the closet, concerning the annual Gay Pride Parade in New York City. Is this something that really happened? I have no clue. Amusing to watch however. Very huffy. Sorry if this sounds politcally incorrect. It may well be, but it's the movie's problem, not mine.

The subplot, concerning hidden drug money, is sloppily handled. The ending is entertaining, however, and of course, love and acceptance of other people's differences conquers all.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful film
Review: I have watched this film several times and never grow tired of it. Phillip Seymour Hoffman gives an oscar deserving performance as a talented gay man with a big heart trying to give and receive love in a world that for the most part just laughs at him. The NY apartment, and gay scene was very authentic and Robert Deniro was perfect for the part of a prejudiced man who has also been trying to find and give love in a world critical of anyone "different". Many layers to this film.

Rating:
Summary: some people just don't get it
Review: I just finished watching "Flawless," and read quite a number of reviews.

It would seem would be critics think themselves clever when they state; "Flawless is anything but." The major flaw here is that they seem to have missed the point entirely. The point of "Flawless," - as I see it - is that NONE of us are flawless. What one may have thought was flawed in this movie, another may think was what gave it substance. I don't believe Schumacher was trying to make a flawless movie.

I for one really enjoyed this movie, and thought the exploration of the characters and relationships was well done. Particularly when DeNiro has an awakening and sees that "Rusty," is indeed very much a woman - trapped in a mans body. What's even more poetic about this realization is that the source of this revelation comes from the very "women," that he once thought was nothing but a whore.

I've also heard it said that this movie was predictable and stereo-typed the "drag queen," . The question I ask is how many of these critics actually know any Drag Queens, and shouldn't the mere fact that it had actual professional female impersonators given it some credability. Now the critics give Hoffman a deserving applause for his performance - he WAS brilliant.

On a final note, a "flawless" movie simply doesn't exsist. Flaws are like beauty- they are in the eye of the beholder. As for the predictability of the movie, and it's ending, let me ask this. How many times in your own life have conflicts came to a predictable end, that in the beginning you were just too narrow minded to see? DeNiro was initially too narrow minded to see the value of a person - "Rusty," and in the end came to realize the value of the friendship. Hey that's REAL LIFE stuff, sure with some melodrama thrown in but I don't think Schumacher was going for the understated.

Lighten up you nasty critics, and just enjoy feeling at peace at the end of this movie instead of suicidal. What's wrong with a movie with a happy ending.

Rating:
Summary: Misjudged gem
Review: I liked every second of this great movie. Many people seem to concentrate on the content or the acting but they are wrong. This movie has an aura. A feeling that lasts. The story isn't great and De Niro's acting may be sometimes annoying but that doesn't count a bit.

The movie is about a homophobic cop who gets a stroke and he takes singing lessons from the drag queen living above him. The drag queen wants to be a "real woman" and spares money for the operation. That's not much but there is something that makes the movie so good you'll never forget it. So what I suggest is that you'd rather not believe the bad critics and just watch it cause you won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: Flawless? Well...no. Not precisely.
Review: I really, really wanted to like this film. I love Philip Seymour Hoffman, and I love Robert DeNiro even more; however, my passion for those two actors just couldn't carry me through this film happily.

While Hoffman does play a fairly good drag queen, and while DeNiro does a good job portraying a stroke victim, this film is rife with awful stereotypes. Folks who've been in The Family Scene will chuckle at a few good lines and inside jokes, but there will also be substantial groaning at tired old cliches and even more tired old reparte. Gay culture is no longer the hush-hush sub-sub-culture it once was - the straights are onto the lingo for the most part, and stuff that was once Known Only By Gay Folks is common knowledge. Trouble is, this movie seems to think it's all still very mysterious.

Additionally, there are no gay men in this film who are not queens or Gay Republicans in Suits, and the only lesbians (seen for all of perhaps 15 seconds) are large butches. Granted, the film isn't about lesbians, but still - how about giving fair time to non-polarized gay and lesbian folks? What about the outdoorsy, down-to-earth gay guys, or the lesbians that don't have the once-requisite haircut? Let's be real, here, people. A lot of gay folks are Just Folks, too.

The stereotypes don't end at the gay & lesbian folks, though - nope, we also have Skanky Prostitues; Sleazy, Corrupt Desk Clerk of Seedy Apartment Building; Filthy, Brutal Drug Dealer and His Thugs; Hooker with the Heart of Gold; and sundry other people we have all seen before (and have seen done better, too.) Even the several storylines have been done before - take your pick.

Despite all of its faults, however, "Flawless" is a fairly enjoyable film (note the three stars, instead of one or two,) largely because Hoffman and DeNiro try to rise above the cliches swarming around them like mosquitos and just play the parts as they felt they should be played. If only the script writers had given them better material, this really could have been entertaining. I'm very fond of Jason Isaacs, who is nearly as sexy in drag as he is out of it. There were a few laugh-out-loud moments, but overall, I was waiting for it to be over, something I seldom feel in movies. Alas.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, but certainly not "flawless"
Review: I rented this video by mistake -- literally. I had chosen another film but when I got home the wrong film was inside the box. I had never heard of this 1999 movie but it was starring Robert DeNiro and Philip Seymour Hoffman, who I just seen play a wonderful character role as the writer in State and Main, and so I decided to watch it.

The theme is interesting. Robert DeNiro plays an aging former security guard who lives in a run-down apartment house peopled by some weird and interesting characters. Philip Seymour Hoffman is cast as the drag queen across the courtyard who taunts the homophobic DeNiro who amuses himself by paying for women he meets at a sleazy dance hall.

Then DeNiro has a stroke. When he is released from the hospital his helplessness makes him contemplate suicide. His physical therapist recommends singing lessons to help his slurred speech. "At least you'll be able to have phone sex" says the therapist. As Philip Seymour Hoffman is a singing teacher, these two fine actors are thrown together for some excellent scenes. Usually drag queen characters play comic roles but his is a very serious part, as is DeNiro's. I understand also that DeNiro visited rehabilitation centers and worked with a physical therapist in order to get the speech and physical problems of a stroke victim correct. This authenticity comes through in his outstanding acting. There's much to say in this film about courage and compassion. The chemistry between the two actors make it all very real.

It's too bad that the rest of the film is of the Grade B variety. There's some silly plot about a drug deal and hidden cash and some bad guy gangster scenes that are overacted and feel like the amateur hour. There's too many stereotype characters who live in the apartment house. There are too many subplots. The problem with this film is that it can't decide if its a comedy or a drama. It's strongest in its dramatic moments but then seems to fade off and become just too busy and distracting. DeNiro's and Hoffman's performances are so good, however, that it's worth watching just for that. There's much food for thought here and good issues raised about physically challenged people.

So for those of you who don't' necessarily demand perfection in every video you see, I give this film a modest recommendation. I know that I enjoyed it in spite of the fact that it was not "flawless".

Rating:
Summary: Beware! The Spanish audio track is bowdlerized!
Review: I saw it in English, then I saw it in Spanish (my second language), and the dialogue has been sanitized. Only in spots, but Spanish is a rich language and can render all the raunchiness of the English. "Horrible" is used to render the F-word, although the current Spanish movie "Thesis" uses at least three wonderfully raunchy expressions where the F-word would be used in English. It is not any deficiency of the Spanish language. Whether the censorship is intentional I do not know, but see the scene in the gay bar where the drag queen speaks to a hunky member of the audience. The major part of one sentence has been re-written in Spanish and makes the comment nonsensical.