Powerful

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Not the usual fare for PPV on Bulsatcom in Bulgaria and, with Malkovich currently appearing every few seconds on CNN, in ads for one of their items about him (I've seen the item and he is sickeningly pretentious), I was in two minds whether or not to use my last (free) token to watch it.My God! I am glad I did. Malkovich and MacDowell gave superlative performances in a beautifully written, directed and acted piece where even the minor roles combined to make this a masterpiece of story and film. Not just "even" the minor roles, as these were excellent performances by Joss Ackland, Ricci Harnett, Bill Paterson, Roger Lloyd-Pack, etc., etc., yes even the few lines from Pip Torrens as the art evaluator. Rudi Davies was excellent (not sure why we haven't seen anything from her in the last fifteen years).Well, my free token ran out three minutes before the end. Pity!

The Object of Beauty (1991) it has all that is needed for a movie to keep you interested I love it. Its funny, interesting and romantic kind of...and let's not forget who is playing : John Malkovich & Andie MacDowell I recommend it. Enjoysynopsis:American couple Jake and Tina are living in an expensive London hotel way beyond what they can afford. When they were asked to pay the bill, Jake wants to sell Tina's 20.000 pound Henry Moore sculpture, but she is not happy about that. The deaf-mute hotel maid admires the sculpture for its beauty rather than its value. When the sculpture goes missing, the couple start fighting over it... Written by Sami Al-Taher {staher2000@yahoo.com} Charming comedy about how a couple's relationship waivers in tandem with the disposition of their statuette. With no fixed abode, Jake and Tina live in hotels across the world. With a large bill due, and money in short supply, their plan to "steal" their Henry Moore statue and claim against it is thwarted when someone else steals it first! They soon start distrusting each other's motives as they search for the statue, and keep trying to get its valuation boosted while avoiding the bill. With no sign of it, they start to drift apart, despite being in love, and don't reconcile until it reappears one day - having been stolen by a deaf-mute maid, who feels the statue "spoke" to her. Written by Cynan Rees {cynanrees@hotmail.com}

One of the most underrated movies of all time. I am amazed at how many people can watch this film and not get the point. The Object of Beauty is an intelligent conversation about rich and poor, selfishness and giving, and basically how to be! How to behave as a human being. The language of the film is irony, specifically situational irony. It is ironic that Malkovic's character refers to himself as a pig being placed in a very sweaty position. Pig's don't sweat! It is ironic that the female deaf character claims that the inanimate sculpture spoke to her. It is ironic that while John's character is reporting the theft of the statue we learn that he has stolen an object of beauty from another man; MacDowell's character. Ironic even more that the insurance investigator is used to bring this info forward. You will enjoy this film much more if you pay attention to the irony of the value placed by different characters upon this Henry Moore sculpture. It is worth nothing to some, only money to others, an emotional commitment to another, and an object of aspiration to one other. All of these perspectives speak to each other, and it is a very interesting conversation.

John Malkovich and Andie McDowell play a couple of jet-setters who hatch a plot to steal their own statue so they can collect the insurance and pay off their ever-rising hotel and credit card bills.The chemistry between the two of them reminds one of William Powell and Myrna Loy.If they had picked up the pace a bit,they would have had a real classic comedy here.This film is highly watchable,though.The score by Tom Bahler fits the film like a glove.Lolita Davidovich's (as a girlfriend of McDowell's)performance is a bit too low key,but it doesn't really hurt the film that much.All in all,a pleasant way to kill a couple hours.