Reel Critics

* EDITOR’S NOTE: The Reel Critics column features movie critiques written

by community members serving on our panel.

Newman is key to success of ‘Money’

It would be hard to find fault with “Where the Money Is,” a good-natured

comedy starring Paul Newman, Linda Fiorentino and Dermot Mulroney. Of

course, if you are hoping for a sophisticated crime caper in which a team

of seasoned pros dazzle you with the details of their plans and daring,

you may feel cheated.

Henry Manning (Newman) is an aging professional bank robber who is

finally caught and imprisoned. The only way he sees to escape is to

convince everyone at the prison that he has suffered a major stroke. When

his plan works, Manning finds himself assigned to a nursing care center

in a nearby small town where Carol Ann McKay (Fiorentino) is employed as

a physical therapist.

McKay, who is bored with her “going nowhere” life, is intrigued by tales

of Manning’s past life. When Manning momentarily relaxes his total stroke

pose, McKay is quick to pick up on it, and the fun begins.

I did like the way the three central characters, Manning, McKay and Wayne

(Mulroney), Fiorentino’s likable but unimaginative husband, make use of

the skills and knowledge they do have rather than being magically endowed

with whatever abilities are suddenly required by the script.

Newman’s performance is the real key to the success of this flick. He

manages to look like he’s truly enjoying himself without taking himself

-- or the situation -- too seriously. So take a tip from the old pro:

have fun, but don’t take it seriously.

* JUNE FENNER, a Costa Mesa resident in her late 50s, is vice president

of a work force training company.

Cheer for Bullock in ’28 Days’

Predictable, corny and pat are a few ways to describe Sandra Bullock’s

new film “28 Days.” It could also be described as cute, funny and

entertaining. For me, a combination of the two works best for this

serious-message/light-on-content movie.

Bullock plays Gwen Cummings, an out-of-control 30-something writer. We

first meet Gwen after a night of partying, late for her sister’s wedding,

and already on her way to being looped.

As she arrives at the ceremony, her sister utters what will soon be a

most prophetic line, “You make it impossible to love you.”

Love her? Most people would have killed her or at best locked her in the

broom closet. Drunk and loaded, she makes a fool of herself on the dance

floor, falls into the cake, steals the limo, runs over a lawn jockey and

crashes into the living room of a home.

Sentenced to rehab instead of jail, Gwen arrives at Serenity Glen a

“coom-ba-ya” kind of place filled with an odd assortment of characters.

There’s her roommate Andrea (Azura Skye), a teenage heroin addict;

Gerhardt (Alan Tudyk), a gay German; Daniel (Reni Santoni), a doctor with

the skill to pump his own stomach and Eddie (Viggo Mortensen), a

celebrity sports figure.

At first Gwen resists any interaction with this group, but after a couple

of major setbacks -- including almost getting kicked out -- she begins to

find camaraderie in the group and is soon taking the necessary steps to

begin her recovery.

“28 Days” is an easy movie to watch. The message is just sugarcoated

enough that it’s easy to swallow. The movie works because Bullock is

likable even though the things her character does are so reprehensible.

You want Gwen to make it and in the end feel like she will, even though

she doesn’t appear to have a job, a place to live or much in the way of

family support.

If you are looking for a movie with a deep message, forget this film. But

if you are looking for a movie with a character to cheer for, see “28

Days.”* HEIDI BRESSLER, 36, is a hairstylist and Costa Mesa resident.