There are some movies that lead you to ask - "Why remake it?" Before seeing the new version that was a perfectly understandable question one could have about All the King's Men. After seeing the remake you really, really, really wonder.
The original (from 1949) won Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for 4 more Oscars. This one ... let's just say it's no surprise it didn't do as well in yesterday's Oscar nominations. No, let's say more than that. The remake is almost incomprehensibly bad. The directing, the casting, the acting, the writing - it's bad in basically every possible way. The accents, oh my lord the accents. My favorite former White House attorney said he couldn't understand a word. Given the writing, that might have been a good thing. But really, whose idiotic idea were those? I mean the don't really fit together. I get that they are some sort of "Southern", but beyond that ... And why in the hell make Patty Clarkson, who's actually from Louisiana, contort her voice to go along with that mess. As if that wasn't bad enough for her they cut out all the interesting parts of her character and basically reduced a spirited role to that of a jealous, weak-willed mistress. You are given little in the way of motivations for any of the characters' actions. The way it's shot leaves MUCH to be desired (I quite liked Steve Zaillian's first directing job, Searching for Bobby Fischer, but this ... oh so no). Basically, if you see the box, and are thinking about renting it thinking it'll be a good drama or are impressed by its talented cast of actors - put the box down and slowly back away.
Posted by armand at January 24, 2007 09:51 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Movies