Cinema Reviews

TIME, and box office receipts, will tell whether modern cinema audiences have an appetite for a old-fashioned western like this. It certainly won't achieve the same critical or commerical success as director and star Kevin Costner's epic Dances With Wolves. Open Range is a solid, workmanlike drama that never quite achieves the heights of the classic westerns. That's partly because Costner the director chooses to take his time, establishing mood and characters before the inevitable, climactic gunfight. He's helped immeasurably by casting reliable Robert Duvall, an old hand in the saddle, as Boss Spearman, who comes from the John Wayne school of cowboys. He and Charley Waite (Costner) are drovers who dare to graze their cattle on open range. This brings them into conflict with Denton Baxter (Brit Gambon), the ruthless rancher who runs Harmonville and doesn't like outsiders. No western would be complete without a woman somewhere in the dramatic equation. This time it's the doctor's sister Sue (Bening), who takes a shine to Charley and offers help when most needed. The action, when it finally comes, is no short, sharp shock of a gunfight but a prolonged, violent affair as the good guys are pursued by Baxter's hired hands. It becomes a question of whether the townsfolk, pushed around for so long by the rancher, will finally take up arms. Costner achieves a high, wide and handsome look as the cowboys gallop around, and adds an extra dimension to the town scenes by flooding the place during a torrential rainstorm. Open Range may not spark a flood of western movies, but is a worthy addition to the out-of-favour genre.

Starsky And Hutch (15) HHH

US, 100 mins

Stars: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Snoop Dogg, Vince Vaughn, Juliette Lewis

NEITHER an out-and-out spoof or a shot-by-shot remake, this movie based on the 70s cop series falls between two stools. Nobody wants to see such a cherished institution sent up mercilessly or re-imagined (who doesn't think of The Avengers movie without wanting to throttle everyone concerned?). But this just left me entertained, while wishing it was better than it is. That said, the fashions, the Torino car and fond memories of the original are just about enough to keep the idea afloat for the running time. Ben Stiller (David Starsky) and Owen Wilson (Ken Hutchinson) are no Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul, but can play convincing buddies with characters tailored towards their strengths. So, Stiller is the nerdy, by-the-book cop trying to live up to the reputation of his policewoman mother. And Wilson is the womanising pothead whose behaviour borders on the criminal. The plot has these undercover cops trying to expose drug dealer Reese Feldman (Vaughn) as he takes delivery of a large consignment of a new type of cocaine that tastes like sweetener and sniffer dogs can't detect. This provides an excuse for a series of set pieces in which the pair generally put their collective foot in it and makes fools of the police department and their Bay City boss Captain Dobey (Fred Williamson). Carmen Electra and Amy Smart are cheerleaders the duo recruit to help with the case (and their sex lives). Snoop Dog takes the Oscar for the world's thinnest legs, which he exposes as the oh-so-cool Huggy Bear.

Published: ??/??/2003