Albert Brooks is usually good for a few laughs every five years or so, and Modern Romance is hardly an exception. But of all his neurotic variations on the same character, his alter-ego in this movie is the most grating, irrationally obsessive ever. And that makes an otherwise interesting idea crash and burn because, obviously, when the protagonist is onscreen 98 percent of the time, it chokes the life out of the movie as a whole.
The Brooks character in Modern Romance is a film editor. So far, so good. It offers a chance for Hollywood parody that Brooks never truly realizes – basically, all movie he’s working on a bad George Kennedy space picture where the director wants louder sound effects for the climactic footsteps. Oh, and his partner is an under-used, less-manic-than-usual, drowned-in-bad-hair Bruno Kirby. That’s about all from the Hollywood subplot front.
No, the topic of Modern Romance is just that. Modern romance, as of 1981. That means that, at the beginning of the movie, when Brooks breaks it off with his girlfriend (Kathryn Harrold), he takes two Quaaludes and listens to “A Fifth of Beethoven.” Even in 1981, I’m sure audiences were thinking, "How, uh, timely. Thanks for the incisive social commentary, Albert."
To be fair, the immediate post-breakup scenes are the best ones in Modern Romance, but we immediately get a feel for the character. A whining, sniveling, insecure little man who repeatedly ties up his entire identity in this woman, then feels like he’s smothering and breaks it off, only to crawl back the next day when he realizes he doesn’t have anything else going for him.
I sided with Harrold from the beginning – she’s a fairly beautiful woman with a career. She doesn’t need to be weighted down by a petty, ugly-souled man who’s going to second-guess her every move, call every 15 minutes and disturb her in the middle of business dinners. Modern Romance is just one of those movies that throws up a red flag in the first ten minutes. This character is a troubled man who would be the curse of every healthy relationship, in a flawed, cynical “modern” world or otherwise.
As obnoxious as the Brooks character is, Modern Romance has its share of amusing moments. The scene with Brooks trying to get a jump for his car, the part in the sporting goods store and the phone calls from his shrill mother, for starters. I normally love Brooks’ sense of humor, but he has the overbearing meter turned up to 11 in this movie. Stick with Defending Your Life and Lost in America.
Original Title: Modern RomanceActors: Albert Brooks - Bruno Kirby - James L. Brooks - Kathryn HarroldCondition: NEWFormat: DVDDirector: Albert BrooksY...More at iNetVideo.com
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