Rating: NNNNN
THE DREAMERS (Bernardo Bertolucci) – See review, 116 min. NN (JH)
Opens Feb 13 atVarsity.
50 FIRST DATES (Peter Segal) has that uncanny Adam Sandler combination of low gross-out humour – mmm, walrus vomit – and unabashed sentimentality. He stars as a veterinarian who falls for Drew Barrymore’s art teacher, who suffers from the same memory problem as the guy in Memento, only her family supports her delusion that it’s eternally the Sunday on which she acquired the memory problem. The high point comes when Barrymore starts whaling on Rob Schneider with a baseball bat, something most right-thinking people have longed to see since The Animal, if not since Big Daddy. 95 min. NN (JH)
Opens Feb 13 at 401 & Morningside, Beach Cinemas, Coliseum Mississauga, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Courtney Park 16, Eglinton Town Centre, Elgin Mills, First Markham Place, Grande – Steeles, Grande – Yonge, Paramount, Queensway, Rainbow Fairview, Rainbow Market Square, Rainbow Promenade, Rainbow Woodbine, SilverCity Newmarket, SilverCity Richmond Hill, SilverCity Yorkdale, Silvercity Yonge, Varsity, Winston Churchill.
THE REPUBLIC OF LOVE (Deepa Mehta) draws story and spirit from the Carol Shields book to create a deft, wry romance about the powdery pillars of love. Bruce Greenwood is a quick-to-marry radio DJ and Emilia Fox a woman with high expectations. After yards of coincidence, they meet cute, but misunderstandings and the spectre of her parents’ mythic marriage threaten their bliss. At its best, The Republic Of Love has the ambling feel of early Alan Rudolph, but tidied up. It’s not really about much, and it’s hardly the most sizzling of love stories. But Greenwood is appealing, the film looks great, and it actually manages to swirl up a little style around grey old Toronto. 95 min. NNN (CB)
Opens Feb 13 at Canada Square, Carlton, Grande – Yonge, Interchange 30, Kennedy Commons, Queensway, Varsity V.I.P., Winston Churchill.
