Film Review: Jaglom's Queen of the Lot Now Playing

Details

Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Monday, 21 March 2011 10:00

Written by James Van Maanen

Queen of the Lot
Written and Directed by Henry Jaglom
Starring Tanna Frederick, Christopher Rydell, Noah Wyle, Jack Heller, Kathryn Grant, Mary Crosby

If you're a Henry Jaglom fan, you won't want to miss his latest attempt to turn today's Hollywood into the glitter capital of yore.

It seems that Jaglom would like to create some of that old-fashioned glamour that Hollywood used to hand us by the mile -- the mansions, the swimming pools, the egos, the drama -- but he wants to manage this sweetly and affectionately.

The filmmaker doesn't really do satire; he's generally too kind for that. A scene will seem to be making fun of the people on view -- then suddenly, the filmmaker starts identifying with them and becoming one with their foibles and needs. You don't get real satire or wit from this sort of thing, but you do get something else that can be appealing and dear.

Maggie Chase (Tanna Frederick), is an up-and-coming starlet with her own TV show and a drinking problem. When a DUI gets her under house arrest (complete with ankle bracelet), the plot, such as it is, sets in motion.

This involves Maggie's current boyfriend (Christopher Rydell) and his family: brother (Noah Wyle), the pater familias (Jack Heller, mother (Kathryn Grant), daughter (Mary Crosby), and various underlings and hangers-on (Peter Bogdanovich, Paul Sand and Dennis Christopher, among them).

Add to this the Jaglom stable of oft-used, awfully-good actors like Zack Norman and David Proval as a gay couple and you've got quite a cast.  Now, where is the movie that ought to surround it?

OK, it's here -- in fits and starts. Because some of those starts lead to consistent scenes and a weird kind of arc, you'll probably stick around and feel more kindly than angry toward Queen. But you may wonder why a scene of singing Christmas carols goes on quite so long, or the back and forth banter between Frederick and Wyle also goes on and on.

Those 30s and 40s comedies had damn good dialog, and this is one of Henry's weaker points, particularly when he appears to be trying to recreate something that approaches those films. His banter is just OK, and sometimes not quite that. He's better with the quiet, more indirect conversations that tease out their meaning in bits and pieces.

The unconventional but gifted Ms. Frederick is beautiful, but in an offbeat way, and she doesn't seem to mind at all not consistently looking her best (something more Hollywood actresses might take into consideration). And she's vulnerable. My goodness, is she vulnerable!

Noah Wyle makes a lovely leading man: very smart, quick and 1930s, as I suspect Jaglom wanted. There is a nice job by Christopher Rydell, a very good Jack Heller (whose early scenes are enough to have you quaking in your sneakers), and Davi    d Proval has the most surprising scene in the film.

Even if Queen of the Lot is not up to the level of Hollywood Dreams (to which it is somewhat of a sequel) -- or to last year's lovely Irene in Time (which also starred Jaglom's latest leading lady, Tanna Frederick) -- Queen is still entertaining enough and has its fine, funny and tender moments, attenuated as some of these often are.

So this is what you'd call a mixed review, yes. But would I have missed the movie? No.

For more by James Van Maanen, go to www.TrustMovies.com.

• < Prev
• Next >