‘Clueless’ writer brings a new era of sarcasm to the screen
Generally any movie that has Tracey Ullman in the cast isn’t
something I’m likely to pick up. But once in a while having no
expectations for a film can make it quite a pleasant
experience.
That was the case with
”
I Could Never Be Your Woman.
”
We rented it a couple weeks ago mostly because one of the
bonuses of our Blockbuster Online subscription is that we can trade
in our online DVDs for a few free rentals inside the store each
month. The down side is there often aren’t any movies we actually
want to see for rent in the store.
‘Clueless’ writer brings a new era of sarcasm to the screen
Generally any movie that has Tracey Ullman in the cast isn’t something I’m likely to pick up. But once in a while having no expectations for a film can make it quite a pleasant experience.
That was the case with “I Could Never Be Your Woman.” We rented it a couple weeks ago mostly because one of the bonuses of our Blockbuster Online subscription is that we can trade in our online DVDs for a few free rentals inside the store each month. The down side is there often aren’t any movies we actually want to see for rent in the store.
So when we wandered through looking for something the other day, we picked up a movie we had walked past a few times before. We figured even though Ullman was in it, so was Paul Rudd, who starred in “Knocked Up” and plenty of indie fare, so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. When we got the movie home and I discovered it was directed and written by Amy Heckerling, the mastermind behind “Clueless,” one of my favorite movies of all time I figured I was in for a treat.
Like “Clueless,” “I Could Never Be Your Woman,” is set in Los Angeles and the characters run in wealthy circles. The movie pokes fun at the Hollywood lifestyle in a way that is sarcastic, but not overly acerbic. When I first watched “Clueless,” there were things in the movie that were hilarious like the main character’s refusal to learn parallel parking because “everywhere you go has valet.” But after living in Los Angeles for a while, I realized a lot of the jokes in the film are pretty close to the truth. That is the same with “I Could Never Be Your Woman.”
The movie is about TV producer Rosie (Michelle Pfeiffer). She is a single mom who is so self-conscious about her aging body that she imagines Mother Nature (played by Ullman) is mocking her every move. Her ex-husband, played by Jon Lovitz, is similarly plagued with the problems of aging, such as a receding hairline but he has a hot, young wife at his side.
While Rosie balances her work at a teen sitcom and her worries about getting older, she is also trying her best to keep her ‘tween daughter Izzy on the straight and narrow. Izzy is played by Saoirse Ronan, the 14-year-old actress who received an Oscar nomination for her recent performance in “Atonement.” The strawberry blond girl has a biting wit, enjoys parodying teen songs and makes prank calls to celebrities. But Izzy is also the epitome of a hopeless middle-schooler in love with a boy in her class and Ronan’s performance really makes the movie worthwhile.
It’s a common scene at middle schools and high schools the world over, I’m sure, but Ronan captures the completely innocent infatuation a junior high school girl can have for a boy. Izzy spends her time after school gazing at the object of her affection longingly while he pays no attention to her. Actually, I’m pretty sure I did something like that this weekend…
Rosie wants Izzy to focus on herself and her talents rather than wasting her time waiting for some clueless boy to notice her. But Rosie soon starts acting just like her love-struck daughter when her sitcom, “You Go, Girl!” hires a new actor to play a nerd. The role goes to Adam (Paul Rudd), who instantly starts flirting with Rosie though he is a much younger man. Soon she finds herself lying about her age and trying to act younger to keep Adam interested. Rosie can’t get over that she is 40 and Adam is 29. The age difference makes it impossible for her to give in to her feelings.
Through it all Rosie deals with the main character from her show who is a diva in her own right, a conniving assistant who is out to ruin her relationship and pressure from her studio to keep ratings high.
The movie works because even though it is sarcastic and funny – I laughed out loud throughout the movie, as did others I was watching it with – it does hit some notes from real life. And it has some cool music in it. Such as the ’90s hit by White Town that shares the same name, “I Could Never Be Your Woman.”
Luckily, Mother Nature’s appearances are short and few and far between, because I really can’t take too much of Tracey Ullman.
