Watching "V.I. Warshawski" made me sad, and for a lot of different reasons. Obviously I was sad about the time and money I wasted on this forgettable, bland and lackluster action/comedy. But mostly I felt bad for Kathleen Turner who seems to be desperate to return some luster to her falling star. She made a name for
herself playing sexy characters in films like "Body Heat", using her raspy, sexy voice as her trademark. Here she almost seems to be playing a parody of her former self, and it's pretty sad to see. This is a terribly underwritten film, and it's filled with a second-rate cast of nobodies. Turner has no support whatsoever, with newcomer Angela Goethals the only persons besides Turner showing any life here. She's never acted before, and she's a teenager but she's nearly the best thing in this dismal picture.
It feels more like a product than a creative piece of entertainment. Charles Durning goes through the motions playing a character he's probably already played in his distinguished career, and the plot is a throwaway one. It's an empty film, and the supporting characters are just as bland as the actors that play them. Jeff Kanew is a hack director, and although this is far from his first movie, you'd never know that by looking at this tepid, sluggish finished product.
There's not a single laugh, and even considering this to be an action film is ludicrous. "V.I. Warshawski" tries to milk that title for all its worth, but you'll find it a lot less amusing than the makers of the film apparently did. It's a wash.
January 13, 2011
