August 10, 2001 | It's easy to imagine
a thumb's-down review of the Planet of the Apes remake from Eli
(Dan Bucatinsky), one of the attracted opposites in All Over the
Guy. You see, Eli is a fanatical fan of the original 1968 sci-fi
classic. So much so, in fact, he spends most of his free time searching
for an action figure -- Cornelius, the sage and sympathetic ape played
by Roddy McDowall
-- inspired by the '68 movie and its many sequels.
In
the eyes of his family and friends, Eli devotes far too much time to
his nostalgic pursuit, hours that might be better spent on a search
for Mr. Right. But after repeated strikeouts in the game of love, Eli
is wary of playing the field. What he needs, or at least what he thinks
he needs, is a sensitive soul who shares his tastes for fine food, old
movies and kitschy collectibles. What he gets, courtesy of a matchmaking
buddy, is Tom (Richard Ruccolo), a fun-loving libertine who smokes too
much, drinks too much - and, in all likelihood, thinks the new Planet
of the Apes is a great flick, and would be even better if Mark Wahlberg
wore a loincloth.
Freely
adapted by actor-writer Bucatinsky from his own stage play, All Over
the Guy is a lightweight but likable romantic comedy about mismatched
gay singletons who take the better part of 90 minutes to realize that
they're made for each other. Director Julie Davis (I Love You, Don't
Touch Me!) smoothly steers the movie through familiar territory,
and even manages to take a few clever detours here and there. Better
still, Bucatinsky and Ruccolo are sufficiently ingratiating to sustain
interest and amusement, even when All Over the Guy all too clearly
is treading water.
During
a few stretches of repetitive padding, you may be tempted to wander
out to the concession stand, or at least cast a few impatient glances
at your watch. But you'll wind up sticking with the underwritten, overextended
story because you can't help caring about the lead characters.
Eli,
a buttoned-down L.A. newspaper columnist, and Tom, an improbably dedicated
special-ed teacher, are coaxed into a blind date by their respective
best friends, Brett (Adam Goldberg) and Jackie (Sasha Alexander), a
couple drawn together by lust at first sight. For Eli and Tom, however,
romance isn't nearly as instantaneous: Their first get-together is a
borderline disaster.
Even so, when the two guys fortuitously meet
again at a flea market - where Eli, of course, is looking for a Cornelius
collectible - love, or something like it, starts to blossom. Trouble
is, when dawn arrives after their all-night close encounter, Tom departs
from Eli's apartment with unseemly haste. He is, to put it charitably,
commitment-averse.
To
be sure, he's not the only guy carrying some weighty psychological baggage.
The big difference is, Eli's problems - memories of a childhood with
oppressively "open-minded" therapist parents (Andrea Martin,
Tony Abatemarco) - are played mostly for laughs. It's left to Tom to
do the really heavy lifting. Late in the movie, after an edgy encounter
with his wealthy, alcoholic parents (Joanna Kerns, Nicolas Surovy),
he shares with Eli a painful family secret. Unfortunately, what is intended
as a wrenchingly dramatic moment comes off as a half-hearted splash
of soap opera.
All
Over the Guy is on much safer ground when it uses a lighter touch,
and maintains a brighter mood, while charting the on-again, off-again
romance of its two leads. The supporting players are uniformly well
cast, though it should be noted that some have much more to do than
others. Christina Ricci has only a couple of scenes as Eli's tough-talking
sister, and Lisa Kudrow does a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo as a stunningly
inept voiceover actress. Despite the brevity of their roles, however,
I'll go way out on a limb and predict that, eventually, both actresses
will receive prominent billing on VHS and DVD packaging.