Full Frontal * (2002, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt,, David Hyde Pierce, David Duchovny, Catherine Keener, Mary McCormack) – Classic Movie Review 8903

You would think that a film with Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, David Hyde Pierce, David Duchovny, Catherine Keener, Mary McCormack and Blair Underwood, directed by Steven (Ocean’s Eleven) Soderbergh, would be a must.

But Steven Soderbergh’s 2002 romantic comedy drama film-within-a-film Full Frontal, about a day in the life of Hollywood folk, is an improvised, hand-held video camera mess. An alienating, bodged arty shambles, it is like a frenzied home movie that tries to expose everybody’s egos full frontal and fails.

The performers are game enough but seem to be struggling. The one honourable exception among the actors, though, is Pierce, who is rather good as Carl. Duchovny plays Gus, a movie producer about to celebrate his 40th birthday, while half a dozen Los Angeles lives criss cross.

Also in the cast are Nicky Katt as Hitler, Brian Krow, Enrico Colantoni, Erika Alexander, Tracy Vilar, Brandon Keener, Jeff Garlin as Harvey Weinstein lookalike ‘Harvey, probably’, David Alan Basche, Brad Rowe, David Fincher, Jerry Weintraub, Sandra Oh, January Jones, Mike Malone, Shirley Jones, Terence Stamp, Rainn Wilson and Steven Soderbergh.

Coming from the director of Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven and Erin Brockovich, this must count as a vaguely interesting curio but a total disappointment.

The writer is Coleman Hough,

Full Frontal is directed by Steven Soderbergh, runs 101 minutes, is made by Miramax, Section Eight, Populist Pictures, Monophonic Inc and Propaganda Films, is released by Miramax (2002) (US) and Buena Vista (UK), is Coleman Hough, is shot by Steven Soderbergh, is produced by Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Gregory Jacobs and Scott Kramer, is scored by Jacques Davidovici and is designed by Bob Osher.

The film is mainly shot digitally using the Canon XL-1s camcorder, recording on Mini DV tapes. 28 Days Later (2002) was shot using similar equipment. Underwood’s interview with Roberts was shot on film.

There is a short scene after the credits with Brad Pitt explaining a scene he is about to shoot for the film-within-a-film Rendezvous.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8903

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