Janeane Garofalo

  • Wonderland (2003)

    Wonderland (2003)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2020) The hook in Wonderland’s premise is learning more about pornographic film legend John Holmes—but as it turns out, the film’s narrative takes place after his acting retirement, and becomes a slice of California low-life noir, with plenty of guns, drugs and debauchery. Stylishly presented by writer-director James Cox, it explores the perspectives of several characters as a patchwork of interpretations of the same quadruple murder. Part of the need for this stylishness comes from a lack of certitude regarding the facts of these still-unsolved murders and the drab dirty environment in which this all takes place. The cast is certainly impressive, and even more so considering that everyone is so thoroughly de-glammed by the grimy settings that they may be unrecognizable. Still, we get Val Kilmer in one of his last solid dramatic roles, Eric Borgesian chewing scenery as a mogul, Lisa Kudrow, Janeane Garofalo, Tim Blake Nelson and as proof that the film came out in 2003, Paris Hilton showing up on a yacht for a few seconds. Still, by the end of Wonderland, the entire thing does feel a bit pointless—junkies make poor choices and get killed in the end. One wonders if the story would have ever been told if it wasn’t for Holmes’ presence.

  • Reality Bites (1994)

    Reality Bites (1994)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, June 2020) It may seem strange for me to say that Reality Bites feels dated or that I found the characters insufferable considering that the film is supposed to capture the zeitgeist of my near-generation. But here’s the thing: I’m about five years younger than the characters here, and those five years, back in the mid-1990s, were significant enough. Then there is the fact that I wasn’t much into the whole Gen X slacker lifestyle, and that should explain the rest. (Once more for those in the back: Despite facile memes, you are not your generation.) (Although, hey, if we’re going to get into generational gabbing, let us point out that the reality-TV personal video recordings of 1994 are suspiciously a whole lot like post-2000s influencing—just sayin’.) Still, Reality Bites is certainly not completely unwatchable—in the hands of director Ben Stiller, there are many early appearances from known actors here, and bits of nice Houston scenery. The melodrama gets ridiculously overblown, but I suppose that no twentysomething romance would be complete without it. John Mahoney is surprisingly memorable in a handful of scenes, but the spotlight goes to a generation of actors who would all go on to bigger and better things: Let us mention Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Zahn, and others, sometimes in one-scene cameos. I suppose Reality Bites is all right after all—but since the character with which I most identify is the designated yuppie villain, well, um.

  • The Truth about Cats & Dogs (1996)

    The Truth about Cats & Dogs (1996)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, January 2019) If, somehow, Cyrano de Bergerac-inspired The Truth about Cats & Dogs is still watched by future generations, I’m reasonably certain that it will continue to unite audiences around one single common takeaway: It makes no sense to feature mid-1990s Janeane Garofalo as the “unattractive” woman. Any romantic comedy that even tries it should be laughed out of the room. This being said, I suspect that there’s still a good future left for this nearly-twenty-five-year-old romantic comedy. It’s cute, charming, generally unobjectionable, features animals and a sunny California background. Oh, and a young Uma Thurman as the “attractive” one, at least compared to Garofalo. The mid-1990s sheen of the film is pleasant, especially when multiplied by the unthreatening conventions of the era’s romantic comedies: If Hollywood history is any guide, there will be a greater timelessness for those movies than grittier, more depressing fare. This being said, let’s not overstate things: The Truth about Cats & Dogs is more an exemplar of the romantic comedy genre than a specifically good movie by itself. Garofalo herself has semi-disavowed the film in recent years, in keeping with her more intellectually ambitious persona. Still, it’s fun and breezy and not every movie has to be a hard-bore denunciation of current social ills.