Wednesday, February 25, 2009

I ONCE CLAIMED 'I AM GOD' DURING A DEPOSITION: Prompted by Alec Baldwin's recent confession scene on 30 Rock, I convinced Jen that she finally needed to see Malice, the Aaron Sorkin-penned thriller starring a young, hirsute Baldwin (incl. moderately NSFW video) with Nicole Kidman, Bill Pullman and supporting work from Bebe Neuwirth, Anne Bancroft, George C. Scott, Peter Gallagher and a young Gwyneth Paltrow.

Like many here, I saw the film right upon its release because so much of it was filmed in the Northampton/Amherst area during our college years, and the film remains as I remember it: a ludicrous hoot filled with massive plot twists (spoilers!), scene-chewing speeches, thuddingly obvious musical cues and pauses, and an atrocious sense of the geography of both the Pioneer Valley and Cape Cod. (Cliffs like that? Really?)

For Baldwin fans, it remains a must-see. There is much of Jack Donaghy in his line readings here, and the plot remains as silly and satisfying as ever, though it's a bit disconcerting to have the third-act shift in perspective to see the malefactors plotting in open view. Still, at least you finally understand why someone would give a speech like this at someone else's deposition. Baldwin, indeed, is God.

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