By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.3
Director: Christine Lahti
Starring: Albert Brooks | John Goodman | Leelee Sobieski | Michael McKean
Country: germany, united_states
Year: 2001
Running time: 109
IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0206963
Kevin says: “First and foremost–Leelee Sobieski gives one of the year’s strongest performances in this film. She is absolutely stunning, and is now my favorite young actress. I recommend going out to see this film just to watch her performance as the death-obsessed multi-pierced teenager. Albert Brooks is good as well as the middle-class clothing store owner who falls in love with her; so is Carole Kane as her tightly-wound mother. Christine Lahti shows the spark of what could, in my opinion, be a great filmmaker. Things get a little laxidazical towards the end, at other points she goes a bit over-the-top, and for the love of god, WHAT IS THE POINT OF JOHN GOODMAN’S CHARACTER” still, I was pleasantly surprised by this somewhat pedestrian film and also very moved by Leelee Sobieski.” 3 cats
Laura says: “Leelee Sobieski simply shines as J, coming to life once she’s picked her oddball partner. This young girl can really make love beam from her eyes, just as withdrawal and scorn flashed from them in earlier scenes. As she loses her outer goth trappings (she asks R to pick out work clothes for her then yells ‘I look like a Republican!’ in horror), her carriage becomes more erect, her head held higher. Brooks is almost as good as a man who temporarily takes one foot out of the grave. But both are let down by Lahti’s direction and television writer Jill Franklyn’s script. ” 1 1/2 cats
For Laura’s complete review: “http://www.reelingreviews.com/myfirstmister.htm”
Michael says: “After hearing Christine Lahti speak at the Boston International Women’s Film Festival last spring, I was looking forward to seeing her directorial effort, MY FIRST MISTER. I had heard mixed things about it… and that’s the final assessment on the film myself… mixed.
“Leelee Sobieski plays J, an alienated goth-girl just graduated from college living with her perternaturally chipper mom (Carol Kane) and her cluless step-father (Michael McKean). She becomes intrigued by Randall, a 49-year-old manager/owner of a high-class men’s clothes store in the local mall. After an initial botched attempt, J succeeds in getting a job from Randall, and gradually the two, who seemingly have nothing in common, grow quite close.
“The above occurs during the first 2/3 of the movie, and is fairly entertaining. Sobieski and Brooks are terrific. The acting is smart and true, and Brooks’ comic timing is superb. Lahti clearly takes care with her actors (although John Goodman’s brief role as J’s father could have been less… obvious.) The story is intriguing and doesn’t pander all that much. (Think Birch and Buscemi in GHOST WORLD, with a much less hip male component).
“Enter the final act, and the downfall of the film. A plot element is introduced that turns MY FIRST MISTER into a mawkish exercise of catharsis and redemption. Into an emotionally manipulative, inexplicable Lifetime TV movie. The score (which Laura mentioned) never all that interesting, grows increasingly more annoying in its sweeping melodramatic symphonics. Truly a disappointing finale. It really becomes clear to me, the difference between an ‘indie,’ ‘arthouse,’ whatever film and a film that seeks mainstream acceptance. What could have been a smart, funny examination of a relationship between two socially isolated people, turns into a tired exercise in emotional manipulation.” 2 1/2 cats