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Also opening
By Times staff
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 1, 2002
Spy family returns
The leftfield hit of last summer was Spy Kids, a juvenile espionage flick directed by previously adult-minded filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, From Dusk Til Dawn). Rodriguez spiced up the proceedings with tamer versions of the mayhem he concocted in his earlier films, plus childish twists on James Bond's gadget mentality. The packaging was so impressive that Antonio Banderas was even more window dressing than usual. Banderas reunites with Carla Gugino in Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams as married spies whose children (Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara) followed in their footsteps in the original film. This time, the children travel to an isolated island where more spy-kid clones are being manufactured by an evil scientist (Steve Buscemi). Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams opens nationwide Wednesday. See the next issue of Weekend for Philip Booth's review.
Why not pretend to be funny?
Dana Carvey must be wondering why his former Saturday Night Live partner Mike Myers hasn't invited him to do an Austin Powers flick. Maybe it's because Myers now realizes what the rest of us always have: Carvey simply isn't very funny. He's a decent impressionist with the right makeup, a cheerily odd second banana, but not funny enough to support an entire movie.
The latest evidence is The Master of Disguise, starring Carvey as an Italian waiter named Pistachio Disguisey, a name stupid enough to make one skip the rest of the plot. Pistachio has an uncanny ability to transform into any person or object, so Carvey gets to do his George W. Bush impression (same as George H. with more hair) and pose as a fire hydrant for a doggie dousing. Stop me before my sides split. The movie features small roles for Paula Abdul, Bo Derek, James Brolin and Jesse Ventura, all of whom, like Carvey, will accept attention from wherever it may come these days.
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On the other hand, Martin Lawrence is a very funny comedian when he isn't slumming in fast-buck projects such as Black Knight and What's the Worst That Could Happen? or resorting to tired drag routines in Big Momma's House. Lawrence's natural habitat is the standup comedy stage he deserted when Hollywood called. Now Hollywood isn't calling back after a couple of flops and some publicized health and behavior problems.
His best career move is playing to his strengths in Martin Lawrence Live: Run Tel Dat, a sequel of sorts to his breakthrough 1994 concert film, You So Crazy. Lawrence's material is as raunchy as it gets, with enough profanity to make Goodfellas blush and sexual content that Larry Flynt might consider going too far. Perhaps this film will contain comical confessions about Lawrence's scandalous behavior, as Richard Pryor's concert films did after drug addiction and legal problems. Run Tel Dat was screened too late for Weekend review. See Friday's page 2B for a review.
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