Review of The Truth About Charlie (2002) by James — 06 Jun 2006

Appalling. It's not like there wasn't a formula for the makers of this pointless remake to follow, the original worked, it could have been updated, if not equalled. Instead, Demme throws out everything that made the original great - romance, humor, suspense, intelligent pacing, all so he can make a movie that seems to parody mainstream genre films and act as a self-satisfied exercise in "New Wave" mimicry.

Except the "New Wave" films were just that, new, they were doing something original. Demme's film seems an excuse for him to enjoy working in Paris, it certainly isn't coherent. Plot elements are raised, then forgotten, and what on earth is the crazy mother who murders people doing here, is this a comedy? And the finale, in which the characters seem to lose interest in the mystery, just as the audience has done by this point.

Moronic. The definition of the pointless remake, makes Gos Van Sant's "Psycho" seem creative and original. Garbage.