`If Lucy Fell' is typical but fun
If Lucy Fell is not going to be the blockbuster hit of the year, but all in all, it wasn't that bad. This is your typical formula romantic comedy with the main players being Sarah Jessica Parker, Eric Schaeffer and Elle MacPherson. Parker and Schaeffer are roommates and best friends looking desperately for that one true love. They are so desperate that they make a pact; if they don't find love by Parker's 30th birthday, they will throw themselves off the Brooklyn Bridge.
MacPherson plays the beautiful neighbor, Jane, that Schaeffer has lusted after from afar for the past five years. Guess how it ends? There aren't many surprises in this one. However, If Lucy Fell still manages to entertain.
The script is clever, but it has a few major flaws. The writer gives Schaeffer most of the scene-stealers. Many of his lines had us laughing out loud. MacPherson's character comes off as a little surreal. OK, we know she was supposed to be every guy's fantasy, but enough is enough! The film's worst flaw arrives in Parker's soliloquy sequence gone wrong at the climax (or should we say anti-climax) of the movie. The tense father/daughter moments between Parker and her on-screen dad were also a little overdone. We don't even know why his character was in the movie.
Despite the at-times poorly conceived script, the actors still manage to come across as believable. Sarah Jessica Parker's quirky acting style suits her character very well. At one point, Lucy (Parker) even asks Joe (Schaeffer) to drink her spit. She's quite spunky.
Schaeffer does an excellent job of playing an artist who hides his true emotions behind his clever wit. His best scene is befriending a little boy in his art class who has no partner. Definitely precious. His puppy-dog eyes won us over. Who else would go to meet his dream girl wearing a dress?
Ben Stiller's character, Bwick Elias, makes the film. A far cry from his Reality Bites days, Stiller portrays a "symbolic" artist who can't seem to form full sentences.
MacPherson, another model- turned-actress, does a decent job playing the part of the beautiful girl, but don't expect to see her on the stand at the Oscars. All in all, the cast is quite effective and manages to carry on even when the script fails.
The entire score is performed by newcomer band Marry Me Jane. The music is appropriate for this fluffy type of film. However, it is a tad Lisa Loebish. Sometimes it seemed too overbearing and loud. We would have liked a little variety. Is this the director's sister? We do own the tape now, but only because they gave it to us at the theater.
This movie was sweet. Schaeffer's character was just so lovable. If you can watch this film without dwelling on all the inadequacies of your own romantic life, you will really enjoy it. For all the flaws in the script and score, it still turns out to be a movie worth seeing, cheese and all. This movie is not going to win awards. It doesn't have a social or political agenda. If Lucy Fell is just good, mind-numbing entertainment.
This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the March 15, 1996 issue.
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