The rumors are true--"Gossip" is awful.

"Gossip"
Overall Rating: *½


In the 1960s, my aunt started a rumor to see how long it would take to get back to her--probably an experiment that many people have tried. She claimed that developers were going to restore the New Amsterdam Theater--a formerly important Broadway theater that had since become an adult entertainment complex. The rumor got back to my aunt in a matter of days. (As a curious footnote, developers did renovate the New Amsterdam Theater many years later; we've wondered if my aunt's false story gave somebody the idea.) "Gossip" is about what happens when people starting false rumors aren't smart enough to make the rumor harmless.

Derrick, Jones, and Travis (James Marsden, Lena Heady, and Norman Reedus respectively) are roommates who attend the same journalism class. While considering possible group projects, they decide to start a rumor and see how it spreads. Later, Derrick observes Naomi and Beau (Kate Hudson and Joshua Jackson) retreat to a bedroom at a party they're attending. Naomi--who has a reputation for not having sex--is drunk, and she and her boyfriend make out until she passes out. Derrick sees the whole incident from an adjoining bathroom, but nonetheless, persuades his roommates to start the rumor that the couple had sex. The rumors of sex become rumors of an orgy at first, but when the rumors then become stories about rape, Naomi herself starts to believe them.

"Gossip" wants desperately to be "Trainspotting," "Wild Things," or "Go." The movie focuses on young, libertine characters who soon demonstrate why people say Hollywood has no moral compass. Still, the first few minutes of "Gossip" almost promises a good movie. A reference to the old party game "Telephone" foreshadows what's going to happen with the rumor they start. The trendy soundtrack--featuring hit rock songs that all, in some way, deal with rumors--helps set the tone. Additionally, the movie even seems to be heading towards a moral: gossip is all fun and games until somebody loses a reputation.

"Gossip," however, doesn't take too long to fall apart, and things get worse as it goes along. Part of this is the characters' natures: I never found them likeable enough--even in a devious way--to care about them. They're stupid college kids who lie a lot. When the protagonists slide from being self-absorbed to being malicious, I stopped caring about them completely.

Since "Gossip" is about stupid and deceitful people, it's hard to weed out the "facts" that turn out to be lies from the actual plot holes. Even after you weed out the deliberate confusion and stupidity, there's still enough unintended confusion and stupidity to go around. One character's family disowned him because he raped a woman in high school; interestingly, however, they gave him a generous trust fund before telling him to get lost. Two characters who have a strong animosity for each other somehow ignore each other until about halfway through the movie. There's one scene where Derrick and Jones have sex while they're mad at each other; rather than being a surprise plot turn, they go back to hating each other, leaving a gratuitous sex scene that is totally out of place. Naomi is both from New York and from Danbury--both of which turn out to be key facts. The true coup de grace comes at the attempted climax. The fight in the final scene played out almost exactly as I expected. A death that I thought was faked turned out to be faked. Then the movie grafts a completely unbelievable happy ending on itself: the villain is revealed to the world to be a fiend and everyone else is unscathed. I, for one, didn't buy it.

I don't think there are any rumors that claim "Gossip" is fit for kids. Significant strong language and dangerous binge drinking are a concern. Though not much is shown in the sex scenes, there are, of course, numerous innuendos. The movie also has a considerable amount of violence; while the worst of the violence is not shown, there is still enough to be concerned about.

The 1990s had numerous crime movies focusing on antiheroes or villains. Some worked, and some didn't. If "Gossip" is hoping to carry the genre into this decade, however, then the genre is in serious trouble--and that's no idle gossip.


Title: "Gossip"
Release date: April 21, 2000

MPAA rating: R
Overall rating: *½

Aprox. run time: 90 min.
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Writers: Gregory Poirier (story and screenplay), Theresa Rebeck (screenplay)
Stars: James Marsden, Lena Heady, Norman Reedus, Kate Hudson, Joshua Jackson

Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/reviewsbyjohn/Gossip.htm
Added to blog site: 7/28/09

Not completely boneheaded

"The Skulls"
Overall Rating: ***


"The Skulls" takes place at Yale, where Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson) is a pre-law student. (They never use the name Yale, but that's the only Ivy League school that calls its crew team "the Bulldogs" and has the initial "Y.") Despite being poor and an orphan, Luke has made a name for himself at school by becoming the star of the crew team, which catches the attention of a secret society known as the Skulls. The Skulls are a very powerful and influential group; the president of the Skulls is Litten Mandrake (Craig T. Nelson)--a judge who seems likely to be appointed to the Supreme Court in the near future. Unfortunately, Luke's newfound friendship with Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker)--Litten's son and another new inductee--drives a wedge between Luke and his friends Will (Hill Harper) and Chloe (Leslie Bibb), who mistrust the secret society. When Will apparently commits suicide while investigating the society for the school newspaper, Luke's relationship with the Skulls becomes strained.

In most respects, "The Skulls" is adequate--nothing more, nothing less. The actors are fine, though this doesn't mean much, since the characters are all one dimensional. The film has a few stunt sequences, and all of them are seamless--nothing spectacular but nothing requiring anything sensational. If there's a technical gaffe, it might be the cinematography--there are a few places where the color looks washed out, and one scene where the cameraman seems to be in a wrestling match with the actors.

The plot is overwrought. For instance, in the opening credits, there is text explaining that three former U. S. Presidents are among the Skulls' membership; this claim about the Skulls' power is unnecessary, however, since the groups' directors include Judge Mandrake, a senator, and the university provost, and the group gives each new member thousands of dollars, a new sports car, and a watch. Of course the group is powerful. Each member has a brand on his wrist, but no outsider ever seems to notice (maybe they leave their watches on all the time). Nobody knows quite what the Skulls are, either. Even assuming that every member kept strict secrecy, they have dozens of servants at their affairs, hired escorts for each Skull at big parties, and their very own psychiatric hospital--one would think one of the hired hands would spill something. The end result is that the Skulls may be a secret society, but it's a fairly open secret.

Despite the sometimes melodramatic plot, though, I have to admit that I was interested. OK, there are places where "The Skulls" is obvious: did anyone think that poor Luke was going to spend the rest of his life in the Skull's mental hospital? Despite its excesses, "The Skulls" holds a few surprises, though.

There are also some nice touches. John Pogue looked through a name book before writing the scrip: Luke, who is determined to break the Skulls' secrecy to find the truth behind Will's death, has a name that means "light;" "Caleb" means "bold and impetuous"--and Caleb is certainly impetuous; a mandrake is a type of poisonous plant, again, appropriate for both the senior and junior Mandrakes. I also have to wonder if Luke was on the crew team because the boats are called "sculls"--a term never used in the movie. Shots of the boats themselves have symbolism--before he joins the Skulls and after he starts to mistrust the group, Luke, is often seen rowing, but while he's a loyal member of the Skulls, he is only seen riding in a power boat. An allusion to "Alice in Wonderland" doesn't hurt, either.

There's no secret conspiracy behind the PG-13 rating for "The Skulls"--it earns it. There are a several violent sequences, including on-screen murders. While the obligatory sex scene shows practically nothing (the camera fades out before underwear is removed), the movie has its share of strong language, and one scene where a character consumes a drug-laced drink.

"The Skulls" is by no measure a great film; there is nothing great about it. It's adequate. Fortunately, that adequacy is enough to support an entertaining thriller for about two hours--and that's no secret.

Title: "The Skulls"
Release date: March 31, 2000

MPAA rating: PG-13
Overall rating: ***

Aprox. run time: 107 min.
Director: Rob Cohen
Writers: John Pogue
Stars: Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Craig T. Nelson, Hill Harper, Leslie Bibb

Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/Skulls.htm
Added to blog site: 8/5/09