A glossy soap opera, complete with an unconvincing storyline, slick direction and actors who -- with one exception -- are obviously mimicking whatever incompetent instructions the director is throwing at them. By far the worst is Woody Harrelson. Admittedly, what his character is forced to do and say is stupid, illogical and downright ridiculous. But a really good actor, finding himself cast in this unbelievable shell of a role, would do something. Barrymore, for example, would really send it up; Mason would play it really tongue-in-cheek; Cooper would act against the role and deliver his lines frozen-faced. But Harrrelson does zilch. He acts it out as if the author was William Shakespeare, totally ignoring the fact that his character is always inconsistent, often motiveless, and sometimes absolutely ridiculous. Demi Moore does a little bit better, particularly when she gets away from the incompetent Harrelson, and is partnered by a real actor in Robert Redford. In fact, Redford is the only reason anyone would bother to see this movie. He brightens every scene in which he appears. And when he's forced to say something stupid, he smacks it across with a twinkle in his eye. That's what acting is all about -- not emoting like mad and running off at the mouth!
Review of Indecent Proposal
