Rene Russo's eyes and mouth, not Buddy the Gorilla's, become the main focus of "Buddy", a Jim Henson Pictures production through Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope. Surprisingly, numerous close-ups of Russo's face slipped through in post-production, and she literally fills the screen so many times that the poor apes are upstaged. This unintentionally funny true story is adapted from Gertrude "Trudy" Davies Lint's memoirs about a wealthy doctor's wife who turns their mansion into a menagerie for pets and wildlife. The movie goes beyond good intentions-it positively drips with earnest sincerity. However, it never sparkles with the kind of "family film" magic that it needed, and before too long both the people and the animals seem distinctly programmed (nothing here feels real). About ten minutes in, two chimpanzees are goofing around in Russo's kitchen and start throwing a butcher's knife back and forth (it misses Alan Cumming's head by inches); yet, no eyebrows are raised because it's all in a day's fun. Still, when full-grown gorilla Buddy gets crazy during a thunderstorm, the cops are called-and everyone stares at Buddy through the window while he busts up the living room furniture. The furniture should be the least of anyone's worries in this flabbergasting, do-gooder failure. But, at least we know Russo was in good hands: whenever director Caroline Thompson needs a good pick-up shot, she gives unstartled Rene another extreme close-up. I wonder what the lipstick budget was on this picture? *1/2 from ****
Review of Buddy
