51 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
51 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
" oh my god , i sounded just like a mother ! "
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mrs . pascal , played with devilish wickedness by genevieve bujold , tells her son .
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" didn't i sound just like a mother ? "
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" you are a mother , " her son marty tells her disgustedly .
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" i know , but i still can't believe it .
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i look at you people and wonder , how did you ever fit in my womb ? "
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marty , you see , is a grown-up twin .
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although his sister , who thinks she is jackie-o , is certifiably insane , marty fits right in with the rest of this highly dysfunctional family in the witty black comedy the house of yes .
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mother and daughter , played in a brilliant performance by parker posey , are both varying degrees of wacko .
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most dysfunctional families in the movies are more angry and mean-spirited than diabolically abnormal as this one is .
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the daughter's fantasy of being jackie-o is probably the most sane part of her being .
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mrs . pascal is the sort that will not let jackie-o keep a hairbrush downstairs since food is kept on that level .
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she explains to marty's new fiancee , lesly ( tori spelling ) , soon after their first meeting that jackie-o was holding marty's private part when she came out of the womb .
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the dialog by wendy macleod , based on the play by mark waters , is so sharp and biting that it seems in danger of cutting through the celluloid at any moment .
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the script , reminiscent of a david mamet play , flows smoothly with its fast paced intelligence and mesmerizing set of bizarre characters .
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the exaggerated setup has lesly and marty arriving at the family's out of the way mansion during a thanksgiving day hurricane .
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in this storm are two sane individuals .
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the fiancee is a giddy , school-girl type , embarrassed by everything , a complete contrast to her rival jackie-o's bitter pseudo-sophistication .
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as the two twins' younger brother , anthony , freddie prinze jr . plays the all-america boy type whose only foible is his explicit obsession of bedding his brother's fiancee that night .
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" we all have our secrets , " jackie-o tells her potential sister-in-law , and boy , does she have a few .
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this is a house filled with them .
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( when lesly calls it the family's " home " to mrs . pascal -- they've never had a visitor before lesly -- mrs . pascal becomes discombobulated until she realizes that lesly is talking about their " house . " )
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in a film that gives new meaning to the phrase , " made for each other , " the twin's biggest , but not their only secret , is that they've had a long-term incestuous relationship .
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they don't like to discuss it , although they are not particularly ashamed of it .
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perfect for viewers who can appreciate perverse comedy , this story never pulls its punches .
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jackie-o tries in many ways , few subtle , to show that she is a better match for marty than that ditzy fiancee of his .
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in one scene marty and lesly are playing chop sticks together on the piano when jackie-o pushes her aside and starts playing a challenging classical piece for four hands .
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marty joins her as his fiancee looks on with envy .
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the chemistry between parker posey and josh hamilton is nothing short of amazing .
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they put down their little brother and most of the other sane people in the world .
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their ripostes are engaging filmmaking at its best .
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director mark waters keeps the show's energy level high and lets the leads sling zingers at each other at a furious pace .
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his crisp direction ensures the movie has nary an ounce of fat on it .
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jackie-o is temperamentally incapable of being nice .
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and being jealous , she cuts lesly down mercilessly .
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" were you poor ? "
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jackie-o asks her when she finds that lesly committed the crime of growing up impoverished .
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" did you eat pies ?
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chicken pot pies ? "
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" pancakes actually , lots of pancakes , " lesly replies with her usual sincerity .
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" a donut king , so is she like the queen ? , "
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jackie-o cattily inquires of marty when she learns that lesly works at a donut king .
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" are we entertaining royalty ? "
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with rolfe kent's whimsically sinister music it never seems clear where the story is headed .
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will it end in a big emotional explosion , a murder , people slowly cutting each other up with words , a familial catharsis , a weather disaster or what ?
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the emotionally charged play is clearly going somewhere , and the engaging characters captivate the audience with their spell .
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i'll not say more except that the ending is perfect and a bit of a surprise .
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the house of yes runs a blazing fast 1 : 25 .
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it is rated r for sexual situations and conversations , mature themes , violent overtones and some profanity .
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the movie would be fine for older and mature teenagers , i . e . , treat the movie as it were rated nc-17 .
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