Mistakes have been made (9/21/97)
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Absolute Power. [Clint Eastwood, 1997. Written by William Goldman.]
A few questions: Did Eastwood really direct this? and, if so, why is he admitting it? For that matter why is William Goldman putting his name on it? If the guy Eastwood is playing is supposed to be so smart, then why is he a Redskins fan? What kind of billionaire leaves stacks of hundreds in a closet drawer? the wealthy never use cash, they never need it; is this some kind of political bribe they forgot to write out of the plot? Why isn’t there anyone on the premises? when billionaires go on vacation, it isn’t like the Brady Bunch going up to Yellowstone: where’s that staff of thirty? Why no safe for so much jewelry? And why so much jewelry? Do these people know Deion Sanders? Is Clinton supposed to like to slap babes around? Wouldn’t it have been better if this had been a evil First Lady? in fact isn’t this some kind of thinly disguised hypothesis about Hillary and Vince Foster with the genders swapped to avoid a lawsuit? Why is Hackman adjusting his tie in the mirror when he’s about to rip his clothes off and hump himself senseless on the carpeting? is this the way they do it in Washington? Why is this the most boring sex scene in the history of cinema even after they start beating each other up? Why do the Secret Service guys shoot her dead? can’t crackshot samurai like these guys just wound people? Can Judy Davis make me a gynecologist too? Why does Eastwood show a light in the bedroom window while the bad guys are still downstairs? is this what you expect from a famous cat burglar? Why do the Secret Service guys go down the stairs after Eastwood? Why don’t they go down the rope? And why don’t they catch him? they’re running faster. Why does he run toward his car? shouldn’t he have an alternative getaway route? And even though he didn’t have the sense to call the Washington Post on a cellular phone while he was sitting in the closet waiting for the Secret Service to finish cleaning up the mess, why didn’t he call them as soon as he got home? didn’t he ever hear of Deep Throat?
That concludes Act One. I could ask similar questions about the latter two-thirds of the flick, but other business calls me away. And, sheesh, enough is enough.
____________Journey to the center of the mind (7/19/97)
