Search - Mark Isham :: Mrs. Parker & The Vicious Circle (1994 Film)

Terrible Acting

LW | North Carolina USA | 11/30/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In the past few months I have read several biography's on the interesting men and women that made up the Vicious Circle of the round table. I was excited to find a movie that would paint a picture of that era. The movie did take you back to the time and place but I was disappointed with the acting and the story line was just plain weak. I hated the way Dorothy Parker's character came across. Did she really speak the way Ms.Leigh portrayed her? From all I read, she was a tough no nonsense broad and I had a hard time believing any of the characters in this movie. Disappointed, to say the least but I only paid a few dollars for a used copy so no big deal."

Only if You Already Love Dorothy Parker Will You Enjoy This

Gayle Alstrom | STATEN ISLAND, NY United States | 01/31/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You have to be a real Dorothy Parker addict to enjoy this film. Although this biographical film seems quite accurate and not glossed over, the film has many problems, i.e., direction and editing. As another reviewer mentioned, it is sometimes hard to understand what she is saying. Of course, I understand that it must be very difficult to deliver clear, understandable lines while also trying to convey that you are falling-down drunk, as she is during about one-third of the film. I've watched the film several times, and I still haven't been able to understand all her magnificent witty lines. The most famous of which are included in the film. The film tried to encompass the entirety of her life in two-hours. It would have been better just to make a film on a section of her life: i.e. "Mrs. Parker Does Hollywood," "Mrs. Parker Does the Roaring Twenties," or perhaps "Mrs. Parker Does Charles MacArthur." However, I liked the film enough that I'll probably even watch it again, but next time with a glass of scotch in my hand so that I'll feel a part of the times and be able to identify with her better. Maybe if I'm drunk, too, I will understand what she is saying when she's drunk. I was disappointed that the film didn't include Lillian Hellman, who was a friend of hers, and who tried to help Parker in her last years. There's a scene near the end of the film where Dorothy Parker is in a bar and an obscure actor (played by Stanley Tucci) comes over to talk to her. They could have substituted a scene with Lillian Hellman, who also liked bars, for that scene, and it would have been more interesting and literary. See: http://gaylealstrom.com/Dorothy_Parker_Page.html."

Virtually Unintelligible Leigh

Eclectic | Bend, OR United States | 04/06/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I truly wanted to love this movie after a long lifetime spent reading about the Round Table. I've also read the works of all the writers portrayed, plus James Thurber's wonderful "The Years with Ross" about the early years of the New Yorker magazine and it's founder and editor, Harold Ross. There's much that is tragic about Parker's life, and some of those around her, but the tragedy here is that Parker's brilliant words are so swallowed and garbled by Leigh that after about five minutes, I went back to the main menu, hoping to find my way to a selection of subtitles that would include English, so I could actually understand Leigh - no such luck. Those of you who can understand anything said by Bob Dylan may have better luck. It's a shame because everything else about this film is

worth watching, though Crawford seems a poor choice for MacArthur."