Broken English

Broken English **

Directed by Zoe R. Cassavetes
Written by Zoe R. Cassavetes

Starring:
Parker Posey as Nora Wilder
Melvil Poupaud as Julien
Drea de Matteo as Audrey Andrews
Tim Guinee as Mark Andrews
Gena Rowlands as Vivien Wilder-Mann
Peter Bogdanovich as Irving Mann
Roy Thinnes as Peter Andrews
Michael Panes as Glen
Justin Theroux as Nick Gable

97 Minutes(Rated PG-13 for some sexual content, brief drug use and language.)
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"Broken English" is a waste of two things-the time of the Parker Posey and most of all the time of the viewer. There is no real reason for this film to be seen if not for the delightful and amazing leading role by Posey, who manages to constantly impress in no matter what film she is in, and I fear that the only real reason why this was even given a chance to see the light of day was because of the last name of the writer/director. Cassavetes. I suppose when you are the daughter of the legendary actor/director John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands (who also makes an appearance in the film, probably for a very small paycheck) you can produce anything, even a recycled screenplay with recycled characters and situations. Lets see if you could find anything new in this storyline.

Nora Wilder (Posey) is turning thirty soon and she still can't seem to find the right guy. She is carted from loser to loser. First she dates an actor who seems really amazing and great, but after sleeping with him one night she finds out that he really is seeing somebody else, and probably just used her for that one little moment. And then there is this other guy she goes out with, and they go to the movies (and the Film Forum here in Manhattan is used for the interior shots) where he ends up spotting his ex-girlfriend and realizes that he is still in love with her and that it is too soon. That is when she swears off men, much to the chagrin of her married best friend, Audrey-who is oddly enough going through problems in her marriage as well. And then when she has finally give up she meets Julien, a dashing Frenchmen, and the two of them hit it off. In fact, one meeting at a party turns into an entire weekend, and at the end she learns that his work her in the United States is done and he is going back to France. And they part ways. And then she decides, at the spur of the moment, to quit her meandering job as a hotel guest services manager and takes her friend Audrey to France where she will find this mystery guy that could be The One and change her life around.

There are certain films where I am aware that the material has been done before, and I do often rely on the actors to try to push the film into a different realm of being. Case in point-last year's indie hit "Half Nelson." Now "Half Nelson" was a story of a drug addicted teacher and the student that he befriends. Now I was not a huge fan of the film, and the material was nothing new, but the two lead acts were able to push it out of being a total loss by making something special, and something memorable, with their characters. In this film Parker Posey is wonderful, but that is about it. Everyone else in the film exists solely as a one dimensional film character, and the etchings of humanity and realism that stem from Posey's performance do not emit from anybody else. Every single character is just extremely obvious. Starting with her boyfriends, there is the classic narcissistic Hollywood actor that she falls for because of his name and charm, and then he of course wrongs her by using her for a night of sex. And the plot line is somewhat absurd as Nora Wilder is not even an unattractive woman, and her entire anger towards not getting a man just doesn't seem to make sense. The entire time you are wondering "who wouldn't want to go out with her?" How many more stories do I have to see about a woman that wants to find the right man? And if this were a Hollywood film, I could understand, but when the standard romance plot ends up eking out into the indie circuit, that is when I get a little worried. I guess I could commend and be happy for Zoe R. Cassavetes for actually getting a film out there, and getting a great lead actress to star in an otherwise plot less and contrived script. But sadly I cannot even really congratulate her because I'm sure getting this film made wasn't that hard. With a small company backing it, and with a huge "connected" family involved it was probably very simple to get finance. "Broken English" is worth seeing on a small screen simply for the saving grace of Parker Posey who is an exceptional lead, but for the most part this picture is a dud.