movie's 411

>> TADPOLE

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Aaron Stanford, and more...
Director: Gary Winick
Genre: Comedy




"celebrated at sundance, this slight comedy of manners has winning performances and a glossy, glib charm that's hard to beat." - james rocchi, netflix

oscar (aaron stanford) is not your average high school student: he likes voltaire, has no affection for popular culture, and the perks and privileges of his academic family's well-to-do manhattan life bore him. at restaurants, he orders in flawless french, and he doesn't like the girls at school, despite their obvious interest in his offbeat charms. he does, however, really like his stepmother (sigourney weaver). over the course of a thanksgiving weekend, oscar -- and everyone around him -- discover they have more than a few things to figure out. ...

tadpole is a remarkably slight comedy; it mixes the dry wit and class awareness of classic french comedy with the broad misunderstandings and coincidences of three's company. this observation is only mildly abetted by the fact that oscar's dry, fussily intellectual academic father is played by john ritter.

oscar has determined that thanksgiving is the opportune moment to make his case to his stepmother. watching stanford carry out oscar's carefully planned stratagems of romantic seduction is extraordinarily funny. later, when oscar's charms (and a little too much wine) land him in the bed of weaver's chiropractor friend bebe neuwirth, his frantic desire to control the aftermath -- and neuwirth's wild abandon to let things happen as they may -- adds considerable comedic fuel to the fire.

tadpole (a reference to oscar's childhood nickname, used even as the fact he's not a child anymore becomes more and more apparent) isn't just notable for its comedic construction, but also for its cinematographic technique. tadpole was shot on digital video, and while this is certainly more economical than shooting on film, it can often result in a somewhat washed-out look, where the razor-sharp writing is somewhat obscured by the blur and bloom of digital video.

tadpole, however, is occasionally quite artful in its shots -- and only rarely descends into the clammy, too-real feel of most DV features. the script is smooth as well; it breezes over potentially squirm-inducing material with grace and creates fully rounded characters in swift strokes.

weaver is allowed to shine here in a way mainstream film probably wouldn't afford her at this point; she's confused, bemused and flattered by oscar's affection, and even briefly intoxicated by the possibility of love. neuwirth displays a randy flair for comedy that she rarely gets to exhibit; it's easy to imagine her plainspoken, loopy chiropractor substituting in for any one of the "sex and the city" foursome. finally, stanford's portrayal of oscar is a small comedic marvel, mixing brilliance and ineptitude, charm and abrasiveness, confusion and certitude to remarkable effect. tadpole may be thin stuff, but it's funny stuff, and the gales of laughter it provokes are more than enough to propel its charms to a satisfying conclusion.


>> posted by :: sLesTa | [ ]

<< back to movies411 | the classics >>