Release Date: August 22, 2003
Starring: Lisa Kudrow, Damon Wayans, Richard Benjamin, Christine Baranski, Paula Garcés
Directed by: Richard Benjamin
Written by: Paul Rudnick
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
MPAA Rating: R (language, sexual content)
The creative minds behind Marci X -- namely director Richard Benjamin, writer Paul Rudnick, and producer Scott Rudin -- have made a number of comedies in their days, none of which were all that remarkable. Between the three men, they’ve delivered movies like The Money Pit, The Addams Family, and In & Out, and these moderately entertaining romps all look quite impressive compared to their combined dud, the music-industry farce Marci X.
The comedy/musical is poorly developed, and like many such films, it relies on racial stereotypes as a crutch for all of its jokes. Other contemporary films like Bringing Down the House and Malibu’s Most Wanted are similarly trashy, and the only thing Marci X has against those uninspired efforts is its mild musical creativity. Composers Marc Shaiman and Mervyn Warren collaborated to create about a half-dozen original dance numbers for the movie, and though some of them feature witty lyrics and catchy beats, the musicians’ efforts were more or less wasted on a half-witted movie.
The often typecast Lisa Kudrow plays an air-headed blonde named Marci, the daughter of highly successful Jewish businessman Ben Feld (played by director Benjamin). Once she learns that controversial rap artist Dr. S (Damon Wayans) is ruining the reputation of her ill father’s huge corporation, she sets out to meet the musician and convince him to apologize to the country, and especially to a highly conservative senator played by Christine Baranski, in order to save the family’s business from financial turmoil. Something unexpetced happens, however, and both Marci and the uncooth Dr. S start to fall in love.
The setup for this premise is a bit ludicrous, and even though everything that follows isn’t necessarily enjoyable, a bad start degrades the film more than it deserves. In the beginning, Marci is at one of her many fundraisers and her father, the guest of honor, is swept out of the room by his aides because of the breaking story that Dr. S has released a new album under the Feld corporation’s recording label, a finanical investment that Mr. Feld didn’t even know he had acquired. It’s unlcear why Senator Spinkle (Baranski) decides to attack Feld’s company instead of the rapper himself for the distasteful lyrics, and therefore the movie essentially has no solid basis for its story. And though she claims it’s the corporations who benefit from the music that are to blame (even though the artists do as well), it’s too hard to believe that such a huge backlash would occur against the the Feld corporation, along with major subsequent financial problems, especially when the founder isn’t even aware of their affiliation with the record company.
The rest of Marci X is full of cultural stereotypes, goofy costumes, and a bizzare romanatic relationship between Kudrow and Wayans. The two stars have some chemistry together, though certainly not enough to carry the entire movie, and what they do have is ruined by the fact that they’re simply meant to be an interracial couple and nothiing else.
Kudrow has yet to break out of her “dumb blonde” persona that she perfected on TV’s “Friends.” She’s just about used up all of her tricks as an actress and until she gets new ones, she isn’t ready to fill a lead role. Wayans brings a little charm to his role, and that’s thanks in part to his crazy outfits and amusing musical perfomances. But he, too, is better left to the oftentimes less discerning world of television. The two together, then, are weak leading performers for a major motion picture, and little to no help is provided by the supporting cast, who are all more annoying and clueless than competent and amusing.
Marci X doesn’t quite hit rock bottom, which it certainly could have, yet there’s very little reason to see it. It’s just another small credit on the resumé for people like director Benjamin and producer Rudin, and it’s really not one to boast. They themselves may forget it as quickly as moviegoers will.
-- Andy Zientek (zfilm@earthlink.net)