The Whole Truth

THE WHOLE TRUTH is a unique comedy. The premise of an acting teacher who coaches defendants to transform themselves into the appearance of innocence is completely original. Actress Elisabeth Rohm (in a departure from dramatic roles like LAW AND ORDER) portrays a self-deluded acting coach with touches of Carole Lombard, Lucille Ball, and the young Diane Keaton. In a surprising turn Eric Roberts plays a foreign mobster who is both scary and hilarious. For those familiar with Roberts playing dark dramatic characters, this role will be a revelation. Sean Patrick Flanery (BOONDOCK SAINTS) is a once successful television actor who has hit a rough patch. The superb supporting cast includes comic actors Rick Overton as a henchman, John Fugelsang as a prosecuting attorney, and Jim Holmes as an ethically challenged defense attorney. Beneath the comedy is a commentary on how easily justice can be "gamed" by the unscrupulous.

I'm truly puzzled by some of the negative responses from some at the Seattle Film Festival. The audience I saw it with (there were two screenings) was entertained. THE WHOLE TRUTH is that rare PG comedy for adult sensibilities.

How this movie made it into the Seattle International Film Festival I'll never understand. It's not that I didn't like the subject matter or disagreed with the point of view, it's more like... well, it had no point of view. It had no point! I got the feeling that the cast and crew of The Whole Truth were involved in some kind of inside joke that the audience wasn't privy to. I felt sorry for Elisabeth Rohm because she is such a good actor, but the role and how she was instructed to play it was totally ludicrous. It was beneath her and she should have never accepted the part. I'm sorry to say this but the director/writer Colleen Patrick should be embarrassed. Check out the audience comments on the SIFF web site http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=29098&FID=123 for more info.

There are some movies that start badly, but make me hope for something worth staying for. Sometimes I am rewarded, sometimes I end up just satisfied enough and sometimes I just laugh at the train wreck that is unfolding before me...

...and sometimes, I get to the 30 minute mark and realize that the movie was always dead on arrival, and that there really isn't even a shred of hope.

Welcome to "The Whole Truth".

The "You're lucky I'm not Korean" line (spoken to a dog...oh, I get it!) was one of many painful and embarrassingly bad attempts at humor. I mean without exaggeration that the writing is truly cringe-worthy. Ever watch amateur comedians flop on stage and feel embarrassed for them? Yeah...it's that bad.

I heard a few quiet (and possibly just nervous/embarrassed) giggles in the first half hour. For a movie that promised "rapid-fire" laughs, there was a painful amount of silence in the theatre.

Additionally, the soundtrack was right out of a sitcom pilot that never got picked up for a first season, the acting was forced and brutally unfunny, and the general feel of the movie was that of a decent concept given terribly amateur treatment.

Oddly, I read a comment about a test screening that went really well. The audience at the (sold out!) Seattle Int'l Film Festival screening would probably beg to differ, and the reviews on the SIFF site are very telling.

I would have been very curious to see the Q&A session after the movie. I can't help but wonder if anything of interest was said. Did the filmmakers receive any honest feedback? I've heard that Sundance audiences have actually booed and hissed at selected screenings...I've never seen that happen here.

Then again, I had to leave at the 30 minute mark. I couldn't take it anymore.

If you have time to kill you might enjoy laughing at the movie. Not with the movie.

This script is all over the place - with characters who are not introduced with any reason to be there - and plots that come and go out of nowhere.

It's a bad story - with good actors and decent performances where there is nothing to act with.

Over all, it's a mess - and the cast does the best they can with nothing to support them.

Imagine how good they could have been with a real story and thought behind them.

Good production work on a story that is a complex and utter mess or biblical proportions.

An hour later and I still had no clue what the story was about.