Pie in the Sky

I had a great time with this well done, quirky film. My crush on Anne Heche started with her engaging performance in this piece. The crush is no more, but my admiration for the movie, (and Ms. Heche), remains. The film is sweet without becoming saccharine. I recommend it.

This is an imaginative movie, with elements of the slightly farcical movies of the '80's (Secret of my Success, you know the sort of thing). It's saved from mediocrity and anachronism by a sort of twisted realism caused by disjointed, surprising plot changes/devices. This is also evident in the sex scenes (with a sort of "left a bit"/"can we... move down the bed" approach) which makes the romance element all the more touching.

Josh Charles (Threesome, Dead Poets Society) delivers a traffic metaphor heavy Kevin Bacon (in She's Having a Baby)-esque narration competently, while Anne Heche manages to pull off being equally expressive, beautiful and serene. It's very hard not to love her in this movie, should you let yourself fall into the sap trap.

It's a striking film, touching and witty. Feelgood? Yeah, I guess I feel alright.

Josh Charles is wonderful as a young man obsessed with...traffic? He longs to be a traffic reporter in the sky, but first finds on-again/off-again love with a perplexing Anne Heche (she's so flaky he can't get a grip on her, and neither can we). John Goodman has a funny supporting role, and the production values are first-rate, but this is short-film material stretched out too far. Terrific cast includes Dey Young, Christine Lahti, and Brent Spiner, but each has very little to do, and the film is flattened out by an overall lack of imagination and by its length. More cleverness was obviously needed; there's not enough substance here for the picture to stay the course. ** from ****

"Pie in the Sky", an ill-focused, occasionally clumsy, and always good natured little romantic comedy, tells of a dauntless young man, Charlie (Charles), who is consumed with two things: Working as the "eye in the sky" for L.A.'s Metro Traffic (a traffic reporting bureau) and working on his relationship with his girl friend (Heche). There is as little to fault in this film as there is to praise making it recommendable by default but also keeping it from scoring high marks. An okay diversion for sofa spuds but not worth a trip to the video store. (C-)

Is love like a traffic flow, sometimes running smoothly, sometimes stalled and going nowhere? That's what Charlie (Josh Charles) thinks. Charlie has two great loves: traffic/traffic reporting and Amy (Anne Heche). Having met as children, the boy and the dance-loving girl meet again as teenagers and explore the wonders of first love. Yet, they are headed in two different directions, for college and otherwise. A break-up is inevitable. Years later, Charlie has traveled to Los Angeles to work at a television station and meets Amy again at a local coffee shop. She is a waitress, involved with a modern dance group in her spare time. Unfortunately, Amy is cold to the idea of rekindling the relationship and tries to discourage Charlie. Will he win her over or concentrate more on his career?

This is an offbeat romantic comedy. The swirl of characters surrounding the two leads are all a bit unusual but provide some laughs. John Goodman is wonderful as a famous traffic reporter. Heche gives a petulant performance which is very attractive at times and a bit offputting at others. Fans of movies a little less ordinary should be pleased with this effort. Others may find it pleasant but not particularly memorable.