Waltzing Anna

I stumbled on this film while flipping through channels and when I saw Betsy Palmer's name I was interested. The interest ended when I began watching it. The script is awful, the lead actor, terrible, and a complete waste of the talents of Betsy Palmer, Pat Hingle, George Morfogen, and the very talented Emmanuelle Chriqui. Robert Capelli Jr. who stars and wrote the script really needs to think about another line of work. His acting skills are terrible and he suffers from a speech impediment that is very jarring. The dialog is forced and the script is very poorly written. They could have at least done some research on what long-term care facilities really are like. I didn't believe the doctors were doctors, or the nurses were nurses. There was not even care to to the set dressing. There is a hallway with crumbling wall over the floor, and no matter how many shots it is used in it is never cleaned up, despite one scene when you can see a housekeeping person cleaning the floor! But the worst thing is that the storyline is so contrived and unbelievable. Please Mr. Robert Capelli Jr. don't write or appear in any more movies!

Despite my girlfriend dragging me to its advanced screening in NYC, I was most pleasantly surprised with "Waltzing Anna." Sure, it is a great chick flick, but it was actually more than that. It turned out to be a very well-written comedy with a nice dramatic edge. Artie Lange, Howard Stern's side kick, was hysterical and played well with the female lead who I immediately recognized from "Entourage" as E's girlfriend. The male lead was very convincing as an ethically challenged Doctor. I'm sure we'll be hearing more from him very soon with his top notch performance. With appearances by J. Eddie Peck from "All My Children" and the old Judge from the Clint Eastwood spaghetti-westerns, the cast was of great support to a funny script that was well shot. If you enjoyed "Hitch," you will most certainly find "Waltzing Anna" well worth your while. It will remind you of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" meets "Patch Adams!"

First things: I am one of the last people to comment on this movie, but i also was the one who put up a plot summary and synopsis so that other people can get an idea of the story. All of the previous slams on technical terms are basically true. This is not a finished picture like a Sandler, Ferrell, or Scheider flick. I don't waste my time on those guys. This is a story movie first, and an acting/directing movie second. There are no guns or car chases, and it starts off somewhat slowly. This is a story about a tired old man who loves a woman back to life, and a greedy Harvard doctor who falls from glory and needs to re-order his priorities. It also has some nice piano music in the soundtrack, and as mentioned, a good supporting cast. Yeah, it's a love it/hate it movie. You'll just have to find out for yourself. All I can say is that it keeps showing up enough on my channel guide that someone else somewhere believes in it enough to program it.

I'd like to support indie filmmakers as much as the next film fan, but let's be honest please. The Good: Great supporting cast - Pat Hingle, Betsy Palmer, Emmanuelle Chriqui, George Morfogen, etc. The Bad: Average story, a formula weeper, underdeveloped "romance", Not enough Artie Lange. The Ugly: A Harvard Doctor that can't pronounce "Alzheimer's." Whose fault is this? I can't believe with 2 directors, they could both let that slide. They are as much to blame as the "star". "Convincing" is hardly the word I'd use to describe this performance. It was a nice try, I bet they all cared deeply about this serious subject, but when the lead can't lead, or even follow, he should stay out of the way. 4, out of ten, for effort.

It seems Mr Capelli is the lead because he is banking the project. He is perhaps the worst actor living today and I have been unable to find anything about him other than he's from Hobokon and becomes an executive producer out of nowhere. Mob money? who knows? The fact is the movie is really bad and for the most part because of him. I rented the "film" due to the fact that Emmanuelle Chriqui was in it. She's one of the most beautiful actresses working today and generally good in everything she's in - with what she has to work with here she's OK. Artie Lange, in his brief appearance, is good and his acting skills appear godlike compared to the clownish Capelli.