From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri Jan 3 13:46:35 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news99.sunet.se!news.uni-c.dk!news-inn.uni-c.dk!news.ecrc.de!02-newsfeed.univie.ac.at!01-newsfeed.univie.ac.at!Austria.EU.net!EU.net!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!su-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.pbi.net!cbgw3.lucent.com!nntphub.cb.lucent.com!not-for-mail From: mleeper@lucent.com (Mark R. Leeper) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: REVIEW: THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD (1996) Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films,rec.arts.sf.written Date: 31 Dec 1996 16:32:23 GMT Organization: Lucent Technologies Lines: 103 Sender: eleeper@lucent.com (Evelyn C. Leeper) Approved: eleeper@lucent.com Message-ID: <5abf6n$429@nntpb.cb.lucent.com> Reply-To: mleeper@lucent.com NNTP-Posting-Host: mtvoyager.mt.lucent.com Summary: r.a.m.r. #06599 Keywords: author=Leeper Originator: ecl@mtvoyager Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:6011 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1181 [Note that the follow-up is set to rec.arts.sf.written rather than rec.art.sf.movies. This was done on purpose. -Moderator] THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD A film review by Mark R. Leeper Copyright 1996 Mark R. Leeper Capsule: THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD tells the true story of the nearly amorous, sometimes-touching, relationship of a lackluster school teacher and a mother-dominated pulp fiction writer in West Texas in the 1930s. What gives the story its interest is that the writer is Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan, King Kull, and Solomon Kane. This is a well-textured observation of two very different personalities in a story of contrasts: the difference in personalities of the two main characters, the difference in their writing styles, and the differences between Howard and the characters about whom he wrote. This slow-paced film will not be to all tastes, but it creates its period and tells us a great deal about writing in general. Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4) In 1934 Robert E. Howard's friends called him "the best pulp writer in the whole wide world." These days that title would more likely go to Edgar Rice Burroughs or H. P. Lovecraft. However, in some order, the next two names probably would be Walter Gibson and Robert E. Howard. Howard invented the popular genre of fantasy novel today called "Sword and Sorcery." His most popular character is, of course, Conan of Cimmeria (a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian) who with a powerful sword and a rudimentary intelligence fights the powers of Black Magic in a prehistoric world of monsters and sorcerers. (Of course, the sword was made more powerful and the intelligence more rudimentary in the 1982 John Milius film CONAN THE BARBARIAN and its 1984 sequel CONAN THE DESTROYER, both starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.) But THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD is not the story of larger-than-life people and huge mystical events, it is more whimper than bang. In 1934 a schoolteacher and aspiring writer, Novalyne Price, met and got to know Bob Howard. Years later, in probably the only piece of her writing that ever got any attention, she told the story of that friendship in a memoir entitled ONE WHO WALKED ALONE. That memoir is the basis of THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD. Price (played by Renee Zellweger who currently also has the co- starring role in JERRY MAGUIRE) is introduced to Howard (Vincent D'Onofrio) by a mutual friend. Most of the town of Cross Plains in rural West Texas think of Howard as being a little strange and unbalanced. The truth is that most of the town is probably right. Howard's life, other than his writing, is owned and jealously guarded by his sickly mother. Howard takes care of his mother is some ways that are more personal than most sons would and most of his world revolves around his mother. His one outlet is his typewriter where he turns what are little more than expanded adolescent fantasies into adventure prose, often shouting out that prose as he writes a story. Price intrudes on the relationship between the Howard and his mother to make friends with the twenty-eight-year- old writer. She maintains a relationship that goes little beyond the platonic with the stocky child-man. She herself would like to be a good writer in the classic sense and has a hard time telling Howard that he should aspire to writing more than his swaggering fantasies. The great irony, of course, but one that the narrative never admits except by its very existence, is that Price is 180 degrees wrong. There can be as much art to writing an adolescent fantasy really well as there can be to describing the real world. Her own well-observed description of her dating period is of interest only in that it sheds light on the forces that formed the pulp fiction she looked down upon. On the other hand Howard perhaps in innocence never doubted that his swaggering stories were the gull-darnedest best writing around. And he was, in fact, writing a literature that once it was rediscovered in the 1960s would never be out of print and would be an inspiration to generations of writers. Price's position in the world of literature today is as a footnote, remembered as the woman who dated Howard and whose reminiscences gave us a look into his personal life. This subtext is more of interest than the actual text of the film. Vincent D'Onofrio is already establish as one of our better feature actors. Since he played the doomed Private Pyle in FULL METAL JACKET he has had an enviable succession of character roles. Renee Zellweger is a graduate of horror films who has lucked into having two star-making roles (JERRY MAGUIRE being the other) on the screen in one Christmas season. This is Dan Ireland's first time directing, though he has produced, or executive-produced, such diverse films as the 1988 film TWISTER, PAPERHOUSE, and WHORE. He does a reasonable job, though fails to keep the characters consistently interesting. Occasionally he goes in for some hammy photography tricks like crudely darkening a strip at the top of the screen to create the effect of a darkened sky. It is not clear that this film really stands well on its own. If it were a work of fiction it would just be a story of the dating between two people who were not really very interesting in the final analysis. THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD gives little feel for the sort of stories that Howard was writing at the time, except for their overwhelming silliness and juvenility. And certainly the stories will bear that interpretation. Where the story gets its real impetus is not from the endings that Price sees in the story, but in the beginnings that she does not appreciate. I give this film a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale. Mark R. Leeper mleeper@lucent.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Jan 20 23:36:19 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!solace!paladin.american.edu!gatech!pacifier!news.sba.com!feeder.chicago.cic.net!news.cic.net!wolverine.hq.cic.net!newsxfer3.itd.umich.edu!howland.erols.net!worldnet.att.net!cbgw2.lucent.com!nntphub.cb.lucent.com!not-for-mail From: rhodes_steve@tandem.com (Steve Rhodes) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: REVIEW: THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD (1996) Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films,rec.arts.sf.written Date: 6 Jan 1997 14:31:46 GMT Organization: Tandem Computers, Inc. Lines: 89 Sender: eleeper@lucent.com (Evelyn C. Leeper) Approved: eleeper@lucent.com Message-ID: <5ar2ci$o4@nntpb.cb.lucent.com> Reply-To: rhodes_steve@tandem.com (Steve Rhodes) NNTP-Posting-Host: mtvoyager.mt.lucent.com Summary: r.a.m.r. #06642 Keywords: author=Rhodes Originator: ecl@mtvoyager Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:6039 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1189 [Note that the follow-up is set to rec.arts.sf.written rather than rec.art.sf.movies. This was done on purpose. -Moderator] THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ** Your eyes may be playing tricks on you. The title of this movie is THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD and not the World Wide Web. Many computer types will probably have to parse the name several times to get it right. This is a film not about the Net, but about someone known as "the greatest pulp fiction writer in the whole wide world." It is a true story based on the memoirs of the writer's lover and written almost a half a century later. The only real reason to see the film is to catch more of that new star from JERRY MAGUIRE, Renee Zellweger, in one of the movie's two leading roles. Although it has a classic three tissue ending, the rest of the picture is a remarkably unmoving portrayal of two characters full of potential. As flat as the Texas prairie, the movie saves all of its emotional impact until the end. Set in poor, rural Texas in 1935, Vincent D'Onofrio (from FEELING MINNESOTA and ED WOOD) plays Robert "Bob" E. Howard, the prolific pulp fiction writer who gave the world, CONAN, THE BARBARIAN among many other contributions. Renee Zellweger is school teacher, student, and unpublished writer Novalyne Price. Although Bob does not to seem to have all of his marbles and is viewed as the local eccentric by the town, she falls for his extroverted behavior and his literary success. Although he likes her, he is also mighty fond of his mama, played by Ann Wedgeworth (from A BURNING PASSION: THE MARGARET MITCHELL STORY). The cinematography by Claudio Rocha is gorgeous. You may remember his stunning work in PICTURE BRIDE. Here he shows Texas as its best -- full of reddish golden colors. The prettiest images are the sunsets, but the forest canopy is warm and inviting as well. The best sequence has the camera pan down slowly from the highest branches to the seemingly insignificant people under them. Making a living producing pulp fiction isn't easy. As Bob says, they "pay me only one half cent per word." But he copes. He reveals that his solution is, "I stretch it out; I'm verbose." Bob is not prime date material. His idea of a good time is "drivin' and blabbin'," which he does frequently in the movie. Herein lies the major problem with the film. Screenwriter Michael Scott Myers rarely gives him anything to say worth hearing. Even if this stems from deficiencies in the book, Myers should have been able to fix it. This is compounded by Dan Ireland's meandering direction and Luis Colina's loose editing. There are the ingredients for a good movie here, but the mixture we are given does not gel. The two leads give good performances, but the rest of the cast, especially all of Novalyne's women friends, are weak. I found the "Texan Spoken Here" sign at the soda fountain quite ironic since few of the characters even attempt an accent. Those that do come up with a weak, vaguely Southern accent. In a small Texas town before the advent of television, you can be sure that all the accents would have been so thick you could have cut them with a knife. I grew up in Garland, Texas, and know what small town Texas speech sounds like. This is not even close. No matter how hard Zellweger and D'Onofrio try, the movie never made me care about their characters. Zellweger's part was made more earnest than touching by the script, and D'Onofrio's was reduced to quirkiness. In the finale, when it came time to break out the Kleenex, my eyes stayed dry. Some of people in the audience whimpered, but I was never more than intrigued by the film. A promising story, but a disappointing delivery. THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD runs 1:45. It is rated PG. There are a couple of mild cuss words, but no sex, nudity or violence. Given the mature themes, kids would probably have to be nine or ten to be interested in the show. Although the film has its moments, it is not compelling cinema. I give it a mild thumbs down and **. ______________________________________________________________________ **** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable. REVIEW WRITTEN ON: January 3, 1997 Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's. From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jan 28 13:27:51 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!solace!demos!Gamma.RU!srcc!insync!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!worldnet.att.net!cbgw2.lucent.com!nntphub.cb.lucent.com!not-for-mail From: berardin@bc.cybernex.net (James Berardinelli) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: REVIEW: THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD (1996) Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films,rec.arts.sf.written Date: 27 Jan 1997 20:42:01 GMT Organization: - Lines: 106 Sender: eleeper@lucent.com (Evelyn C. Leeper) Approved: eleeper@lucent.com Message-ID: <5cj3up$2eq@nntpa.cb.lucent.com> Reply-To: berardin@bc.cybernex.net (James Berardinelli) NNTP-Posting-Host: mtvoyager.mt.lucent.com Summary: r.a.m.r. #06792 Keywords: author=Berardinelli Originator: ecl@mtvoyager Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:6176 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1197 [Note that the follow-up is set to rec.arts.sf.written rather than rec.art.sf.movies. This was done on purpose. -Moderator] THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD A film review by James Berardinelli Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli RATING (0 TO 10): 8.0 Alternative Scale: ***1/2 out of **** United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: 12/25/96 (limited); 1/97 (wider) Running Length: 1:45 MPAA Classification: PG (Mild profanity, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cast: Vincent D'Onofrio, Renee Zellweger, Ann Wedgeworth, Harve Presnell, Benjamin Mouton, Michael Corbett, Helen Cates Director: Dan Ireland Producers: Carl-Jan Colpaert, Kevin Reidy, Dan Ireland, and Vincent D'Onofrio Screenplay: Michael Scott Myers based on the novel ONE WHO WALKED ALONE by Novalyne Price Ellis Cinematography: Claudio Rocha Music: Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregory-Williams U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics During the course of his short, stormy life, Depression era writer Robert E. Howard created more than two dozen pulp heroes, and wrote hundreds of short stories. His best-known creation, Conan the Barbarian, became so popular during the 1970s and '80s that he spawned comic books, more than fifty original novels (far outstripping Howard's original output), and two motion pictures (CONAN THE BARBARIAN and CONAN THE DESTROYER, both starring Arnold Schwarzenegger). It's said that the best way to know an author is to read his writing, and, as Dan Ireland's THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD shows, Howard was a man who gave his all to his work. During Conan's resurgence in the 1970s, a lot of things -- many of them profoundly uncomplimentary -- were written and said about the author, who had died some forty years earlier from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Novalyne Price Ellis, a woman who had enjoyed a special relationship with Howard, decided to set the record straight by revealing "the real Bob Howard." The result was ONE WHO WALKED ALONE, which was published in 1985. This memoir became the basis of THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD, which presents a portrait of Howard as seen through the eyes of a woman who loved him, but would never in return be loved in the same way. The film opens during 1933 in Brownwood, Texas, with the meeting of Novalyne (Renee Zellweger), a would-be author, and Robert (Vincent D'Onofrio), "the best pulp writer in the whole wide world." The two hit it off almost immediately, despite the difference in their life-views. Over the course of the next three years, their relationship ebbs and flows, with Novalyne falling for Robert in a way that is never reciprocated. It's clear that he cares for her, but he is emotionally unable to commit to a relationship. In his own words: "The road I walk, I walk alone." Although THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD is primarily a study of the characters and their romantic liaison, Michael Scott Myers' script finds time to explore other fascinating issues, including the philosophy of writing and the power of imagination. Robert and Novalyne spend hours on end debating their craft and the dubious virtues of the Conan stories. He explains to her that "excitement's my specialty... excitement and adventure." When she relates the plot of one of her recent stories, he breaks out laughing. THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD contains some wonderfully tender moments, including one where Robert and Novalyne hold hands with a glorious, golden sunset in the background. There are also some startling sequences that evoke the state of Robert's mind. In one scene, the camera zooms in on his eyes as he speaks passionately about who Conan is. As his speech becomes more animated, we can hear the distant clang of clashing swords. Ireland uses such innovative audio tricks to open the window to Robert's mental state a little wider. And, while we never fully comprehend the complex workings of the author's mind, we understand that his extreme devotion to his mother (Ann Wedgeworth) lies at the core of his inability to resolve his feelings for Novalyne. This film would not be as stirring, nor would the love story be as poignant, if not for the dynamic portrayals of the two main actors. Vincent D'Onofrio is commanding as Robert, presenting him as a "morose, ungainly misfit among men" whose shy, gentle nature is occasionally ripped apart by brief, psychotic episodes. Renee Zellweger, who has become a hot prospect after her eye-opening turn in JERRY MAGUIRE, here proves that the talent displayed opposite Tom Cruise was no fluke. Novalyne, not unlike MAGUIRE's Dorothy, is a strong, independent woman - - a spitfire with a vulnerable side. And, considering the strength of her performance, you'd never guess that the role was developed with Olivia D'Abo in mind. (D'Abo was five months pregnant when THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD went into production, and, as a result, was unable to appear.) There's nothing earthshaking about THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD, a film that is, by the director's own admission, very small. Nevertheless, it successfully accomplishes what it sets out to do, and the result is affecting and involving. So, while it may be true that the best way to get into the mind of Robert E. Howard is to read his stories, seeing THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD will give you an appreciation of a side of him that was never revealed in any Conan yarn. - James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Mar 25 15:46:01 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news00.sunet.se!sunic!mn6.swip.net!plug.news.pipex.net!pipex!hole.news.pipex.net!pipex!bowl.news.pipex.net!pipex!rill.news.pipex.net!pipex!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!worldnet.att.net!cbgw2.lucent.com!nntphub.cb.lucent.com!not-for-mail From: e-jahiel@uiuc.edu (Edwin Jahiel) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews,rec.arts.movies.current-films Subject: REVIEW: THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD (1996) Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films,rec.arts.sf.written Date: 28 Feb 1997 21:14:10 GMT Organization: university of illinois Lines: 118 Sender: eleeper@lucent.com (Evelyn C. Leeper) Approved: eleeper@lucent.com Message-ID: <5f7hr2$gv8@nntpa.cb.lucent.com> Reply-To: e-jahiel@uiuc.edu (Edwin Jahiel) NNTP-Posting-Host: mthost1.mt.lucent.com Summary: r.a.m.r. #07042 Keywords: author=Jahiel Originator: ecl@mthost1 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:6436 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1226 rec.arts.movies.current-films:96138 [Note that the follow-up is set to rec.arts.sf.written rather than rec.art.sf.movies. This was done on purpose. -Moderator] THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD A film review by Edwin Jahiel Copyright 1997 Edwin Jahiel THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD ** to *** depending on viewer. Directed by Dan Ireland.Written by Michael Scott Myers from the memoir "One Who Walked Alone" by Novalyne Price Ellis. Photography, Claudio Rocha. Editing, Luis Colina. Production design, John Frick. Music, Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams. Cast: Vincent D'Onofrio (Robert E. Howard), Renee Zellweger (Novalyne Price) Ann Wedgeworth (Mrs. Howard), et al. A Sony Pictures Classics release. 105 min. PG. At the Art. While The Whole Wide World may or may not fascinate all audiences, it will certainly intrigue those devotees of pulp fiction who revere writer Robert E. Howard (1906-1936). Texas-born Howard began to write at age 15. From the late 1920s to his demise he was a hugely popular author of fantasy and sci-fi stories (he called them yarns), mostly in the fanzine Weird Tales. He created some thirty lead characters who appeared in tale after tale. Conan, the most famous of them, was in a record number of some 45 yarns. In the 1970s pulp fiction became an object of study in American universities for reasons that included breaks with and expansions of established literary values, an interest in popular cultures, and in some cases trend-seeking scholarly opportunism. Two Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, Conan the Barbarian (significantly baptized Conard le Barbare in French) and Conan the Destroyer also contributed to a revival of popular interest in Howard. Novalyne Price, later Price Ellis, was from Cross Plains, in rural West Texas, where Howard, his mother and his father (a respected M.D.) also lived. Novalyne alternated between graduate studies and teaching to which she was most dedicated. An aspiring writer, she was happy to meet Bob Howard in 1934, when she was in her mid-20s. A curious relationship ensued. It lasted under various permutations until Howard's end in 1936. She continued college teaching, married William Ellis in 1947, was widowed in 1994 after 47 years of marriage. The resurgence of interest in fantasy and science fiction caused Novalyne to become indignant at the scholarly studies about Robert Howard and to set out righting the wrongs with her memoir One Who Walked Alone (1985). Her version is the basis of the movie which was made by a first-time director and a first-time scriptwriter. The non-affair between Novalyne and Bob begins in a refreshingly un-cute fashion which intimates that both people were originals. Soon however, maverick Bob is revealed to be an authentic weirdo. While not a hermit, he avoids the outside world in favor of shutting himself in his room to write away. Material necessity does not explain this, since, even at half-cent a word, Howard stretches out his texts, is prolific, financially well off and lives very simply. The significant reason must be that Bob tends to escape the real world and to sublimate his fantasies by working them into his yarns. In a stentorian voice he reads his own fabulations and acts out his creatures' parts. He is exaggeratedly dedicated to his mother, a possessive, overly protective woman with a life-threatening ailment. The relationship is merely sketched out but clearly Oedipal, a tad incestuous and certainly unhealthy.The father, out of the picture, is sad at his exclusion. Novalyne and Bob have a slow-motion rapport that goes through a number of minor adjustments that would take pages to relate. Its apex is when, many months after their first date, they have their rather chaste first kiss. Matters go no further. It is as if Bob's descriptions of his characters, loaded with sexual references and often lurid, are all the sex he needs. The virginal protagonists are well cast and played. Both have ordinary faces and a sort of physical anonymity that makes Mr. D'Onofrio and Ms. Zellwegger credible. They are people, not actors, and they are a duo rather than a couple. My key to this odd relationship is "amitie amoureuse," (loving friendship), an ambiguous, tricky concept that's quite common. Seen from another angle, Bob is a mini-Pygmalion to the young woman. Surprisingly -- on the face of it -- he gives her a book by the erotic writer Pierre Louys whose famous The Woman and the Puppet (1898) was filmed as The Devil is a Woman, starring Marlene Dietrich. It would seem that Bob, in his spare time, is trying to emancipate the lady. Yet, for a progressive thinker, Bob often sounds sexist to the ears of the 1990s. I cannot remember a single instance of his calling his friend by her first name, one that echoes futuristic fiction or medical products. He always addresses her as "girl." "Listen, girl, "look here, girl, hey, girl." This mode of address may grate today but was a Southern term of endearment for generations. The depiction of Bob as neurotic, dysfunctional and a little mad occupies center stage. To my ears, Brooklynite D'Onofrio's Texas twang sounded authentic. Yet, setting aside the nasty cliche of some Southern accents denoting hicks, the way Bob is written and performed does make him into something of a bumpkin. This may not endear him to us but at least it shatters preconceptions about what writers are like. By mid-1936, the Bob and Novalyne had parted but without severing all connections. The bad health of Bob's beloved mother had reached a point of no return. When he heard that her end was near, he shot himself through the head. He was 30. Mother died 30 hours later. Save for some awkward transitions, the film is a well-produced small slice of Americana. It must be one of the lowest low-budget A pictures ever made given the tiny number of actors, locations, sets and props. Its rural nature must have made it even cheaper than recent independent films set in urban areas where "dressing" streets and controlling traffic add to costs. I have the impression that the biggest expense in WWW went to recreating a theater's marquee and renting some period automobiles. To what extent the persona of Bob is genuine, or filtered by Novalyne's memory (she was about 88 during the filming, living alone in Lafayette, Louisiana), or fiddled with by the filmmakers, I cannot tell. The movie may answer few questions about Robert Howard, yet it does present to us the interesting case history of a one-of-a-kind individual. This review and others can be found at : http://www.prairienet.org/ejahiel/ From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Mar 25 15:46:07 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!solace!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!feed1.news.erols.com!newsfeeds.sol.net!news-xfer.netaxs.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!worldnet.att.net!cbgw2.lucent.com!nntphub.cb.lucent.com!not-for-mail From: legeros@pagesz.net (Michael J. Legeros) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: REVIEW: THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD (1996) Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films,rec.arts.sf.written Date: 18 Mar 1997 17:06:13 GMT Organization: none Lines: 49 Sender: eleeper@lucent.com (Evelyn C. Leeper) Approved: eleeper@lucent.com Message-ID: <5gmi25$538@nntpa.cb.lucent.com> Reply-To: legeros@pagesz.net (Michael J. Legeros) NNTP-Posting-Host: mtvoyager.mt.lucent.com Summary: r.a.m.r. #07155 Keywords: author=Legeros Originator: ecl@mtvoyager Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:6542 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1237 [Note that the follow-up is set to rec.arts.sf.written rather than rec.art.sf.movies. This was done on purpose. -Moderator] THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD A film review by Michael John Legeros Copyright 1997 Michael John Legeros (Sony) Directed by Dan Ireland Written by Michael Scott Myers, from the novel "One Who Walked Alone" by Novalyne Price Ellis Cast Vincent D'Onofrio, Renee Zellweger, Ann Wedgeworth, Harve Presnell, Benjamin Mouton, Michael Corbett, Helen Cates MPAA Rating "PG" Running Time 105 minutes Reviewed at The Colony Theatre, Raleigh, NC (09MAR97) == THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD, a love story left over from last year, is another go-around with JERRY MAGUIRE's Renee Zellweger and her funky- looking lips. The Girl That Makes You Wonder About Collagen plays Novalyne Price, the small-town schoolteacher (and aspiring writer) who pursued Conan the Barbarian creator Robert E. Howard (Vincent D'Onofrio, who also co-produced) during the Depression. The story is true, the scenery is nice, and D'Onofrio's rough-and- tumble character is endlessly interesting. The second hour is sluggish, though, and for a variety of reasons. In particular, I was curious about the passage of time. Over how many years does the story take place? Grade: B Notes ===== THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD was screened at the Colony Theatre in Raleigh on 3/7. 'Twas the quintessential off night: a late start, a popcorn shortage, *and* a projector shutter that closed before the end titles (with epilogue) finished rolling. Talk about a grumpy audience! -- Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC, USA, Earth legeros@pagesz.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w) I'm also on the Web! http://www.pagesz.net/~legeros/