White Palace
by Luis Mandoki
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Eileen Brennan, James Spader, Jason Alexander, Kathy Bates, Susan SarandonDirector: Luis Mandoki
Brand: Universal
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 103 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-03-01
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of White Palace
Movie Review: MISPLACED INDIGNATION, NOT AN OSCAR TICKET
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm usually amused by movies with Spader in them, not that his character changes much from movie to movie, but then why change a good thing? Likewise for Susan Sarandon who's good as well, though I definitely don't agree with the Amazon reviewer who calls this Oscar material. Or I don't know - maybe this is what the Oscars are all about ... which isn't saying much for the Oscars. This woman had no social graces at all! First she backs old James into a corner over bringing her to Thanksgiving dinner, and then when he finally does, she manages to insult everyone at the dinner - and we're supposed to sympathize with her? She was just rude. And while the party goers WERE rich and somewhat trite, no one was actually rude to her (except his mother - but this seemed to be her personality with everyone). So for all the righteous indignation speeches made by Sarandon's character in other people's homes: A. I didn't beleive it, and B. it seemed misplaced. Or I should say, I didn't beleive it because it seemed misplaced. This is supposed to be the result of her inferiority complex for being a fast food worker and 15 years too old for James. Still, the family should have scorned her more or really looked down on her so that her working class indignation could have seemed more warranted - as it was, I didn't buy it. No one had time to justify her inferiority complex - she was too busy insulting everyone! Not what I'd call a moving performance. But then she's not expected to be reasonable - this is 'drama' after all, not the girl scouts!
And still, this wasn't a bad movie. Predictable most of the time, yes, but the story does move along once it gets going. And there are some good just-this-side-of-the-R-rating love scenes which give Sarandan time to make up for what she didn't show in Rocky Horror Picture Show.. which brings up another issue - while Sarandon isn't in the flower of her youth, she's still looking pretty good here, and she's no dummy either. BUT - we're supposed to beleive this hottie's working at a burger joint at 44? MAD magazine would have had a field day..
Finally though, if you like Spader and Sarandon as actors then you'll probably like this movie. Not incredibly beleivable, but then "Love is a wonderous thing". Better than 3 stars so I have to give it 4.
Summary of White Palace
Lust turns to love for a 40-ish working-class woman and a 20-ish yuppie adman with little in common. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 03/01/2005 Starring: Susan Sarandon Jason Alexander Run time: 103 minutes Rating: R Director: Luis MandokiGlenn Savan's depressing and self-loathing novel about a 27-year-old upper-class Jewish widower mired in self-pity after his beloved wife dies, and who finds love and sexual rebirth with a trailer-trash older woman, was brought to the big screen by the competent director Luis Mandoki (When a Man Loves a Woman, Message in a Bottle). But the savage irony in Savan's book has been face-lifted by screenwriters Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs) and Alvin Sargent (Ordinary People) into something else entirely: what passes for low-rent "slumming" in Hollywood means hiring sexy Susan Sarandon to play Nora Baker, the poor, uneducated 43-year-old waitress in a White Palace burger joint who strikes up an unlikely relationship with sad Max Baron (James Spader). Widower Max attends a bachelor party for best pal Neil (Jason Alexander) and discovers that the local White Palace has stiffed the boys a whopping six burgers. Max barges into the joint, bent on getting his money back, and meets a testy Nora, who is bemused at the young man's insolence. While driving home, Max stops abruptly at a bar for a drink. Inside, Nora is nursing a vodka and takes a shine to the tuxedo-clad, handsome, and morose younger man. He gives her a lift, she seduces him, and the rest of the movie examines how two such opposites in manners and morals can find happiness. The only common bond they have is great sex and a private tragedy. White Palace nudges at the dark journey and the smashing of illusion that was at the heart of the novel, but there is still a fairy-tale element to the film that negates the earthy essence that distinguished the book. In Mandoki's vision, White Palace is about overcoming class, family, and outside opinion to find true love. In Savan's book, Max wastes into decline while Nora ultimately thrives in the quest for truth, redemption, and self-forgiveness. She becomes his salvation only after he stops hating himself. But mainstream Hollywood shuns making "protagonists" so mad, bad, or sad, and as such, too much glitter is tossed on Spader, while Sarandon, as usual, is the only one who seems to embody and understand her character's angst. She deserved her Oscar for Nora, not the nun in Dead Man Walking. --Paula Nechak
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