K-PAX (or, Close Encounters Of The Interrupted Cuckoo's Nest)

What happens when you take two of the best actors in the world (Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey) and put them in a movie together where they play doctor/patient? Unfortunately, not a whole lot apparently. But let’s start at the beginning. Previews:

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING–Ok, do I really need to say anything? This is going to rock so much ass that we won’t even know what hit us. Peter Jackson is an awesome director and this is right up his alley. I can’t wait for the Christmas season so that I can go see it again and again.

(Of course, I’ll give the same preview review to Episode II when I finally see it on the big screen. So far I’ve only seen it on my computer and it’s not too impressive. But it’s only a teaser. The movie will be MUCH better than Episode I even if it has a stupid name.)

SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK–Ok, I’m cheating here. I saw this one on the beginning of Waking Life, but I forgot about it.

First off, I have to say that I really like Edward Burns. I think he’s pretty damn cool whether he directs his films or not. But the last one he directed (No Looking Back) sucked horribly. And it really doesn’t look like this one is going to be a whole lot better. But at least it’s a comedy, which he’s better at. The problem is that this one looks like really bad Woody Allen. All these characters who have links to each other and they all love each other’s partners. And they walk around the titular places of strolling talking and lamenting. I hope I’m wrong, but this looks like just another link in Eddie’s downturn.

A BEAUTIFUL MIND–Yet another thoughtful drama of an inspirational real man from Ron Howard. But Ronnie seems to be really good at things like that, so I have a lot of hope for this one. And Russell Crowe looks like he’s putting in another Oscar worthy performance. Can’t wait! Lots of paranoia and…well…math. But it still looks really good.

ICE AGE–And this is another cheat. I’ve only seen this one on my computer. (I think. I could have already written a preview of it, but I don’t think so.) But it’s so good that I have to say something. This animated feature starring Ray Romano is probably going to be as funny as any old Warner Brothers cartoon is the preview is any indication. Every time I see it (which is quite often by now–I have to watch it occasionally when I have a few minutes at home) I’m nearly tearing up with laughter. Damn near the funniest trailer I’ve ever seen. Can’t wait for the full movie! Check it out if you can. I don’t want to give too much away, but it involves a very cold squirrel and the nut he loves. Awesome!

And now, the review proper.

K-PAX is the planet that Prot (Spacey) claims that he’s from when he’s picked up by NYC cops at a train station. He seemed to just appear there, so maybe…

Mark Powell (Bridges) is the doctor who is put in charge of finding out what’s wrong with this guy who doesn’t seem to respond to any medication. What really confounds Mark is the fact that Prot seems to know things about the area that K-PAX supposedly spins that only three or four astronomers know, even some things that they don’t know. He also has a way with the other patients that Mark can only envy.

Mark, of course, has problems of his own. He’s alienated (pun not intended until I noticed it…then I left it in just to punish you) his family for so long that he doesn’t know how to act around or react to them anymore. He’s on his second wife (the beautiful Mary McCormack from Deep Impact and Private Parts) and his son from his first marriage doesn’t speak to him anymore. (Just once I’d like to see one of these movies where the doctor wasn’t just as fucked up as the patient. Don’t Say A Word did a pretty good job of this, but it’s only the exception that proves the rule.)

First off, this movie was pretty cliched. And I’m not just talking about the “patient heals doctor” storyline. The patients were all clichés from movies I’ve seen before. There’s the Derek Jeter character (no, Derek’s not in the movie, but the guy playing this character looks enough like him that we forget that it’s not him), the woman who won’t leave her room because she’s waiting for someone, the young girl who won’t talk to anyone…the list goes on and on. I guess there are only so many “crazy people” characters out there, so they’re bound to be repeated soon enough. But so often?

The only real twist is the fact that the ending kind of leaves it open for us. It’s totally open to interpretation. (Here’s a spoiler. Just highlight it if you’ve seen it or don’t give a rat’s ass.) Why does there always have to be a traumatic incident in their past? Why can’t he just be from K-PAX and leave it at that? And the incident is totally predictable. Suck!

The great thing about the movie is, of course, the performances of Spacey and Bridges. They’re awesome as always. Unfortunately that doesn’t make the script and story any better.

Ok, so it’s not really a bad movie. It’s pretty enjoyable at times, actually. Prot is pretty funny when he does the “fish out of water” routine, like eating a banana without peeling it and such. But it’s not nearly as good as it could have or should have been. And that’s really too bad. I hope that sometime soon these two guys get together in a really good movie.

Director Iain Softley (who also did one of my favorite movies, Backbeat, the awesome Wings Of The Dove and, well, Hackers) did an alright job with it, too. He knows when to keep it light, but maybe he gets a little bit too heavy of a hand sometimes.

See it at a matinee or wait for video, whichever is cheaper in your area. You won’t miss much by not seeing it on the big screen.