MovieChat Forums > The Anniversary Party (2001) Discussion > Alan Cumming and JJL were the worst part...

Alan Cumming and JJL were the worst part

posted 16 years ago by dap9
7 replies | jump to latest

This movie was good except for Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming. The entire supporting cast held their own, but the ridiculous contrived drama between the main characters was so self indulgent for someone who wrote the words to act them as well, and the whole time I was thinking that the two of them met during their broadway run of Cabaret ( WHERE HALF OF THE CAST OF THIS MOVIE CAME FROM TOO!) and decided they should write direct and star in a movie together as a fun side project for kicks. Outcome, they get too intwined with the whole thing and end up being the worst part of the whole film. They just were not believable.

[–] blubirdofhappiness 16 years ago

I thought they both were great and loved the movie. :D

Prot: Don't worry, I'm not going to burst through your chest. K-PAX

[–] MidnightConfessions 16 years ago

Do you really think so? I thought just the reverse. They were sooo believable. Maybe I feel this way because I know people like both of them. Artistic types, eccentric, neurotic, self-absorbed.

I thought Cummings played the part perfectly of a "Boy Wonder" -- a Peter Pan who is content to stay that way for many years to come. And the ending of the movie seemed to suggest that the wife (Sally/Jennifer Jason-Leigh) was long-suffering. That she had no real intention of leaving her "little boy" as long as he needed her.

There is a lot going on below the surface in this movie and Alan Cumming and JJL played their parts VERY convincingly. IMO.

[–] greycat012 16 years ago

I just saw it. I thought Cumming was pretty amusing, but the fight he and JJL had while looking for the dog gave me a real headache. I felt like I was watching 10 or 15 minutes of soap opera hysterics. I hardly ever see Phoebe Cates or Jennifer Beals anymore and it was nice to seem them looking so good and having more than a few lines. I even liked Gwyneth's giddy starlet part. Jane Adams was very good as the neurotic wife of Reilly's character. Good movie, but will be a long time before I want to see it again.

[–] am_buglet_82 14 years ago

Is the OP kidding!?

I thought they were the best thing about the movie!

The fight on the cliffside against the backdrop of the town was very intense, and the part where Joe finds out about his sister made me want to hug him!

Alan cries so heartbreakingly well!

-Amanda

"She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in storybooks written by rabbits"

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] dap9 13 years ago

Wasn't kidding. Hated them. But that's just me.

[–] intuitsteve 11 years ago

I agree about Cumming. Then again I find him annoying in everything I have seen him in.