SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT. Directed by Lasse Hallstrom; written by Callie Khouri; produced by Anthea Sylbert and Paula Weinstein for Warner Bros. Starring Julia Roberts, Dennis Quaid and Kyra Sedgwick. Rated R.
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I guess this movie might be good for conversational material ("something to talk about," get it?). If you like really short conversations, that is.
It's a not very interesting story about (mostly) uninteresting people. They live in an uninteresting place and have nothing in common with me (or you, either, unless you're rich enough to own a stable of jumping horses).
That sounds like a perfect recipe for a really dull movie, but in all fairness, Something to Talk About has a few funny moments. If you're nuts about either Roberts or horses, you might even find it worthwhile entertainment. But since I'm not, I didn't.
Grace (Roberts) is the harried stable manager for her father's (Robert Duvall) horse ranch and is kept so busy with her job and her Junior League-type activities that she hardly has time to say good morning to husband Eddie (Quaid). She even drives off and forgets her (much too) adorable daughter Caroline (Haley Aull) several times a week.
What was merely a hectic life, though, becomes a disaster when she sees Eddie engaging in what we used to call a public display of affection with a sweet young thing in a red dress. The trauma of Grace's outrage reaches out to affect her whole world—horsebreeder colleagues, the Junior League, and, especially, her family.
Some of the comic effects of this explosion are effective. Sedgwick, as Grace's sister, has the best lines in the movie and gives her scenes a much higher entertainment value than the movie has as a whole. And Roberts does have her moments. One of the best occurs at a Junior League meeting, where, under "new business," Grace asks if any members have been sleeping with her husband.
But as a whole, Something to Talk About is a real disappointment. Especially considering how delightful was director Hallstrom's last movie (What's Eating Gilbert Grape) and how terrific screenwriter Khouri's previous effort (Thelma and Louise). Let's hope we're not seeing a trend here.
August 30, 1995