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Robert Benton’s inept Feast
of Love is one of
those films that probably sounded like a surefire success during
its studio pitch-meeting, but ended up a ghastly creation due to
the lack of effort put into its making. I admit that I eagerly
awaited the picture’s release; the trailers promoting it
promised a winning effort from a beloved director (Benton also
made the Dustin Hoffman-classic Kramer
vs. Kramer). After all, what’s not to adore about the idea
behind Feast of
Love? On paper and in short clips, the film appears to be a
romantic, introspective look at human relationships as told
through intersecting stories featuring great performances by
veteran actors such as Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear.
Completed, the genuine article isn’t anything like this. Sure,
it’s directed by Benton. Sure, it’s about love, as promised by
the title. And sure, Freeman and Kinnear appear onscreen. But
there’s no magic here, whatsoever. All Feast
of Love has to
offer is a screenplay full of moldy love-story clichés and a
bunch of talented actors monotonously crooning said screenplay’s
unpleasant dialogue in order to make a quick buck. The movie
could’ve just easily been shot over two days in a 48-Hour Film
Competition as it was in the month that Benton actually took to
do so (this figure, of course, does not include the time it took
for writer Allison Burnett to adapt the script from Charles
Baxter’s novel). It’s that unoriginal. In fact, had Benton
simply filmed Kinnear and Freeman improvising conversation
without a script, the result probably would’ve been more
inspired than Feast
of Love. Given its respectable credentials, this picture
comes as nothing but a sour, sour disappointment.
-Danny Baldwin,
Bucket Reviews
Review Published
on: 10.2.2007
Feast of Love is rated R and runs 102 minutes.
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