Walking and Talking Movie Review
One provincial critic recently expressed enormous concern for the career of Anne Heche, now that everyone knows that she and Ellen DeGeneres are an item; will audiences be able to accept a gay woman in a straight role? Well, why not? We've been accepting gay actors and actresses in straight roles since the movies began, the only difference is that the gossip and whispers have been replaced with dialogue and information. Anyway, the answer is, yeah, sure. If you caught Walking and Talking in theatres and saw Heche doing an absolutely credible job as a young woman in love, her performance hasn't changed since the video release. Walking and Talking is a sharp and funny look at the friendship of two women as they adjust to new men and new interests in their lives. It also shows what ought to be the very first etiquette guideline about what NOT to leave on a best friend's answering machine! And then there is a well-observed vignette on the pointless nature of obsession: Amelia (Catherine Keener) finds herself following a guy around when she'd felt nothing for him prior to their one-night stand. She needs to know why she was frozen out more than she needs him, although the distinction escapes her during her dogged pursuit of this virtual stranger. Laura (Heche) has her share of self doubts masquerading as crises; she focuses on her boyfriend Frank's (Todd Field) mole until it takes on gigantic dimensions and she wakes up screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night. She gets a mild crush on another guy after a casual meeting. Nicole Holofcener's quirky study of how friendships evolve over time feels authentic; contrast the one-dimensional role Liev Schreiber has in Greg Mottola's Daytrippers with the fleshed-out character he has as Andrew here. Walking and Talking is a small yet altogether sparkling jewel of a movie.
1996 (R) 86m/C Anne Heche, Catherine Keener, Liev Schreiber, Todd Field, Kevin Corrigan, Randall Batinkoff, Joseph Siravo, Vinny Pastore, Lynn Cohen, Andrew Holofcener; D: Nicole Holofcener; W: Nicole Holofcener; C: Michael Spiller; M: Billy Bragg. Nominations: Independent Spirit Awards ‘97: Best Actress (Keener), Best Supporting Actor (Corrigan). VHS, LV, Closed Caption