Unlikely Pair Make Top Team

The Sun Herald

Sunday November 10, 1991

Rob Lowing

TOO long? Probably. Too slow in parts? Possibly. Worth seeing? Definitely

There are flaws a-plenty in The Fisher King, especially for those who like their entertainment fast, furious and easily digestible.

But if you're appreciative of big, slashy moral fables with comedy, drama and lots of (sensible) heart, this is for you. Yes, the pace might drag and the story occasionally feel as though it's lost its way.

However, you can't beat Brazil director Terry Gilliam when marrying fantastic images with searing social satire. You also can't beat four first rank stars, each of whom turns in a perfect performance.

Laid back Bridges and hyper Williams are perfectly teamed together. Bridges, a rare actor who can breeze through a role yet remain compelling, is the hot shot big city disc jockey who puts down one caller too many.

Jack Lucas pays for his mistake by losing his career and expensive life style.

Three years later, drunken Jack is only restrained from total despair by the gutsy determination of his tough-mouthed girlfriend (Ruehl).

Still, he feels his life is a wasteland, until he meets the seemingly crazy Parry (Williams).

Parry lives on the street and is obsessed with reclaiming the Holy Grail, which he says is sitting on a mantel in a posh New York townhouse.

Jack doesn't believe a word but does think he may be able to redeem himself if he helps Parry.

With its striking, occasionally lumpy, mix of satire, fantasy, broad slapstick and poignant drama, Fisher King won't be to everyone's taste. However, it's a rare (adult) viewer who can resist these actors.

You can measure Bridges's screen presence by the fact that he's mostly playing the outside of dislikeable and yet he's never irritating to watch.

Don't expect a laugh a minute from Williams. He might be high pitched and hyperactive as Parry but Williams is playing straight from a dramatic base, blending the tenderness of Dead Poets Society with the alienation of Moscow on the Hudson.

Ruehl was a stand-out as the vengeful Mafia wife in Married to the Mob. She continues her rise to Bette Midler-like superstar comedy status with a ringing resonant performance which doesn't wilt before two such strong leading men.

Another knockout is Plummer as the equally alienated object of Parry's affections.

Viewers will remember her recurring guest role on LA Law playing a mentally handicapped woman - her funny/sad portrayal is unforgettable here.

Marrying fantastic images with stringent drama might seem a tough job but Gilliam and his crew manage it: easily, plausibly, with effective contrast.

Longtime admirers of Gilliam, the ex-Monty Python animator, might be amused by a continuing fixation with the Holy Grail. They should also be impressed.

Gilliam doesn't just use the Grail as the usual allegory for faith, he also turns modern New York into a medieval battleground, brutal and often truly frightening.

Adult viewers appalled by the recent stinky Life Stinks, the Mel Brooks"comedy" about homelessness, are better served by writer Richard Gravenese's sensitive handling of the topic.

This script attempts to analyse the confused dismissive way society approaches the topic of homelessness, whether it be lumping all the dispossessed in under a label of "crazy", or telling them to "go home".