The Singing Detective Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)October 29th, 2003
THE SINGING DETECTIVE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2003 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
THE SINGING DETECTIVE, based on the popular BBC mini-series, is a fascinating failure. Robert Downey, Jr. stars as Dan Dark, a writer of cheap detective novels. Dan, who has suffered from a horrible skin disease most of his life, is currently in the hospital for what appears to be a terminal batch of the grossest spots that you've ever seen. Watching these horrendous sores is pretty unbearable, so it's fortuitous that half of the story in set in Dan's dream world, in which his characters play their parts in the detective, musical screenplay that he is busy recreating. He wrote the script once before but lost it. In this movie within a movie, a pockmark-free Dan is the star of his own tale. He lip-synchs some great old tunes such as "At The Hop," and the musical part of the production is uniformly fun.
The problem with the movie, which is as dead as a doornail between flashes of absolute brilliance, can be laid solely at the foot of director Keith Gordon (WAKING THE DEAD), who doesn't have a clue as to what he's doing. With a brilliant cast and a marvelous production team -- the sets, costumes, make-up and cinematography are all stunning -- the director simply flounders.
Rather than dwelling on any more of the movie's problems, let me cover some of the times it sizzles. Academy Award winner Adrien Brody (THE PIANIST) plays a cheap hood, whose outfit is a hoot. On top of his small, long head, Brody wears a hat with an extra wide brim, and, on his gaunt figure, he sports a pinstriped suit with mile-wide lapels. Known only as the First Hood -- Jon Polito is the Second -- Brody plays a classic spoof on an old film noir thug. As a psychotherapist named Dr. Gibbon, Mel Gibson is completely unrecognizable, only his voice gives him away. His balding head and facial wrinkles are so convincing that you'll begin to wonder if the "real" Gibson isn't the fake one.
Hands-down, the movie's best scene occurs when Nurse Mills (Katie Holmes, PHONE BOOTH) has to lubricate Dan with a thick cream. After she pops on her latex gloves, Dan tries without success to think of anything to avoid arousal. The scene morphs into another one with Dan, Mills and Company singing "Mr. Sandman Bring Me A Dream," as Nurse Mills fondles the long tailfin of a classic, pink Cadillac convertible from the 1950s.
"I really can't stand it!" Dan tells his team of doctors during his big examination at the hospital. "I can't stand it anymore!" I suspect that many audience members will identify with these lines. Still, I did have fun during parts of the picture, and I would not be surprised to see the movie become something of a cult classic. It would make a great video rental, since then you could bypass all of the bad parts and just savor the good.
THE SINGING DETECTIVE runs 1:49. It is rated R for "strong sexual content, language and some violence" and would be acceptable for older teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, November 7, 2003. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the Camera Cinemas.
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