LeaBlacks_Balls
'Choose Me' concerns the interconnected love lives of several attractive people living in Los Angeles. They include a radio host (Bujold,) an escaped mental patient (Carradine,) an owner of a nightclub (Warren,) her married lover (Patrick Bauchau,) and his bored wife (Chong.) All these characters cross paths constantly. The nightclub owner calls the radio show for love advice, the radio host moves in with the nightclub owner, the mental patient sleeps with both of them, separately. Also getting involved are the married man, who plays poker with and fights the mental patient, who then sleeps with his wife, who hangs out at the nightclub.It's all very convoluted and unbelievable. The ridiculous coincidences in this movie make the forced connections in 'Crash' seem absolutely brilliant. And none of it is ever very interesting. This was supposed to be a 'serious comedy' but all it turned out to be was a boring cheese-fest.No one comes out of this unscathed. Everyone gives terrible performances, especially Rae Dawn Chong. The scene where her husband finds her in bed with the mental patient is hilarious for all the wrong reasons.'Choose Me' also has a horrible soundtrack. Over all the scenes that should be romantic or dramatic, R&B songs by Teddy Pendergrass are played. It makes this already boring movie even harder to watch. On their own the songs aren't bad, but they just seem so out of place in this film.
Woodyanders
Neurotic Nancy (superbly played by Genieve Bujold) gives advice to the lovelorn in Los Angeles over the airwaves of her popular radio program under the guise of husky-voiced talk radio host Dr. Anne Love. Nancy rents a room from sultry bar owner Eve (a marvelous performance by Lesley Ann Warren), who doesn't know that Anne is Dr. Love. Both Nancy and Eve become involved with charming mysterious drifter and pathological liar Mickey (a terrific and charismatic portrayal by Keith Carradine), who's a mental hospital escapee with an enigmatic past. Writer/director Alan Rudolph deftly concocts an utterly intoxicating seriocomic cinematic meditation on the constant pursuit of love, lies and deception, the complexities of human communication, and the disappointments of romantic relationships. Moreover, Rudolph does a masterful job of creating and sustaining a deliciously smoky and jazzy retro 40's film noirish romantic atmosphere that's significantly enhanced by the throbbing and sensuous bass voice of Teddy Pendergrass on the soundtrack and Jan Kiesser's beautifully glowing neon-lit cinematography. The uniformly first-rate acting from a tip-top cast constitutes as another substantial plus: Bujold, Warren, and Carradine are all wonderful in the leads, with sterling support from Rae Dawn Chong as frustrated would-be poet Pearl Antoine, Patrick Bauchau as Pearl's smooth heel husband Zack, and John Larroquette as smitten bartender Billy Ace. One of the key pleasures of this smart and sophisticated adult entertainment is the clever, crazy and surprising ways the characters' lives continually intersect throughout the intricate and unpredictable narrative. Better still, there's a genuine freshness and spontaneity evident throughout that's a true joy to behold. Granted, the languid pacing and quirky tone take a little getting used to, but this film overall casts an extremely enchanting spell that's impossible to either dislike or resist. Highly recommended.
rgmayne
I read some of the other comments and apparently they saw a different movie than I did. This was a horrible awful movie, yet oddly I couldn't turn away from this train wreck. The characters were unlikeable and the plot was obvious. There is no continuity, hair goes from curly to straight to curly again in minutes! Not only was the acting boring, but the actors appeared board as well. In one love scene, Geneviève Bujold is stiff as a bored, then for about 30 seconds she moved (I'm sure the director told her to do something, ANYTHING) followed by more stiffness.The movie seemed dated even for its time. It was released in 1984, but seemed to be more like a 70s porn movie...without the sex.
eascheffler
This movie is one of my all time favorites. The other folks covered some of its highlights, let me add a couple. This dark smoky film noir is one of those romantic bedroom farces where everyone ends up sleeping with each other at least once in their search for love and fulfillment, while a saxophone wails jazzy riffs in the background.Irony is in this movie's constant embrace. Dr. Love is a relationship "expert" who has no experience therein and has no idea what love is. Mickey is "a compulsive liar" whose every utterance turns out to be right on the money, yet no one believes a word. Pearl is black, nicknamed Whitey, who tries to write poetry but can't write a pearl to save her soul. Johnny Aces does virtually nothing but strike out. Start getting the picture? Add postmodern touches like referential film posters at Pearl's place, the appearance of Ed Ruscha-famous ironic painter-and you've got Alan Rudolph's best picture. It's a gem from start to finish.
AD
