‘Range’ needs direction, ‘Dentists’ is understated

Costner’s ‘Open Range’ may be too open

In “Open Range,” Kevin Costner’s latest foray into the Old West as

an actor and a director, the story is as uneven as the territory

traversed by the characters.

The Western genre has evolved over the years, and distinct

sub-genres have emerged. There are the gritty, authentic films such a

“The Unforgiven,” the one-dimensional shoot ‘em ups such as “Young

Guns,” and the sappy love stories that are more often found in

Harlequin romance novels than on the big screen.

Unfortunately for “Open Range,” the filmmakers could not decide

which posse to run with here.

The film starts out as a story about four “free grazers,” cowboys

who herd livestock across the land rather than working established

ranches. “Boss” Spearman, played to perfection by Robert Duvall, is

the head of the outfit. Costner plays Charley Waite, a sullen

second-in-command who has a mysterious past. Abraham Benrubi and

Diego Luna, as Mose and Buttons, play young hands who are learning

the trade.

At this point in the film, the audience is shown an authentic

glimpse of life out on the open range just before the West was

settled.

However, the film quickly takes a detour into “Young Guns”

territory when the four cowboys cross into lands owned by an evil

Irish rancher named Baxter (Michael Gambon). This rancher won’t stand

for dirty “free grazers” and sends a deadly message telling them to

clear out. In need of medical help for one of their hands and with a

mind for revenge for the murder of another, Boss and Charley head

into the town of Harmonville.

We shift back to “Unforgiven” mode as the boys ride into town with

a heavy storm a-brewin’, literally and figuratively. Because the set

for the town looks remarkably like the one in “The Unforgiven,” and

combined with the rainstorm, I almost expected Duvall and Costner to

ride by Greeley’s Saloon and see poor old Ned propped up in his

coffin. But revenge does not come as swiftly as it did when Eastwood

rode into town.

Instead, romance oddly fills the air. The boys take their wounded

to the town doctor and meet his stunning sister Sue, played by

Annette Bening. Charley and Sue immediately develop an attraction,

which teeters on the edge of sappiness until the credits roll.

But it can’t all be puppy-dog eyes and sexual tension, cuz a

reckonin’ is still in order. As anyone could predict, a shoot-out in

the streets of Harmonville ensues, with Boss and Charley beating

unbelievable odds in unbelievable ways. The action, while exciting,

turns silly, with bad guys sailing through the air after being shot

by six-guns and shotguns. When the smoke clears, the boys in white

hats are victorious, and the tyrannical rancher and his thugs have

been vanquished. Ah, the stuff of old-time westerns!

The writing and directing regularly swings from genius to

cheese-ball, and without the excellent acting by the leads, this film

would have been a mini-series on TBN rather than a major motion

picture. But if you can forgive its flaws, it is one of the best

westerns to come along in a while.

* RYAN GILMORE is a Costa Mesa resident.

‘Dentists’ is something to sink one’s teeth into

The teeth, we are told, are the one part of the human body that

lasts forever. However, if you don’t take care of them, you just may

lose them forever.

Such is an unlikely metaphor for love and marriage, but in the

context of Alan Rudolph’s “The Secret Lives of Dentists,” it works.

Campbell Scott and Hope Davis are outstanding as David and Dana

Hurst, two dentists who manage a practice, a home and a family with

varying degrees of success.

When David accidentally sees his wife embraced by another man, the

radiant look on Dana’s face makes him suspect she is having an

affair. However, he does not confront her about his suspicions

because then they “would have to do something about it.” Instead, he

internalizes his feelings, which we become privy to through events

and conversations, real or imagined, with a smart-ass patient,

Slater, who seems to have brought out the darker side of David’s

personality.

As played by Denis Leary, Slater adds some black humor to this

story to keep it from being too boring or depressing. But the real

strength of this story, (based upon the Jane Smiley novel “The Age of

Grief”) is the realistic portrait of every day family life -- the

good (three lovely daughters), the bad (three lovely daughters) and

the ugly (three lovely daughters and their parents with the flu).

We hope, as David does, that Dana will sort things out for herself

and choose to stay with him and the family. We wonder what David’s

response will be if she does not, or will he be the one to leave

first. Either way, “The Secret Lives of Dentists” is an understated,

absorbing adult drama.

* SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant

for a financial services company.