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Review: 'The Truth About Charlie' is: It's bad

Wasted remake of classic 'Charade'

By Paul Clinton
CNN Reviewer

Truth About Charlie
Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton star in "The Truth About Charlie," based on the 1963 film "Charade."

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(CNN) -- You want to know the truth about "The Truth About Charlie?" Well, the truth is, "The Truth About Charlie" stinks.

Big time.

Based on the 1963 Stanley Donen film "Charade," starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, this version -- directed by Academy Award winner Jonathan Demme -- lacks the former's whimsy and charm. No matter how you slice it, Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton are not Hepburn and Grant, two cinematic icons with chemistry galore. With Walhberg and Newton, instead of surging, hot hormones, you get slow-dripping, lukewarm tap water.

The audience is never invited in to care about anyone involved in the story. The script lacks anything even resembling character development. In all fairness, the original script was also thin and didn't make much sense either, but Donen's direction and the combined charisma of his two stars carried the day.

Another problem with "Charlie" is that Demme can't seem to decide if it's a suspense drama or a romantic thriller. The romance seems to have been glossed over as an after thought, and it's hard to be thrilled when the dramatic jeopardy is so obviously manufactured.

Mysterious people

The premise, such as it is, has Newton's character, Regina Lampert coming home to Paris from a holiday. She finds her apartment cleaned out and all her possessions missing. Her new husband, Charlie (Stephen Dillane), has been murdered.

Truth About Charlie
Among the people Newton's character meets is a mysterious man named Mr. Bartholomew, played by Tim Robbins.

She turns to the authorities in the form of a highly cynical Parisian commandant, played by Christine Boisson, and a strange man named Mr. Bartholomew, played with glassy-eyed indifference by Tim Robbins. They seem to consider Regina a prime suspect, and all they can tell her is that Charlie was not who he pretended to be: He had stolen $6 million from some very nasty people. And those people are convinced that Regina knows where the money is hidden.

Enter a mysterious American, Joshua Peters, played by Wahlberg. He always seems to show up just when Regina is in trouble -- which, of course, is most of the time.

In the role of Peters, Wahlberg is woefully in over his head. The multi-layered role requires a very subtle approach, but Wahlberg constantly looks as if he's standing around just waiting for his next cue. Newton is pretty and displays plenty of charm, but she might as well be alone on screen.

Hatchet job

The direction is also purely paint-by-the-numbers. Demme can be an excellent filmmaker (just look at 1991's "The Silence Of The Lambs" or 1993's "Philadelphia"), but this time around, his creativity seems to have been in Park. He does create visual -- albeit empty -- energy on screen with this misquided salute to French New Wave cinema, and the exterior shots of Paris are wonderful. It's plain to see that Demme is in love with the City of Lights.

Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg takes on the role that Cary Grant played in "Charade."

But the next time he gets an urge to visit, he should do it on his own dime and not do a hatchet job on a film just to get someone to finance his stay in Paris.

One saving grace for cinemaphiles: "The Truth About Charlie" does provide fleeting cameos by director Agnes Varda and French New Wave mainstay Anna Karina. There is even a small moment with Charles Aznavour performing. But those nice little flourishes can't make up for the mind-numbing dullness of this exercise in futility.

If you can handle the truth, then here it is: Stay away from "The Truth About Charlie."

"The Truth About Charlie" opens nationwide on Friday, October 25, and is rated PG-13.



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