Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 7, 1990 TAG: 9004070316
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Kevin Kline plays Joey Boca, the owner of a pizzeria. Joey is a cheerful, hard-working family man. His one major problem is his compulsive womanizing.
Tracey Ullman plays Rosalie, his devoted wife and the mother of his two children. Rosalie is aware that Joey has an eye for the ladies, but she doesn't think his interests go any further despite the warnings of Devo, the young latter-day flower child who works at the pizza parlor. Played by River Phoenix, Devo is in love with Rosalie and he hates to see her betrayed by Joey.
When Roasalie is confronted with incontrovertible evidence of Joey's philandering, she's devastated. She confides her situation to Nadja, her Eastern European mother played by Joan Plowright. Nadja has a simple solution: kill Joey and start over. Rosalie readily agrees.
She and Nadja hire an inept hit man, then the mechanically inclined Nadja tries to bomb Joey's car and finally they agree to poison his pasta with sleeping pills. After copious helpings, Joey is joyously high and finally dozes off into a non-fatal sleep. Devo is called and out of love for Rosalie shoots the sleeping Joey in the head. When that fails, Devo hires a couple of dim-witted druggies played by William Hurt and Keanu Reeves to finish the job.
They and Plowright steal the movie despite an affable goofiness on Kline's part and some impressive realistic acting from Ullman. Ironically, this dark comedy is at its most unconvincing during its tamest moments and at its most convincing when its utterly outrageous. `I Love You to Death' A Tri-Star release at Valley View Mall 6 (362-8219) and Salem Valley 8 (389-0444). Rated R for violence, language and sexual content and an hour and 45 minutes.
by CNB