THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 9, 1996 TAG: 9609070029
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: 73 lines
BLONDIE O'HARA has a pistol in her purse and saving her man on her mind.
She enters a grand home in Kansas City's better section and kidnaps the rich, drug-addicted society wife whose husband happens to be the local Democratic party boss, and a personal friend of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Blondie plans to trade the wealthy Carolyn Stilton for her own lowlife boyfriend, a petty thief who is being held by the city's booze baron, known as Seldom Seen.
This is the vaguely mischievous and sometimes hilarious set-up for Robert Altman's new film ``Kansas City,'' a movie that is steeped in blues, jazz and smoky barroom-brothels. Any Altman film is important and this one is no exception. Altman has become established as a maverick director who can be depended on to do the unpredictable.
But those who hoped that ``Kansas City'' would be another ``Nashville'' will be disappointed. This one has a smaller focus and only a dozen or so characters. Unlike most of Altman's films, the characters don't all talk at once and one can even understand, most of the time, what they're saying.
The film is sparked, though, by two outstanding performances, from Harry Belafonte as the gangster Seldom Seem and Miranda Richardson as the drugged and repressed society type.
Seldom Seen, the Godfather of Kansas City's jazz underworld, is infuriated when Johnny O'Hara (Dermot Mulroney) robs one of his best gambling customers - and in blackface no less. Quickly capturing the handsome but dumb Johnny, the warlord promises that the thief's life will be of slight duration.
Blondie, played by the always-flamboyant Jennifer Jason Leigh, has modeled herself after Jean Harlow, the platinum-blond movie star who was also a native of Kansas City. Indeed, Blondie is such a Harlow copycat that she has lost her own identity. Leigh, with another one of her distracting vocal mannerisms, plays the part with more showmanship than heart. As a result, Blondie never actually becomes the tragic figure that was intended.As a kidnapper, she is no real threat.
But, of course, the vastly different women bond. Richardson, who plays a character who is hooked on opium, has a lonely marriage and looks in wonder at the outside world she's never known. Even when Blondie falls asleep, she refuses to escape. Richardson, who won awards for ``Enchanted April,'' ``Damage'' and ``The Crying Game,'' has lost all hint of her British background. She shows she can take on American roles with ease.
The two contrasting women learn from each other but the meandering plotline allows them to wander more than travel.
Michael Murphy is the political boss who is Richardson's hubby. Steve Buscemi adds another one of his pasty-faced weirdos to his repertoire. He is a character actor who can always be depended upon to add a delightfully sleazy presence.
The jazz is top-grade stuff; the soundtrack album is a must-buy. Some of today's top musicians are cast as the best of America's past but they are allowed, obviously, to go their own musical way. As listenable as the jazz is, it stops the movie dead for minutes at a time.
``Kansas City'' is best when it is tongue-in-cheek mischievous. These are only fleeting moments, though, as Altman fails to keep up the sustained pace and sock-it-to-'em oneliners that were the hallmarks of his best films. ILLUSTRATION: FINELINE FEATURES
Miranda Richardson, left, and Jennifer Jason Leigh are caught up in
a kidnapping in ``Kansas City.''
MOVIE REVIEW
``Kansas City''
Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte,
Michael Murphy, Dermot Mulroney, Steve Buscemi
Director: Robert Altman
Screenplay: Robert Altman and Frank Barhydt
MPAA rating: R (language, some violence)
Mal's rating: ***
Locations: Naro, Norfolk by CNB