Release Date:
Friday, January 14, 2000
Holy Smoke is a mixed blessing: On one hand it features slimmed-down Kate Winslet buck-naked. On the other hand, it has a creepy climax involving Harvey Keitel in a red dress and lipstick. Winslet plays a spunky Australian who joins a cult, is rescued by her family, and is deprogrammed by a famed specialist played by Keitel. Stuck alone together in a secluded hut, they bicker and banter their way to a breakthrough that challenges popular socio-political blah-dee-dah. Directed by feminist superhero Jane Campion, Holy Smoke can actually be really funny. Winslet’s onscreen family is a hilarious collection of redneck misfits (as opposed to redneck intellectuals), and with a full-on Neil Diamond soundtrack, it can serve as a suitable compromise when your girlfriend refuses to see Jackie Chan’s The Action Movie I Shot Last Week for $60.