Release Date:
Friday, August 23, 2002
Who needs big-time Hollywood actors and their even bigger-time egos? Thats the question driving Simone, the story of a computer-generated actress who revives a struggling directors career only to momentarily derail his life before all is said and done. A phony actress wowing Hollywood might make for an interesting premise, but its not a gag capable of carrying an entire moviea point Simone ably drives home.
Simone first comes into play when Viktor Taransky (Al Pacino) inherits a computer program capable of creating an actress who can blend in with live actors on the big screen. By adding her into his recently dropped pictureViktors ex-wife and current boss (played by Catherine Keener) has lost faith in him because his first-choice starlet walked off the sethe makes Simone an overnight success and rides her to a profitable comeback. Soon Simone becomes such a hit that Viktor is confused about how to tell the public the truth, and a series of misunderstandings follows. The problem is, these misunderstandings are countered by Viktor with a series of hoaxes to fool the public that are so unbelievablepulling off a grandiose concert with, literally, smoke and mirrors; hoisting up a mannequin in a car while crouched in the passenger seat, driving down the expressway; holding a Barbie doll to a lamp in a hotel window to make a shadow for the paparazzithat theyre far more annoying than funny. Also, too much of the movie involves watching Viktor have discussions with Simone, and its hard to understand whyhe controls Simone. Hes talking to himself. Yet there are at least a half a dozen of these scenes in the film. When he isnt talking to himself or tricking the public, this film is fine, but thats not the case very often, and poor Al Pacino and Catherine Keener get bogged down in a horrendous movie. While nobody in this flick seemed capable of denying Simones star power, we couldnt get her out of our minds quickly enough.
Simone first comes into play when Viktor Taransky (Al Pacino) inherits a computer program capable of creating an actress who can blend in with live actors on the big screen. By adding her into his recently dropped pictureViktors ex-wife and current boss (played by Catherine Keener) has lost faith in him because his first-choice starlet walked off the sethe makes Simone an overnight success and rides her to a profitable comeback. Soon Simone becomes such a hit that Viktor is confused about how to tell the public the truth, and a series of misunderstandings follows. The problem is, these misunderstandings are countered by Viktor with a series of hoaxes to fool the public that are so unbelievablepulling off a grandiose concert with, literally, smoke and mirrors; hoisting up a mannequin in a car while crouched in the passenger seat, driving down the expressway; holding a Barbie doll to a lamp in a hotel window to make a shadow for the paparazzithat theyre far more annoying than funny. Also, too much of the movie involves watching Viktor have discussions with Simone, and its hard to understand whyhe controls Simone. Hes talking to himself. Yet there are at least a half a dozen of these scenes in the film. When he isnt talking to himself or tricking the public, this film is fine, but thats not the case very often, and poor Al Pacino and Catherine Keener get bogged down in a horrendous movie. While nobody in this flick seemed capable of denying Simones star power, we couldnt get her out of our minds quickly enough.