Cast: Andy Garcia, Andie MacDowell, Richard Bradford, Elizabeth Ashley, Laura Harris
Director: Richard Wenk
Producers: Gary Lucchesi, Andy Garcia
Screenplay: Richard Wenk
Cinematography: Ellen Kuras
Music: Rick Marotta
U.S. Distributor: United Artists
There is a stigma associated with the phrase "direct to video." No matter how dreadful a film is, it always has greater potential to attract renters if it first plays in a theater - even if only for a week in front of empty seats. In some cases, studios will toss unpromising prospects into a few selected markets as an advertising ploy for the eventual VHS release. Such a film is United Artists' Just the Ticket, a forlorn romantic comedy that has been sitting on the shelf for about a year before being shown the light of day in a few select cities.
At the heart of Just the Ticket is the romance between Gary Starke (Andy Garcia), a two-bit ticket scalper, and Linda Palisky (Andie MacDowell), an electronics store manager who aspires to be a chef. Gary and Linda love each other, but differences in their life views keep them apart. Gary enjoys the existence of a vagabond; the concept of putting down roots and looking to the future is foreign to him. Linda, on the other hand, yearns for stability. When someone asks her why she broke up with a man she's crazy about, her answer is simple: he acts like a kid. Then, in the midst of all this romantic turmoil, the Vatican announces that the Pope plans to say a mass at Yankee Stadium, and Gary, always on the lookout for a new angle or scam, sees a yellow brick road. If he can scalp enough tickets to the ceremony (they'll go for between $500 and $1000 each), he can retire and give Linda the constancy she desires. But complications arise (don't they always): a rival scalper is out to ruin Gary's plans and Linda's acceptance at a Paris cooking school means that she's leaving the country. Then there's Gary's friend and flunky, Benny (Richard Bradford, who speaks most of his lines like he has marbles in his mouth), who worries about the illegal means by which Gary intends to obtain the tickets.
The first, and most obvious, problem with this film is that, quite simply, it's not interesting. In fact, it's downright wearisome. Not only is the storyline tired (a loser tries to pick himself up by his bootstraps to prove himself worthy), but the characters are lifeless. Was I supposed to be surprised by Benny's fate, or the "unanticipated" visitor who shows up near the end? And was I expected to care about whether Gary wins back Linda or not? Garcia, who can exude a slick charm in the right role, is simply oily here. His acting deficiencies are overexposed. The same can be said of MacDowell, who looks and acts as bored as I felt. And the two are even worse together than they are apart. The zero chemistry factor comes into play here: is it possible to accept a love affair between two performers who don't connect on any level? In this case, the answer is a resounding no.
As unsuccessful as Just the Ticket is with the romantic elements, it's even worse when it tries for laughs. The jokes simply aren't funny. Here are a few examples of what writer/director Richard Wenk thinks are worth a chuckle: having a character drink a beer in a confessional, having a priest ask for Knicks tickets after giving a blessing, and having a stuffy old lady bumble around while drunk. Even with perfect comic timing, it would have been difficult to cull a payoff from this sort of material, and there's nothing close to flawless in Wenk's approach. His attempts at physical comedy and satire aren't any more inspired.
There is one thing that works in Just the Ticket, and it's the only reason I wasn't tempted to walk out: a minor subplot featuring a nearsighted, pregnant ex-junkie who is friends with Gary. She's a sweet girl with self esteem problems, and, despite her impending motherhood, she can't stay off the dope. Sadly, the character is sketchily developed and underused, and this tertiary storyline is presented with all the care and detail of a Cliffs Notes synopsis, leaving us wondering if Wenk might have glossed over the part of the movie with real potential. Actress Laura Harris, who essays the role, deserves extra screen time, especially considering that she exhibits more charisma than MacDowell. Maybe she should have been paired up with Garcia; their scenes together are effective, which is more than can be said about anything else that shows up during this needlessly long (115 minutes) excursion into tedium.
© 1999 James Berardinelli