‘12 Monkeys’ Much Better Than ‘Bed Of Roses’
The makers of “Bed of Roses,” a romance with Christian Slater and Mary Stuart Masterson, were probably hoping to touch the same cord as “Untamed Heart,” also starring Slater. But while both are sweet, simple and sentimental, “Bed of Roses” is incredibly short on plot. Since plot is necessary to convey serious emotion, “Bed of Roses” fails to communicate anything at all.
“Bed of Roses,” with a running time of about 90 minutes, is the story of Lisa (Masterson) and Lewis (Slater). Lewis, walking late at night, sees Lisa crying in her window. He owns a flower shop and personally delivers a beautiful bouquet to her workplace, where she’s a highpowered executive.
Though there was no tag on the flowers, Lisa eventually finds out who they were from, and she and Lewis predictably fall in love. Here the movie resorts to blaring pop songs while Lisa and Lewis kiss in various locations; movies don’t get much cheesier.
Lisa and Lewis experience a few ups and downs - their problems stem from Lisa’s requisite Deep Dark Childhood Secret - but they finally reunite and live happily ever after.
Neither Slater’s nor Masterson’s acting was especially poor in this movie. They just didn’t have anything interesting to do.
“Bed of Roses” could only be enjoyed by a die-hard romantic. Slater’s chivalrous character is really too good to be true, but that won’t stop a few people from dreaming. Overall, “Bed of Roses” is monumentally boring.
If you’re looking for an exciting, complex and romantic movie, check out “12 Monkeys.” Though it deals with a virus-ridden future and time travel, what comes through is the loneliness of the protagonist (Bruce Willis) and the tragedy of his fate.
Willis plays James Cole, a resident of the future in which humans have been driven underground by a deadly virus and where animals rule the world. Scientists try to send Cole to 1996 so he can track the spread of the virus and find a pure sample of it. They accidently send him to 1991, where he ends up in a mental hospital and meets Kathryn Railly (Madeline Stowe), a psychiatrist.
Cole eventually convinces Railly he is not crazy and the two track the virus together. Cole suspects a lunatic he met in the mental hospital (Brad Pitt) of unleashing the virus.
But just as he’s convinced Railly of his sanity, Cole tries to make himself believe that the future from which he was sent is all in his head.
He desperately wants to go on living in the past, because the air is fresh, he can see daylight and because he and Railly are in love.
Willis inhabits his character, making the audience feel both his pain and his elation at seeing a virusfree world. In one of the most touching scenes in the movie, Cole hears the song “Blueberry Hill” on the radio, and he starts crying because they don’t have anything as beautiful in the future. Stowe also portrays the logical Railly exceedingly well.
As the movie moves toward its climax, all its threads come together to form a clear picture. The picture may not be pretty, but “12 Monkeys” does not fail to move its audience.
“Bed of Roses:” D-
“Twelve Monkeys:” B+