‘King George’ And ‘Jefferson’ Get Together At The Video Store

Fri., Sept. 22, 1995

By Dan Webster danw@spokesman.com

No matter how many times it is told, the saga of how the American colonies broke away from Mother England still intrigues us.

So it should come as no surprise that two of the films in video stores this week tell stories circa the American Revolution, even if they do so from diverse points of view.

Or course, from tone to quality “The Madness of King George” and “Jefferson In Paris” are distinct from one another in most other ways as well. What is surprising is that the better of the two is the British effort.

“The Madness of King George” is actually a satire on the current Brit-royal family using the Hanovers as models. Oscar-nominated Nigel Hawthorne stars as the English king who first lost America and then lost his mind.

Based on Alan Bennett’s play, this film by little-known English director Nicholas Hytner doesn’t suffer the fate of most such efforts. Hytner “opens” things up cinematically, but the result seems less like a filmed play than is typical of such adaptations.

Which leaves the film’s motivating factors to be character, at which Hawthorne excels, and parody. The laughs at King George and his funny family apply just as well to Britain’s Windsors of today.

On the other hand, it’s difficult to believe that the talented filmmaking team of James Ivory, Ismail Merchant and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, the people responsible for such masterpieces as “The Bostonians,” “Howard’s End” and “The Remains of the Day,” could have come up with such a mess of a movie as “Jefferson in Paris. “

Ostensibly the story of Thomas Jefferson’s years in Paris immediately prior to the French Revolution, the film is a series of problems. Framed in a senseless bookend of more modern scenes featuring the supposed children of the third president, it jumps from one scene to the next with little or no connecting context.

It plays coy with the notion of whether Jefferson really did use his slaves as sexual objects, even going so far as to suggest he was seduced by one (played by Thandie Newton). It includes some of the silliest dialogue imaginable voiced by some amazingly stiff actors (Nick Nolte as Jefferson, Greta Scacchi as his French sweetheart). Only newcomer Gwynneth Paltrow rises above the material.

“The Madness of King George”

***Rated PG-13

“Jefferson In Paris” *-1/2 Rated PG-13

THE LITTLE PRINCESS *** - Based on the novel “Sara Crewe” by Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of “The Secret Garden,” this children’s film plays like an “Annie” without the music. A boarding school resembles an orphanage; at least one bona-fide orphan roams the halls; a cruel headmistress makes her main foil a spunky little girl named Sara, who has been taught by her loving father that all girls are princesses. Sara struggles to carry on when, in the midst of World War I, her father is reported dead. But if you’re familiar with Hodgson’s stories, you know that all will end well. Rated G.

ROOMMATES *** - Creaky, cranky and hard to take at times - and, no, we’re not talking about the elderly character played by Peter Falk. Instead, we’re talking about the script for this family comedy about a tough old boot of a grandfather (Falk) and his doctor-wannabe grandson (D.B. Sweeney). Still, despite its obvious play on our emotions, Peter Yates’ movie has its charms - not the least of which is Falk’s performance as a Polish baker who barks such homilies as “Family takes care of family, end of conversation.” Rated PG.

LOSING ISAIAH **-1/2 - Despite the movie-of-the-week nature of this film, which stars Jessica Lange as a social worker challenging Halle Berry for custody of drug-user Berry’s young son, the acting makes a difference. Lange is her typically good self, but it is Berry who most impresses. The ending is a bit of a letdown, but then maybe they’re saving a satisfying resolution for the sequel. Rated R.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: What’s new to view Now available: “The Little Princess” (Warner), “Night Tremors” (Warner), “Deceptions 2: Edge of Deception” (Warner), “To the Limit” (PMH), “Troublemakers” (TFV), “Roommates” (Polygram), “Jefferson in Paris” (Touchstone), “Buffalo Girls” (Cabin Fever), “The Madness of King George” (Hallmark), “Losing Isaiah” (Paramount). Available on Tuesday: “The Basketball Diaries” (Polygram), “Don Juan De Marco” (New Line), “Funny Bones” (Touchstone), “The Jerky Boys” (Touchstone), “New Jersey Drive” (MCA/ Universal).

This sidebar appeared with the story: What’s new to view Now available: “The Little Princess” (Warner), “Night Tremors” (Warner), “Deceptions 2: Edge of Deception” (Warner), “To the Limit” (PMH), “Troublemakers” (TFV), “Roommates” (Polygram), “Jefferson in Paris” (Touchstone), “Buffalo Girls” (Cabin Fever), “The Madness of King George” (Hallmark), “Losing Isaiah” (Paramount). Available on Tuesday: “The Basketball Diaries” (Polygram), “Don Juan De Marco” (New Line), “Funny Bones” (Touchstone), “The Jerky Boys” (Touchstone), “New Jersey Drive” (MCA/ Universal).