# Life During Wartime (1997)

### reviewed by
Steve Rhodes

    THE ALARMIST
    A film review by Steve Rhodes
    Copyright 1998 Steve Rhodes
    RATING (0 TO ****):  ***

It's a nasty world out there. Rampant crime is everywhere. There's a burglary committed every 10 seconds in America, and 60% of all rapes are committed by burglars.

Whether these statistics have any validity is beyond the point in writer and director Evan Dunsky's offbeat comedy, THE ALARMIST, based on Keith Reddin's play. Heinrich Grigoris, the head of Grigoris Home Security Systems, trains his salesmen to use the statistics to maximum advantage in selling the systems to terrified clients.

Grigoris, played with a masterful comedic turn by BIG NIGHT's Stanley Tucci, likes to live life just a bit on the edge. There's nothing more exciting than breaking down the door of a client's house to set off the burglar alarm. If Grigoris isn't caught, then the whole neighborhood is likely to be so impressed with the efficacy of the system that scared away an intruder that they'll want one too.

As the story opens, Grigoris and his assistant Sally, played with a nerdy attractiveness by Mary McCormack, are training a new sales recruit. Tommy Hudler, a cherubic looking young man played with a lovely sweetness by David Arquette, wants to learn everything he can to be successful. Smiling from ear to ear in a nervous grin, he makes a sale on his first cold call at the Ancona residence.

A menopausal, ex-flower child named Gale Ancona, played with just the right sexy swagger by Kate Capshaw, lays one eye on Tommy and decides she wants more than just a security system from him. In the best May-December romance in a long time, they engage in fun, energetic, but not very explicit sexual relations. Gale, a strawberry-blonde who likes to wear her hair in little girl pigtails, has a "gigantic" son, who turns out to be one of many quirky characters in the inviting movie.

The story dishes up equal measures of the pupil and mentor relationship between Tommy and Grigoris and the romantic one between Tommy and Gale. The character-driven comedy is memorable not for the plot or the dialog but for the way the director creates such a fascinating little world. The characters are all sympathetically drawn, and, until the slightly darker second half, it stays completely good-spirited.

The acting is all dead-on, and the script takes the time to develop all of the characters. Gale's spaced-out, twenty-something son, played by Ryan Reynolds, has an absolutely hilarious monologue describing his big sexual encounter to a stunned Tommy.

As successful as most of the movie is, it doesn't know how to end. First-time director Evan Dunsky puts a partial finish on it, but the conclusion needs more work. Still, the rest of the picture is delightful, and Evan Dunsky establishes himself as someone to keep an eye on for his next project.

THE ALARMIST runs 1:32. It is rated R for sexuality and profanity and would be fine for most teenagers.

Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: www.InternetReviews.com

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