# State and Main (2000)

### reviewed by
Robin Clifford

    "State and Main"

Hollywood invades small town New England when a film production company, led by producer Walt Price (William H. Macy), comes to Waterford, Vermont to shoot the film, "The Old Mill." The problem is the town's old mill burned to the ground three decades ago and that's just the beginning of the troubles in a movie about making a movie, David Mamet's "State and Main."

Playwright/screenwriter/director Mamet has created celebrated and controversial tales from "Glengarry Glen Ross" to "Oleana" to "The Winslow Boy." Mamet, the writer, has produced an eclectic body of work that often delves deeply into the human psyche. With "State and Main," the helmer takes on a fast paced comedy in a movie about making a movie in small town America. In this one, though, the talented Mamet stumbles.

When the production team for "The Old Mill" lays siege to the unsuspecting Vermont town, it is with a checkered past. A scandal forced the entire production crew to be turned out of their previous location in a New Hampshire town because of a propensity for young girls by the film's star, Bob Barringer (Alec Baldwin). Now, ensconced in their new location, with only days to go before principal photography starts and no budget left, Walt Price has multiple disasters to contend with. As mentioned before, the mill that is the focal point of "The Old Mill" is gone. Barringer's co-star, Claire Wellesley (Sarah Jessica Parker), refuses to do her contracted nude scene unless she gets a bunch more money. The film's lunatic cinematographer wants to destroy a stained glass landmark so he can "get the shot." Finally, playwright turned screenwriter Joseph Turner White (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is suffering from a monumental case of writer's block.

And these are just some of the problems that must be faced. White falls for the pretty fiancée of a local politician while struggling with his changing career. Bob Barringer gets in trouble, again, with a local teen girl (Julia Stiles), forcing a cover-up to avoid getting everyone tossed out of town. And, a replacement still has to be found for the damned Old Mill!

All of this is fun stuff from the pen of a talented writer and it probably looked really good on paper. Especially with the large, talented ensemble cast available to breathe life into their characters. Unfortunately, the execution of these amusing ideas falls flat with too much going on with too many characters. There is also a problem with who is the "bad guy" here. Is it the intrusive strangers from Hollywood? Or, is it the town folk who do everything they can to take advantage of the bucks that the production crew brings to thew town? As the lines of definition blur between the outsiders and the residents, the people of Waterford take on the same greedy air as the folks from Tinseltown.

The lack of distinction between the outsiders and insiders is complicated by the choice of some of the principle actors. Philip Seymour Hoffman has impressed me, considerably, in his past performances - see him as Freddie in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" as a marvelous example of his acting ability. But, as the sensitive, angst-ridden, romantic figure? It is just not the Hoffman's cup of tea. Mamet seems to be using the actor as his own alter ego in the film. Sarah Jessica Parker, as the movie star to whom modesty has just become an issue in her career, is little more than a pampered prima donna that usually gets her way. Alec Baldwin simply has nowhere to take his self-center matinee idol.

There are some good roles coming out of "State and Main," though. William H. Macy, one of the finest character actors in the business, plays the cocky producer to perfection. He, and David Paymer as the film's high-powered "money man," put a good spin on portraying filmmakers used to having their way on location. They plead, threaten and pout to get their ways with their crew and the town's people. Their perfs only make up a portion of the movie and it's not enough.

Tech credits are adequate, but nothing remarkable.

I have come to look forward to most of David Mamet's films and, usually, am not disappointed. There are exceptions, though, and "State and Main" is one. For a movie about making a movie, there isn't enough movie-making stuff to the story. I give it a C.

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    X-RT-RatingText: C

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