# General's Daughter, The (1999)

### reviewed by
James Brundage

    The General's Daughter

    Directed by Simon West

Written by William Goldman and Christopher Bertolini

Based upon the novel by Nelson DeMille

Starring John Travolta, Madeleine Stowe, James Woods, James Cromwell, and Leslie Stefanson

    As Reviewed by James Brundage

I should have trusted Madeleine Stowe. I should have trusted James Woods. Both of these people have never disappointed me in a film, yet, when I heard that Simon West was helming The General's Daughter, my first reaction was that of an anorexic approached with an all-you-can-eat buffet: I wanted to stay away from it.

As the date of release approached, the buzz got worse and worse. A critic or two gave it positive reviews, but it was (no pun intended) generally loathed. A good friend of mine in New Jersey expressed his utter revulsion for this film in words that I cannot print casually. When I went to the film itself, I expected complete and utter crap.

I did not get high art. I didn't even get a good film, really. But, the point of this review is: The General's Daughter is not as bad as it is made out to be.

Simon West still can't handle a camera for anything longer than the duration of a music video (his normal format). He can't coach actors. The script still has the trademark William Goldman lines, bits and pieces of dialogue so utterly terrible that you want to find out his address for the sake of killing him. John Travolta doesn't give an Oscar worthy performance, but a Razzie may be coming his way if he keeps this kind of crap up.

Yet The General's Daughter is enjoyable.

The plot holds more water than most of the William Goldman screenplays, probably because of the fact that it is based off of a novel, which offers much less opportunity for Goldman to screw it up. In short: Captain Elizabeth Campbell (Leslie Stefanson) is found tied spread-eagle and strangled on her father's (a prestigious general considering a career in politics, which means that he's off to a fine start) military base and a bunch of Criminal Investigations Division warrant officers (played by John Travolta and Madeline Stowe).

From a few minutes into the movie its fairly easy to see who the villains are and what will end up happening, but what happens next is sketchy. You know the end, but not the middle. Such a combination makes for what will come off on the average viewer as a good mystery and come off on the intelligent viewer as mindless fun.

Unlike Con Air, which had no plot, the plot of The General's Daughter is sufficient to carry it through the 116 minute running time, albeit with a few times where it appears to drag its feet. James Woods remains my drug of choice for any movie which has a manipulative, dark character and he plays a psychological warfare Colonel to near-perfection. Madeleine Stowe proves once again that she is one of the hidden treasures of Hollywood, an actress able to make a proverbial shwing and actually perform well at the same time. James Cromwell continues his typecasted-as-sinister routine. All through the movie, I kept hearing "Boy-o", his most used line from LA Confidential.

All of that said and done, The General's Daughter lacks in more respects than it has assets. For instance, Simon West wastes John Travolta as an actor; not to mention doesn't expand on the ideas that should be expanded upon. He is one of the many ex-MTV directors who have no clue how to handle film past four minutes. Face it boys, if you can't change a reel, don't ever get into the features. The script is terrible and the action is worse. You never really feel care or tension.

But, it's fun. And, in summer, fun is all that matters.

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