# Minus Man, The (1999)

### reviewed by
Michael Dequina

    (out of ****)

    _Dog_Park_ (R) **

    _The_Minus_Man_ (R) ** 1/2

With the title _Dog_Park_, this unremarkable romantic comedy sets itself up for the easy play on words. Comments such as "It's a dog" or "It's bark is worse than its bite" would be fitting if the film had some bark, let alone bite, to begin with--while not a good film, _Dog_Park_ is much too gentle to inspire any dramatic reaction on either end of the opinion spectrum.

The gentleness mostly comes from its lead characters--a fact that is, of course, hardly a bad thing. Luke Wilson is quite likable as average joe classifieds writer Andy, who is smarting from his recent break with his ex, Cheryl (Kathleen Robertson). Natasha Henstridge, heretofore best known for doffing her clothes through two _Species_ films, is equally as winning as Lorna, a children's TV hostess also coming off of a bad breakup. Andy and Cheryl meet in a singles bar one night and hit it off. Is it all smooth sailing from here on out for the pair? Of course not, for there is still a good 75 minutes left in the film.

Unfortunately, writer-director Bruce McCulloch (who also co-stars) does not come up with terribly convincing reasons for these two to remain apart as long as they do. One big reason for Lorna's reluctance to go forward is the fact that the one night with Andy ended in embarrassment for her, yet Andy forgives it so nice about it that one can't help but wonder what her problem is. This is highlighted when she decides to go on a date with a loser she meets at a video store (Harland Williams).

The main pick-up spot in the film is not the video store, however, but the dog park, where Andy and Cheryl spend time with the dog of whom they share custody, Mogley--and, of course, where Lorna takes out her beloved canine companion, Peanut. As it turns out, Andy and Lorna also share the same dog psychologist/trainer, played with maximum oddness by Mark McKinney. Offbeat touches such as that character lend the film its only hint of edge.

And therein lies the problem. _Dog_Park_'s soft quality makes it easy enough to watch, but as with many things that are "nice," it doesn't exactly make it memorable. When the famously acerbic Janeane Garofalo makes her first appearance as Jeri, Andy's editor/best friend, one's hopes that she could put some of her usual zing into the thing and bring it to life are soon dashed when McCulloch makes her play nice, too--also erasing any hopes that the film will rise above its conventions.

Garofalo is also called on to play nice in a completely different film, _Blade_Runner_ writer Hampton Fancher's introspective, deliberately paced thriller _The_Minus_Man_. But her turn as Ferrin, a sweet small-town postal worker (!) who falls for friendly co-worker and new guy in town Vann (Owen Wilson, Luke's brother, as it is) works better in this context. Perhaps that's because the mood here is not one of niceness but of evil and dread, for Vann isn't exactly the nice guy he seems--in fact, he's an unusually affable serial killer, who poisons people whom he feels are better off dead.

The cast is perfect; along with Garofalo and Wilson--whose low-key, innocuous presence makes for an eerie fit--solid performances are given by Brian Cox, Mercedes Ruehl, and, in her acting debut, Sheryl Crow. The film has been marketed as a big conversation piece, and, indeed, many questions are raised throughout its running time. But it's that quality that is ultimately the film's undoing; too many pieces of the puzzle are left out in what comes off as a rather strained and obvious attempt to leave things up for discussion. Most viewers, I suspect, won't really want to go through the effort to talk it out, for there's really really no point in doing it.

Michael Dequina twotrey@juno.com | michael_jordan@geocities.com | jordan_host@sportsmail.com | mrbrown@iname.com Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown CinemaReview Magazine: http://www.CinemaReview.com on ICQ: #25289934 | on AOL Instant Messenger: MrBrown23

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