living out loud * 1/4 written and directed by richard lagravenese . photography , john bailey . editing , gregory & lynzee klingman . production design , nelson coates . music , george fenton . produced by danny devito , michael shamberg & stacey sher . a new line release . cast : holly hunter ( judith ) , danny devito ( pat ) , queen latifah ( liz bailey ) , martin donovan ( bob nelson ) , elias koteas ( the kisser ) , richard schiff ( philly ) , et al . a new line release . 102 minutes . r ( language , drugs , sex massage ) q : mr . critic , i have some questions about this movie . be patient with me . i have a doctorate from europe , have been in the usa for some time and speak english pretty well . but there are a few things about american life , politics , and some movies that i can't quite understand . some expressions too as [ editor's note : the speaker is foreign-born , therefore he uses " as " correctly , instead of " like " ] when you put in your reviews words like parsimonious , avuncular , or tropism . a : not to worry . i have the same trouble with finland and turkmenistan . i promise to keep things simple . if i can't , i'll put an asterisk * for words easy to find in a dictionary . q : my first question is about the title that , well , confuses me . from the rather funny previews i thought it was laughing out aloud . it wasn't , and it wasn't funny either . a : i concur ( it means i agree with you ) . i don't get the title either , except in a very roundabout * way . q : how about the subject ? it is clear that holly hunter has recently divorced after being married for 16 years to a cardiologist who must make good money . their apartment is in an expensive co-op on fifth avenue . holly is desperate . devito , who plays the co-op's doorman-elevator operator is sad . long ago his wife had kicked him out . very recently , his daughter had died . danny likes to gamble and owes a lot of money . those two characters have been seeing each other for years , but without really seeing . for the man , the lady was so out of his class that he probably didn't think of her . for the woman , devito must have been like a piece of indifferent furniture . but now they get together , become friends , and devito falls in love with her . the chance of her reciprocating ( hey , i do know some fancy words ! ) is like a snowball in hell ( i also know some idioms ! ) i don't think that the situation is very original , except for the differences between the two characters . i remember some films with women of about 40 who suddenly found themselves alone and lonely . a : you're doing ok . let me add something from real life and from movies that also applies here : the cases of some medical students that marry nurses ( holly was and still is one ) who work hard to help their mates , but after the man becomes a wealthy doctor , he dumps his wife for a younger woman , as in this film . the script does not go into background details , however . what it implies , you have to take on faith . and that is that holly was defined by her husband , that holly was not a whole person but merely mrs . cardiologist . so she finds herself at loose ends , mentally , psychologically , even physically ( note the sequence with the masseur , a hulk * ) q : right . that's why she wanders about , tries to find herself ( ugh ! ) , gets a massage that may or may not includeout-and-out sex . we don't know . but aren't there more things we don't know ? a : lots . holly has fantasies , like a vision of her suicide . that's pretty clear . but other fantasies are not . the main one is when she is in a bar during amateur night , looks for a bathroom , opens a door and is seized by a man who kisses her , then apologizes . he thought she was a woman he was expecting . did this happen ? was it a figment * of holly's imagination ? in any case , it seems to have done her some good . q : how about her enthusiasm about the singer of that bar ? she is played by queen latifah . i know that she is a rapper who now also does " regular " music . when i was young , abroad , i saw many movies that had in them what i believe you call torch singers . here queen latifah ( who is very good ) is liz bailey . i bet it is a reference to pearl bailey ( whom we adored in europe ) , in style and appearance . a : wish i had thought of that . latifah's somewhat modernized versions of older songs were good , yes . holly's enthusiasm is partly that phony cliche where non-wasps * ( think of charlie chan ) are endowed with wisdom , even though in this case latifah herself admits that she is none too wise in her love life . q : were you interested in the non-affair between holly and danny ? i just could not get excited by it , even though there were a few ok moments . a : i was most uninterested . those characters are the whole movie , and while i did sympathize with their problems , this couple is uninteresting . the movie got duller and duller . it became sighing out loud as i kept looking at my watch . even the camera-work was dull . things became laughable when holly took uppers ( this means feel-good drugs , pills ) and went to a nightclub recommended by latifah . 
