Occupying the mean-spirited terrain of "In the Company of Men" and "Your Friends & Neighbors," "Red Meat" serves up a slab of men behaving badly where women are concerned.
But first-time feature filmmaker Allison Burnett (a man) is no Neil LaBute, and his stagey portrait of guys who meet one Sunday a month to work out, eat red meat and brag of sexual conquests is a talkfest of major proportions with ultimately very little to say.
Straitjacketed by an over-reliance on flashbacks and voice-overs and awash in actorish performances, the low-budget indie production won't be generating any substantial select-site cravings.
Doing the male-bonding thing this particular Sunday are unrepentant jerk Stefan John Slattery) and nice-guy jerk Chris (Stephen Mailer), who happen to be joined by guest carnivore Victor (James Frain), a long lost acquaintance of Chris' who walks into their favorite barbecue joint.
After regaling their new recruit as well an eavesdropping waitress (Traci Lind) with tales of brazen braggadocio, the cocky Stefan and the over-intellectualizing Chris finally press Victor to come clean, and he easily outclasses his hosts with a spiritually redemptive story of his relationship with a terminally ill woman (Lara Flynn Boyle).
The film's constant shifts back and forth in time and excessive storytelling narration make for a trite and tedious viewing experience. Burnett, who also wrote the script, based it on three chapters of his own novel and the picture seldom manages to break free from those printed page origins.
He's somewhat more successful in the technical department. With the assistance of director of photography Charlie Lieberman ("Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer"), the picture looks a lot better than it sounds.
RED MEAT
Peninsula Films
A Treehouse Films presentation
Director-screenwriter: Allison Burnett
Producers: Liver Eberle, Marco Weber
Director of photography: Charlie Lieberman
Production designers: Frank Bollinger, Clare Brown
Editor: Sloane Klevin Music: The Blue Hawaiians Color/stereo
Cast:
Ruth: Lara Flynn Boyle
Victor: James Frain
Candace: Jennifer Grey
Connie the Waitress: Traci Lind
Chris: Stephen Mailer
Stefan: John Slattery
Running time -- 94 minutes
No MPAA rating...
But first-time feature filmmaker Allison Burnett (a man) is no Neil LaBute, and his stagey portrait of guys who meet one Sunday a month to work out, eat red meat and brag of sexual conquests is a talkfest of major proportions with ultimately very little to say.
Straitjacketed by an over-reliance on flashbacks and voice-overs and awash in actorish performances, the low-budget indie production won't be generating any substantial select-site cravings.
Doing the male-bonding thing this particular Sunday are unrepentant jerk Stefan John Slattery) and nice-guy jerk Chris (Stephen Mailer), who happen to be joined by guest carnivore Victor (James Frain), a long lost acquaintance of Chris' who walks into their favorite barbecue joint.
After regaling their new recruit as well an eavesdropping waitress (Traci Lind) with tales of brazen braggadocio, the cocky Stefan and the over-intellectualizing Chris finally press Victor to come clean, and he easily outclasses his hosts with a spiritually redemptive story of his relationship with a terminally ill woman (Lara Flynn Boyle).
The film's constant shifts back and forth in time and excessive storytelling narration make for a trite and tedious viewing experience. Burnett, who also wrote the script, based it on three chapters of his own novel and the picture seldom manages to break free from those printed page origins.
He's somewhat more successful in the technical department. With the assistance of director of photography Charlie Lieberman ("Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer"), the picture looks a lot better than it sounds.
RED MEAT
Peninsula Films
A Treehouse Films presentation
Director-screenwriter: Allison Burnett
Producers: Liver Eberle, Marco Weber
Director of photography: Charlie Lieberman
Production designers: Frank Bollinger, Clare Brown
Editor: Sloane Klevin Music: The Blue Hawaiians Color/stereo
Cast:
Ruth: Lara Flynn Boyle
Victor: James Frain
Candace: Jennifer Grey
Connie the Waitress: Traci Lind
Chris: Stephen Mailer
Stefan: John Slattery
Running time -- 94 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 12/14/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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