Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 1997 Page: 6 of 10
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Megaphone and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Southwestern University.
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Features
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil hypnotizes
audiences with intriguing characters, strange plot twists
Jeanna Fort Laura Cuellar
Megaphone Movie Critic Megaphone Movie Critic
Voo doo, drag queens, Rasputin, and Gumbo, these elements alone
should make a good movie.. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil may
seem like a long title, but considering that it is almost three hours long, it's
an appropriate one.
John Cusak plays a writer investigating the inner-workings of Savan-
nah, Georgia. It's a sleepy, Southern town with more than its quota of eccen-
trics.
Kevin Spacey plays a self-made millionaire and socialite with a strange
history who happens to throw one mean Christmas party. Spacey plays Jim
Williams, a man who gets caught up in the murder of a young hustler.
Through this investi-
gation of this murder we meet
Miss. Chabliss, a drag queen
with a heart of gold, Minerva
the voodienne, some piano
bar locals, and a ladies bridge
club. This movie has the
tempo of a Southern drawl
with a certain slow-paced
thickness.
There are certainly
some noteworthy scenes and
lines, but what remains is
some terribly under-devel-
oped characters who are
much too visible and not at
ail important. The plot is in-
tentionally vague, a very
"think about this hard dur-
ing the car ride home" type
l of plot; but, after
investingthree hours of my
time I felt I deserved some an-
swers.
It is shot beautifully,
almost more like a National Geographic shoot of Georgia more than a movie;
this is probably why it is hard to get a good feel of the town. Because it is
done at such a slow rate, there is very little drama, very few points of humor,
every element seemed a bit dulled by the pace.
There are some interesting twists, Miss. Chabliss at the debutante ball,
the Voo doo Queen in the cemetary (AHHH!), and of course Mr. Spacey and
Mr. Cusak are always a delight to watch.
I have to admit, I haven't seen as many Wild Turkey and hand gun
shots in a long time.
Overall, it does have the potential to hypnotize the viewer with pic-
tures of Iced Tea and Magnolia trees. Its got that whistling Andy Griffith Show
type of feel.
If you have the time, why not see it. If not, just watch the patrons of
the Chuckwagon for twenty minutes, it's almost the same effect.
Extravagant Christmas parties, murder, invisible dogs, witch craft,
loaded weapons, romance, closet homosexuals, and even a drag queen to
boot! These are just a few Qf the intriguing aspects of Midnight in the
Garden of Good and Evil, the latest film staring Kevin Spacy and John Cusak.
Given the big names in this film, I am surprised that it hasn't gotten much
hype, but John Cusak prides himself on taking roles in non conventional
films (i.e. Bullets over Broadway, and Gross Point Blank).
In this film (directed by Clint Eastwood) Cusak plays a free-lance
reporter assigned by Southern Living to report on a world famous Christ-
mas festivity thrown by a Savannah, Georgia millionaire, Kevin Spacy. This
movie is chalk full of slow lazy southern
drawls, but they don’t sound effected, but
rather appropriate and believable.
I am biased because I am a long
standing Spacy and Cusak fan, and the two
together made a superb combination.
Cusak and Spacy generate a chemistry that
jumps off the screen. While reporting on
the party, Cusak is intrigued by the south-
ern society members and their various ec-
centricities.
The evening of the big bash takes a
turn for the worse when Spacy kills his
young lover in a spat. Cusak recognizes
the story as bearing big book potential and
decides to forget about the Southern Liv-
ing article so that he can investigate the
mystery of what happened that evening
while also sparking a romance with Clint
Eastwood’s daughter who plays a flirtatious
belle who works in a nursery.
Spacy shines as an effeminate soci-
ety member that calls on the help of a voo-
doo expert to help him make peace with
the ghost of his lover. Spacy is convincing
and entertaining as a character to sympathize with. I am always astounded
by Spacy’s genius, and he lives up to his Oscar-winning reputation. I think
that this film deserves a few Oscar nominations, but from what I hear it has
received really mixed reviews.
In any event, the big mystery lies in the intent of the killing, was it
self-defense or murder? Cusak does some Magnum P.I. caliber super sleuth
investigation and uncovers a lot more than he was looking for. He also is
aided in his search for the truth by a drag queen and the voo-doo expert.
Seem like an ordinary team, I don’t think so.
The only thing that is less than excellent about this film is its length
and slow moments. I know that this seems to be a reoccurring complaint of
mine, and I don’t know if my attention span is shortening, or the movie
industry is just asking too much of audience members. But the good far
outweighs the weak, see this movie PRONTO!
Rating System
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I’d eat a poinsettia to see
THIS MOVIE
I’D WRESTLE HANUKKAH HARRY TO
SEE THIS MOVIE.
About as exciting as hearing Lou
Rawls sing The Little Drummer Boy
Merry Christmas... You FAILED your
finals!
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Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 1997, newspaper, December 4, 1997; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth634859/m1/6/?rotate=270: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Southwestern University.