I walked out of a free screening of Down To Earth after 30 minutes, and, unwilling to just go home in the chilly rain, slipped into Head Over Heels. I have to admit, I (and my companion, with whom I rarely harmonize in movie selection) enjoyed this little film. Freddie Prinz Jr. has been in so many lame movies where he is clearly better than his material, but is also trapped by it. Here, he is too good to be true, and totally believable as such. The movie is carried by Monica Potter (aspiring to graduate summa cum laude from Julia Roberts University of dewy, coltish, lovely and funny performers) and her four model roommates. I don’t have to make that pun for you, do I? The models (with the possible exception of Ivana Milicevic) are all working real models, and none of them are afraid to lampoon themselves or their industry. And, the best part is, not one crack about eating or diet or bulimia or anything!
This is not a remake of the 1937 musical, but it aspires to be of the old-old school genre of situational comedy. Take Rear Window, add Lucille Ball, and a credit (as in The Women) like, “Gowns by Edith Head” – oh, and a Great Dane named Hamlet – and you have a pleasant diversion for an evening. The romance is nice, the intrigue is nice, and best of all, it’s not screamingly predictable and Freddie takes his shirt off. The plot twists happen abruptly, due to the length of the picture, but they don’t feel like they were yanked out of a firmly toned butt. There is nice screwball humor, character humor, and flat-out bonking into things physical humor. The models are beautiful but not horrifying, flat characters, they all have their own personalities and are funny in their own way, and there’s even a nice poop joke for the boys.
Monica Potter has been in some, er, poorly received work, but then again, she is blessed/cursed with this blonde beauty that is very straightforward and not as unique as it could be. Hopefully, the right people will see Head Over Heels and see that she has a strong potential, better even than Cameron Diaz, to be the next funny beautiful girl who can actually sustain both halves of the equation. Her part isn’t as funny as it is plot-driving, but she has some of my favorite lines. Don’t get me wrong, this is no Golden Globe nominee or even an MTV Movie Awards magnet, but it’s a sweet, funny, refreshingly different little movie about a woman, her models, and the guy she loves, who may or may not be a cold-blooded murderer. Did I not mention that part? The Rear Window aspects of the film are actually the most stilted, but they are the main story arc. The antics make up for any hackneyed chestnut of a plotline, however.
* Originally rated Rental With Snacks, this movie has grown in my estimation with every passing viewing.
MPAA Rating PG-13
Release date 2/2/01
Time in minutes 86
Director Mark waters
Studio Universal