Suddenly Naked

Jackie is not a nice, perky woman who lacks a man because she just hasn't met the right one. *yawn* She is witty...and cutting...and jaded...and dissipated...and not always someone you'd want to know. Her biting sense of humor shades into cruelty rather often.

What's a self-important, urbane woman of almost 40 to do when it turns out that the man who best fits her is only 20 years old and an up-and-coming writer? Especially when, adding insult to injury, he has a brilliant manuscript ready while she's still writing the first paragraph of her new novel for the bazillionth time.

This is where the movie could bog down in a navel-gazing mire of Jackie's self-realizations and her battle to overcome personal prejudices. Happily, Jackie comes out swinging with cutting remarks and Patrick, the 20 year old in question, zings her right back. They're both strong personalities and neither cuts the other slack in their fiery affair.

Only the movie's ending prevented me from giving the movie a fifth star. "Suddenly Naked" bravely avoided an easy, clichéd answer to Jackie's problems throughout, setting it apart from dime-a-dozen, smarmy romance comedies. Alas, the ending was very Hollywood: the magic-pill, principled speech that ties up all the loose ends with everyone happy and smiling. Earlier in the movie, Jackie had commented to Patrick that he was very brave to end his tale happily; I just didn't recognize it as foreshadowing. Despite an ending that tied up all the marvelous road blocks in Jackie's path in a single pretty bow, my enjoyment of the movie overall remains high.

For fellow Shanks fans:
Yes, he plays a small role here but the shallow amongst us have much to be grateful for. Leather jacket, simulating masturbation as well as measuring his equipment (not on-screen; he was ACTING), on his knees begging and promising to do anything... Though I'd obviously have loved to see more of Shanks and his acting talent, it's hard to complain when the movie opens with him and then gives me a lot of what I bought the movie for.

As a fan who collects works by my favorite actors, it's a real treat to get not only shallow moments to revel in but an excellent movie as well. This is one I'll watch again rather than fast-forwarding for the Shanks bits.