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Rated: R; Genre: Comedy; With: F. Murray Abraham, Judy Davis, Sam Neill, Richard Roxburgh and Geoffrey Rush
B+
Ty Burr
Ty Burr is a writer at large for EW and is no relation to Raymond or Aaron
CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION Judy Davis, Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill (1997, Miramax, R, $103.99) A great idea for a comedy: Never-say-die Australian Communist Davis gets to meet Stalin himself, but after their one-night stand, the dictator's dead, and she's pregnant; her son (Richard Roxburgh) grows up to be an Aussie labor agitator with a familiar mustache and a yen for purges. But writer-director Peter Duncan never figures out how to play it, and the result veers from slapstick farce (the goofy Kremlin scenes, with F. Murray Abraham a road show Uncle Joe) to sociopolitical whimsy to domestic black comedy. What sticks in this engaging misfire are the ineffable Davis -- shrill, rigidly PC, and yet you understand why all the men are in love with her -- and Rachel Griffiths (My Best Friend's Wedding) as Roxburgh's wary, winsome wife. C+
Posted Jan 16, 1998
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You Might Also Like
- Movie Review Children of the Revolution (1997) | Lisa Schwarzbaum
- Movie Commentary Killer movies (1967) | Doug Brod, Maitland McDonagh
- All About Jurassic Park
- News + Notes Leading Men | Joshua Rich
- Flashes Jersey Girl | William Keck
- ENTERTAINERS OF THE YEAR 'Sex and the City' women: Entertainer of the year (May 30, 2008) | Missy Schwartz
