Special Coverage 2008 Fall Movie PreviewThe Must ListBox Office ChallengeSound Bites
  • --

Credits

Rated: R; Genre: Drama; With: John Cusack and James Spader

When idealistic lawyer James Spader explains to his law school buddy John Cusack how doing good feels so liberating, he might as well be talking to a gavel. Cusack plays the kind of guy who'd betray his best pal for a shot at Congress — and does. This recycled scenario is as old as Manhattan Melodrama — one pal becomes a saint, the other a rat — but True Colors is still worth a look for its enjoyably familiar clichés. Would that director Herbert Ross (The Goodbye Girl) had trusted the durable plot and used a straightforward style. Practically every scene is fussed over, picked at, and tricked up. The movie does have the gifted Spader, superb in the thankless role of the Good One. The lightweight Cusack, however, doesn't have the authority to play an incipient demagogue. His juvenile performance turns True Colors hopelessly monochromatic.


Posted Aug 30, 1991
 

Add Your Comments

The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. You must have javascript enabled to submit a comment.
--
Change/Edit your grade
characters remaining