After winning a Best Foreign Film Oscar for "Belle Epoque", Fernando Trueba's follow up was this comedy starring Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith. It was not the first time that Trueba had directed a picture in English with English-speaking actors ("El sueño del mono loco" starring Miranda Richardson and Jeff Goldblum was a critical success) but "Two much" seems to have gone out of his hands.
It might have looked good in the script, a comedy that captures the essence of the comedies from the 50's, but the eventual result is quite disappointing. The three leading actors (Banderas, Griffith and Daryl Hannah) have been much better almost elsewhere, and some of the jokes and gags are kind of cheesy. However, a superb supporting cast helps to save the show. Joan Cusack is a delight to watch in a role Thelma Ritter would have done a few decades before. Danny Aiello does as much as he can with his clichéd character, and Elli Wallach is also excellent, but his role is little more than a glorified cameo.
If you like Dean Martin comedies you might appreciate the effort of resurrecting these kind of comedies, but don't expect the result to be anywhere near those classics. If you are looking for a few laughs and an acceptably amusing comedy, then you might not be disappointed.
It might have looked good in the script, a comedy that captures the essence of the comedies from the 50's, but the eventual result is quite disappointing. The three leading actors (Banderas, Griffith and Daryl Hannah) have been much better almost elsewhere, and some of the jokes and gags are kind of cheesy. However, a superb supporting cast helps to save the show. Joan Cusack is a delight to watch in a role Thelma Ritter would have done a few decades before. Danny Aiello does as much as he can with his clichéd character, and Elli Wallach is also excellent, but his role is little more than a glorified cameo.
If you like Dean Martin comedies you might appreciate the effort of resurrecting these kind of comedies, but don't expect the result to be anywhere near those classics. If you are looking for a few laughs and an acceptably amusing comedy, then you might not be disappointed.