Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Alan Rudolph had a run in the early Eighties –- Choose Me, Songwriter, Trouble in Mind -— that made you want to see anything he did. Then came some grating efforts -— Made in Heaven, The Moderns, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle -— that cancelled out much of the attraction.

I am in basic agreement with Chris Knipp in that the last time a film directed by Alan Rudolph got into my Top 10 was 1985 (TROUBLE IN MIND). Besides, his other films of comparable quality are older: CHOOSE ME (1984) and REMEMBER MY NAME (1978).

Having said that, some recent Rudolph films, such as the well received AFTERGLOW (1997) and the sparesly distributed BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS (1999), are quite effective.

On a more personal note, sometimes Alan Rudolph's choice of subject matter simply matches my interests. I am referring to THE MODERNS and MRS. PARKER AND THE VICIOUS CIRCLE, which are not everything one would want them to be but I found them extremely enjoyable. THE MODERNS, a flawed film as Chris points out, features Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and other American notables in 1920s Paris and culminates in New York with the opening of the Museum of Modern Art. The first hour is quite good and the rest is peppered with amusing bits -such as Wallace Shawn in drag- and some nifty visuals.

In MRS. PARKER AND THE VICIOUS CIRCLE, Rudolph's script is chock-full of witty remarks and the cast is up to the task. Also, how often do we get in films nowadays a depiction of a warm, supportive, platonic relationship like the one between Mrs. Parker and Robert Benchley (Campbell Scott). Which brings me to Jennifer Jason Leigh as Dorothy Parker. If film appreciation is a rather subjective endeavor, evaluating a performance is even more so. I happen to think Ms. Leigh is one of the best actors working in film and her performance here is the type of no-net, bravura acting that is quite rare. Few actors take such chances. She understood that for Mrs. Parker sitting around that table was like being up on stage. She understood that a "naturalistic" portrayal would be totally wrong for the character, after doing her typically thorough research into the real Dorothy Parker.

As for THE PRIVATE LIVES OF DENTISTS, it is hard to think of it as a "Rudolph Film" in that this is the first time since 1991's MORTAL THOUGHTS that he was not involved in developing the screenplay. He was brought in to direct by the producer and playwright Craig Lucas after Norman Rene's death.