Director Jonathan Demme expressed in a recent interview that he had the “time of his life” making “The Truth About Charlie,” his high-octane remake of Stanley Donen’s classic 1963 caper, “Charade.” “It was very liberating,” he said with a sly grin. “It was fun to step out of being so serious. I wasn’t trying to say anything at all, I just wanted to make a really fun, enjoyable movie.”
Sadly, “The Truth About Charlie” is neither fun nor enjoyable, and—perhaps its most glaring flaw—an embarrassment to the original 1963 gem upon which it is based. Cardboard characters; jerky, nonsensical camerawork; an incomprehensible story and set pieces that are just plain bizarre make this one of the most disappointing duds of 2002.
The original “Charade” was not a great movie in the traditional sense: it had a very simple premise, a straightforward plot and, while many twists and turns marked its way, it never truly gave us anything we weren’t expecting. No, “Charade” was personality-driven: a glittering diamond in the grand tradition of 1960s-style films, where plot was superfluous compared with the characters, sets and dialogue. The story of “Charade” was merely an excuse for the titanic Cary Grant and the volcanic Audrey Hepburn to mesh personalities, tossing flirtatious barbs at each other with stylish aplomb. Donen’s idea was to give these two great actors a playground with which to link up and take the audience on a wild, often hilarious ride.
Mark Wahlberg, updating ol’ Cary in the role of suave swinger Joshua Peters in Demme’s version, is about as charming as wet toast. His leading man is just plain boring: too much ho-hum delivery and plastic facial expression, not enough finesse. Thandie Newton does a fine job with the little she’s given as Hepburn’s Virginia, but even her emerging talents can’t hope to control a mess of this size. And then you have poor Tim Robbins, one of the finest actors of his generation stuck in a one-note role with little to do but stand around and offer Snidely Whiplash-like snarls. You just have to keep telling yourself, as Demme must have, this looked really good on paper.
