KING OF THE CORNER

-What did you say? Leo Spivak (Peter Reigert) hasn't a clue-
For those of you willing to trek up to the Promenade Mall up in Thornhill may be interested to know that KING OF THE CORNER is playing up there before it's released to DVD in about 2 weeks. It's a film about a middle-aged man dealing with the current stasis of his life who tells us at great length and exposition about it.

Leo Spivak (co-writer, director Peter Riegert) drifts through his life running focus groups for products for most of his life. While he remains the same, like his rapidly aging ill father (Eli Wallach), the people around him are changing, from his protege at work to his teenaged daughter who is now dating, he hasn't a clue how to keep up.

I honestly don't know whether I liked it or not.

On the one hand, there is much too much dialogue at times that I sometimes wish the characters would just stop talking. It seems that everyone wants to get the last word which is stereotypical in comedies with such a prevalent Jewish theme. I get a sense that there is some sort of an underlying base idea that I missed out on and I don't know if it's because of cultural differences or because the message is lost somewhere in its narrative.

On the other hand, the film has a great deal of depth past the surface of its rambling worrisome characters. There were great pains in taking us through the mundane existence of Leo Spivak, through his logorrhea and how he ultimately reacts to things.

And that's all he does ... is react. But I guess he's a simple man.

Either way, it isn't a bad movie ... I just watched it after Wong Kar Wai's segment in Eros which is a definite a mental flip.

KING OF THE CORNER - Showing at Rainbow Cinemas at the Promenade Mall