FULL FRONTAL (2002)  **1/2

Reviewed 8/2/02

After ascending to Hollywood superstar directorship with two Oscar nominations for ERIN BROCKOVICH and TRAFFIC in a single year, Steven Soderbergh opted for a fluffy crime caper in OCEAN’S ELEVEN.  While it was mildly entertaining, most Soderbergh fans were disappointed that a man of such talent was squandering his time on material lacking much ambition.  His latest, the low-budget comedy FULL FRONTAL, could be interpreted as a relatively daring return to his independent film roots were it not such a lark.

FULL FRONTAL comes off like Soderbergh’s postmodern take of SHORT CUTS.  Like the Robert Altman film, numerous characters all loosely related to one another parade about Los Angeles dealing with various personal problems.  Writer Carl (David Hyde Pierce of “Frasier”) is about to have a really bad hair day involving his employment, his dog, and a brownie.  His brusque wife Lee (Catherine Keener) tortures employees as a human resources executive while having a rumpled fling with actor Calvin (Blair Underwood).  Calvin stars with Francesca (Julia Roberts) in a movie being produced by Gus (David Duchovny).  Gus coincidentally employs Lee sister, masseuse Linda (Mary McCormack), and wants a very special favor from her on the job.  Linda, meanwhile, is carrying on an online romance with a playwright and actor named Arty (Enrico Colantoni of “Just Shoot Me”).  Arty cannot control his bizarre lead actor (Nicky Katt), who plays Hitler in Arty’s latest production.

Filled with in-jokes (pokes at Miramax honcho and the movie’s executive producer Harvey Weinstein) and references to Soderbergh’s other films (Terence Stamp revisiting his role in THE LIMEY) and cameos by friends (Brad Pitt and David Fincher), FULL FRONTAL is a little too clever for its own good.  Aside from cutting amongst the various characters, FULL FRONTAL also goes back and forth between them and the film within the film that Calvin and Francesca are making.  Therein, Calvin plays Nicholas, a black actor struggling with racism in Hollywood, and Francesca is Catherine, the reporter trying to get a provocative interview out of Nicholas.  To make matters worse, there’s a film within that film too starring Brad Pitt.  Soderbergh delineates the main line of action by shooting all of it on low-end digital video.  Nicholas and Catherine’s world by contrast appears crisply on regular 35-mm film.  Naturally, those adverse to digital video with its low resolution and snowy look will be nonplussed, but Soderbergh does occasionally get some striking imagery out of this experiment, especially when shooting in close proximity to his subject while utilizing high contrast lighting.

The movie’s many jokes are mildly amusing, but not particularly special.  Only near the end does Soderbergh actually begin achieving strong emotional connection with some characters.  Then he makes the unfortunate mistake of culminating the final scene with a too-predictable twist that goes far in removing whatever good will the movie has finally built up.  While the almost-redundant last shot may act as an excuse for the movie’s flimsy contrivances, it also furthers the feeling that FULL FRONTAL is merely an exercise in sleight-of-hand artifice.

The extraordinary cast makes the experience worthwhile though.  Virtually every single actor achieves an exciting level of spontaneity.  Mary McCormack, who has had many bit parts in other films, is the biggest revelation, but other standouts include Hyde Pierce, Colantoni, and Keener (basically doing her Maxine from BEING JOHN MALKOVICH on the verge of a nervous breakdown).  Ironically, the one actor who is not up to par is the biggest star, Julia Roberts.  One never gets a handle on her character and she doesn’t have the naturalism the others convey with seeming ease.