Flawless (1999)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writer (WGA):

Joel Schumacher (written by)

Release Date:

24 November 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Nobody's Perfect. Everybody's Flawless

Plot:

An ultraconservative security guard (DeNiro) suffers a debilitating stroke and is assigned to a rehabilitative program that includes singing lessons--with the drag queen next door.

Plot Keywords:

Drag | Drag Queen | Homosexual | Singing Lessons | Gay Interest

Awards:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Walt Koontz
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Rusty
Barry Miller	...	Leonard Wilcox
Chris Bauer	...	Jacko
Skipp Sudduth	...	Tommy
Wilson Jermaine Heredia	...	Cha-Cha
Nashom Benjamin	...	Amazing Grace
Scott Allen Cooper	...	Ivana
Rory Cochrane	...	Pogo
Daphne Rubin-Vega	...	Tia
Vincent Laresca	...	Raymond Camacho
Karina Arroyave	...	Amber
John Enos III	...	Sonny (as John Enos)
Jude Ciccolella	...	Detective Noonan
Mina Bern	...	Mrs. Spivak

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language and strong violence.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo | DTS

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | USA:R (certificate #36362) | Singapore:R(A) | Singapore:M18 | Brazil:12 | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Denmark:15 | France:U | Germany:12 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Tribeca Productions

Trivia:

Rusty's line, "It costs a lot to look this cheap," is also a personal quote attributed to Dolly Parton.

Goofs:

Factual errors: A hemiplegic patient has a paralysis of one side and paralysis of the face on the other side which is not the case in this movie.

Quotes:

Rusty Zimmerman: [opens door] Oh let me guesss, a johovas witness?
Walt Koontz: I was wondering, uh if I could pay you for singing lessons?
Rusty Zimmerman: Oh hahaha, oh, honey,
[sudden serious voice]
Rusty Zimmerman: I'd rather suck Hitler's dead dick.
[slams door]
Walt Koontz: [shouts through door] I bet you already did!

Movie Connections:

References One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Soundtrack:

You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)

Offbeat movie with a point

‘Flawless' is an offbeat story about Walter Koontz (Robert De Niro) an ex-cop who suffers a stroke and loses partial ability to speak. In an effort to regain some of his speech capabilities it is recommended to him that he take singing lessons. So he decides to ask his neighbor Rusty (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who is a female impersonator, to give him singing lessons. This is an unlikely pairing because Walter is a belligerent homophobe.

This film was written and directed by Joel Schumacher. His story, though peculiar, makes some powerful points. This is a story about hatred, bigotry and reconciliation. Walter learns through his disability who his friends really are, and who they are not. It seems that the people he hates treat him a lot better than the people he thought he loved. Ultimately, he is able to look past his prejudices to find the human elements that make him and Rusty not so different after all.

This was an excellent character study of both main characters, giving a lot of insight into the motivations and lives of each. Unfortunately, the story meanders too often to irrelevant characters and scenes that don't really contribute much (like the Gay Republicans). Schumacher would have been better to concentrate on the relationship between Walter and Rusty rather than digressing so frequently into Rusty's relationships with his friends.

De Niro was outstanding in this film. Not only was he excellent in the emotional portrayal of a man having to deal with a sudden debilitating stroke, but he was very realistic in his portrayal of the physical disability itself. The combination of his struggles to do the simplest of tasks and the obvious look of anguish and frustration on his face was poignant and affecting.

Hoffman brought a lot of emotional energy to his part, and his imitation of a drag queen was passable, though somewhat forced and unnatural. Wilson Jermaine Heredia, who played Cha-Cha, the winner of the Flawless contest, was a much more convincing queen.

I rated this film a 7/10. This is a good film that helps us understand that the remedy for the fear wrought of our differences is understanding, not hatred. In that respect it makes an important contribution. If cross dressing and blatantly gay themes put you off, perhaps you should defy your inclinations and see it.