Who Is Cletis Tout? Who Cares?
Who Is Cletis Tout?
Rated R * Now Playing
Kent's grade: C-
THE PLOT:
It is 1977 New York and Micah (Richard Dreyfuss), posing as a mime, absconds with $4.5 million in diamonds. Stashing them, he is subsequently caught and jailed for 25 years where he befriends Finch (Christian Slater).
Helping Micah escape, Finch tags along for a cut of the loot. Assuming identities of recently deceased individuals, Finch becomes Cletis Tout. But Finch gets more than he bargained for when he meets Micah's beautiful daughter, Tess (Portia De Rossi), a rambunctious equal to Finch. When Micah is killed by mobsters, Finch realizes they are after Cletis Tout, or rather, him. Hatching a daring plan, Finch and Tess try a ruse that would make Micah proud.
Kent's Take:
"Who Is Cletis Tout?" is not the most important question this movie summons to mind. Some more important inquiries run along the lines of - Where is the hook? Did anyone associated with this story know the importance of true conflict? And lastly, what kind of name is Cletis Tout? Is that some kind of venereal disease?
With a "conflict lite" story, this film never gathers momentum for the viewer. Having no real hook, we are left waiting throughout the movie for something to happen that will elicit a strong emotion (other than boredom).
With the talented Dreyfuss, Slater and Tim Allen (as critical Jim, a hit man) in interesting roles, this production does a wonderful job of wasting their talent by giving them either absolutely nothing to work with (Dreyfuss) or a character so over-the-top that he's ridiculous (Allen).
Simply put, the problem lies in the screenplay, the heart of every movie. This story is the broken cog in the gears that brings the film to a halt before it starts.
"Who Is Cletis Tout?" is not a horrible film. It's a below average endeavor that misuses or wastes skilled
actors and directing. Who is Cletis Tout? Who cares?
© 2002 Webster-Kirkwood Times, Inc.
Movie reviews by Carol Hemphill and Kent Tentschert
reelworld@timesnewspapers.com
