'Frank Gehry' unpretentious

"SKETCHES OF FRANK GEHRY" — *** — Documentary feature about architect Frank Gehry; rated PG-13 (profanity).

"Sketches of Frank Gehry" has the feel of a film made on a dare — as if someone bet veteran director Sydney Pollack ("Tootsie," "Out of Africa") that he couldn't make an interesting movie about architecture.

Which is not to say the film is halfhearted or less than worthwhile. If anything, it's probably the best movie Pollack has made in awhile.

And he's smart enough not to let the whole thing go on too long. This documentary runs less than 90 minutes — just enough time to get into the subject but not so long that it becomes tedious or tiresome.

As the title suggests, the film's focus is on Frank Gehry, a longtime friend of Pollack who has gained notoriety with his reputation for creating architectural designs that don't conform to the normal, conventional rules of geometry.

The movie also interviews with some of Gehry's art and architecture contemporaries, and tries to show how his loose sketches — some of which appear to be little more than a series of squiggly lines — are transformed into structures that are unique in the world. Among his contributions are Spain's Guggenheim Museum and a renovation of the Hollywood Bowl.

Pollack even shows up onscreen to comment, as do such movers and shakers as Michael Eisner, Michael Ovitz and Bob Geldhof. Their contributions are less interesting, however.

As expected, it's Gehry who turns out to be the most truthful and brutally honest commentator on his work. He's refreshingly unpretentious.

Just like the movie.

"Sketches of Frank Gehry" is rated PG-13 for scattered strong profanity, including one usage of the so-called "R-rated" curse word. Running time: 83 minutes.

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E-mail: jeff@desnews.com