sex, lies and videotape

"sex, lies and videotape" garnered rave reviews all over the country - or rather, all over the world, having won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the audience prize at the United States Film Festival in Park City.

But when I saw it I felt it was rather bland and pretentious, from its lower-case title - "sex, lies and videotape" - to its flat presentational style.

Seeing it again didn't change my mind, though it is easy to see why James Spader won the best actor award at Cannes. His subtle, shaded performance of an aimless drifter who becomes a confidant to frustrated women and videotapes their frank discussions of their sex lives is excellent.

The story has him re-entering the life of an old high school buddy (Peter Gallagher), now a hotshot lawyer who is having an affair with his wife's sister. Andie McDowell is very good as the wife, who eventually opens up to Spader, and Laura San Giacomo's fiery performance as the sister steals the show whenever she's on the screen.

But I was somewhat let down by the film as a whole, which seems to feign more than it actually achieves.

Rated R, "sex, lies and videotape" contains violence, sex, nudity and profanity.