Subject: REVIEW: PHENOMENON (1996)

From: [email-masked] (James Berardinelli)
Date: 1 Jul 1996 15:07:55 GMT

PHENOMENON
                       A film review by James Berardinelli
                        Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli

RATING (0 TO 10): 5.5
Alternative Scale: ** out of ****

United States, 1996
U.S. Release Date: 7/3/96 (wide)
Running Length: 2:03
MPAA Classification: PG (Mild profanity)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Cast: John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker, Robert Duvall, 
      Jeffrey DeMunn, Richard Kiley, Brent Spiner
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Producers: Barbara Boyle and Michael Taylor
Screenplay: Gerald DiPego
Cinematography: Phedon Papamichael
Music: Thomas Newman
U.S. Distributor: Touchstone Pictures

     Presumably, PHENOMENON's film makers are aiming for the same 
audience that made 1994's FORREST GUMP a mega-hit.  Unfortunately, this 
movie doesn't have half of FORREST's intelligence, and, opening opposite 
INDEPENDENCE DAY, PHENOMENON is likely to capture only a small fraction 
of GUMP's box-office tally.  It's just as well.  Although the current 
slate of releases cries out for something out of the action realm, a 
poorly written entry like PHENOMENON isn't the answer.  Put simply, this 
movie is dumb.

     The promise of the premise is never realized.  It's Happy Birthday 
#37 for George Malley (John Travolta), an average guy living in an 
average Midwestern town.  George's friends, including his business 
partner, Nate (Forest Whitaker), and the local doctor (Robert Duvall), 
take him out for a drink.  Later that night, as George wanders around 
outside, he sees a mysterious light in the sky.  He's momentarily 
knocked senseless, and, after he comes around, strange things begin 
happening.  He beats the doc at chess, starts reading two to three books 
per day, learns foreign languages, and spends all night toying with new 
ideas and inventions instead of sleeping.  He develops telekinetic 
powers and can predict earthquakes.  It's only a matter of time before 
the government takes notice, but George is more concerned with catching 
the eye of the woman he has fallen for, a single mother named Lace (Kyra 
Sedgwick), who has recently moved into a nearby farm with her two young 
children.

     Although John Travolta, taking a breather from playing two-bit 
gangsters and psycho criminals, imbues George with affability, the 
script for PHENOMENON is abysmal in every way.  It's divided into two 
clearly-delineated sections.  In the first, which is light, airy, and 
poorly-focused, we see George explore his new powers, express his 
undying affection for Lace, and help out anyone who needs his aid.  In 
the second, which is maudlin and manipulative, George becomes the FBI's 
target, learns the true nature of his abilities, and must make some 
decisions about the rest of his life.  PHENOMENON goes from a feel-good 
story to a tear-jerker by using a plot contrivance that makes the "brain 
cloud" of JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO seem reasonable by comparison.  

     A few potentially-interesting subjects are introduced, but little 
is done with them beyond what's necessary to advance the plot.  After 
knowledge of George's powers becomes widespread, his friends and 
neighbors begin to approach him with uncertainty and fear.  Although he 
tries to reassure everyone that he's still the same, George's 
differences make him a pariah.  And, once the media learns of the story, 
they are tenacious in their pursuit of it.  Eventually, these aspects of 
the film have formulaic outcomes, but they are at least briefly thought-
provoking -- something that most of PHENOMENON isn't.  This is the kind 
of movie that resolves conflicts by having Robert Duvall (doing his best 
to imitate Al Pacino) and John Travolta make speeches.

     I don't know if either writer Gerald DiPego or director Jon 
Turteltaub (WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING) is a member of the Church of 
Scientology (Travolta certainly is), but PHENOMENON's screenplay is 
loaded with the kind of doctrine that Scientologists preach.  And, while 
suspension of disbelief is mandated for this sort of modern-day fable, 
PHENOMENON demands too much.  The silliness and general lack of respect 
for the audience's intelligence exceeds reasonable levels.  And, when it 
comes to manipulation to get the tears flowing, Turtletaub's handling of 
events is heavy-handed.  With so many better examples of mindless 
entertainment floating around, it would be phenomenal if PHENOMENON 
achieves a significant box-office impact.

- James Berardinelli
e-mail: [email-masked]
ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin