Series 7: The Contenders
Grade: C-
Actors: Brooke Smith, Glenn Fitzgerald, Marylouise Burke, Richard Venture, Michael Kaycheck, Merritt Weaver, Angelina Phillips, and Donna Hanover
Director: Daniel Minahan
Rated R for language and violence


What starts out as a spot-on dressing down of the reality television craze, turns into a muddled mess with contrived plot devices and aimless twists and turns. The premise of this film is kill or be killed basically, here's the rundown:

Series 7 is a reality game show played with seven players. For the sake of the film, these players include Dawn (Brooke Smith) the about-to-burst, needs-anger-management-and-therapy about to be mother and longest running winner on the show. Her opponents include a man dying a testicular Cancer that she once was in love with named Jeff (Glenn Fitzgerald), a sadistic angel of death nurse named Connie (Marylouise Burke), a crotchety old guy named Franklin (Richard Venture), a psychopathic drug abusing father of two named Tony (Michael Kaycheck), and an annoying teenager who just wants to get it on with her teenager instead of playing some steewwpid game show named Lindsay (Merritt Weaver).

The object of the game is to kill of your opponents in cold blood and then use a little calling card type deal and phone the production company and let them know who's been killed, how, and by whom. This is all fine and dandy for a while, but the plot begins to wear thin as things become predictable. We all know that this happens on the real shows, but I don't think that director Daniel Minahan was going for that effect.

The truth is that for a while, the film is perfectly fine. It does the little human interest pieces on each character and has the sappy, only-for-a-human-interest-piece, melodramatic music playing in the background. But to me, that seems like the film took the easy way out in building up the characters' personalities. Instead of relying on a sturdy script that creates interesting characters, Minahan is reduced to doing human interest stories that frankly, bored me to tears. The characters in this film simply aren't interesting or real enough to even care about.

The characterizations weren't the only thing that bothered me, there lots of little quibbles along the way. Take, for instance, the scene where Jeff wants to kill himself rather than be on the show. The announcer then states that it's against the rules to kill yourself. What, pray tell, would the punishment be? Disqualification? But that's not it, the film also is pretty convenient in creating drama. Right after giving birth to her daughter, Dawn's child is taken away from her and she is sent back out on the prowl. Now she has the maternal instinct and will power to get her daughter back and win the game. It's rather cliche and dull.

The film really is a blase affair. The only good, funny parts come courtesy of Michael Kaycheck. Tony is the funniest character of the bunch and the most intersting. The other roles are all acted well, but none of them have the impact that Tony does. Brooke Smith (best known for her role as the girl told to put the lotion in the basket in "The Silence of the Lambs") acquits herself well and acts with a maternal and weary ferocity. Too bad her character is as bland as an all white outfit. Glenn Fitzgerald makes the "romantic" scenes between Dawn and Jeff easier to swallow.

The film is ruined by an even more lamebrained conclusion involving the kidnapped daughter, unrequieted love, and a scene in a movie theater that is cringeworthy, not for gross-out but for dialogue.

Kenneth Tynis once said, "A critic is someone who knows the way, but can't drive the car." Daniel Minahan, you certainly knew the way, too bad your car broke down...


--Brian Jones, 2002 --If you would like to comment on this review or any others, please e-mail me at SilentCynic15@cs.com.