Date: Fri 19-Sep-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: DONNAM

Quick Words:

Playing-Game-Douglas-Hulk

Full Text:

(rev "The Game" for Now Playing, 9/19/97)

Now Playing-

Michael Douglas Continues His Special Knack In "The Game"

By Trey Paul Alexander III

Do you remember the former CBS television series, "The Incredible Hulk?" There

was a great line uttered by the Bill Bixby character, who turned into a green,

hulking monster (played by Lou Ferrigno) whenever violently roused: "Don't

make me angry ... you wouldn't like me when I'm angry." Michael Douglas, who

has a special knack for rendering characters at their wits end, should have

those words permanently stamped on his resume.

In Falling Down , as a recently laid off white collar worker in L.A. erupting

against a society growing ever more foreign to him, Douglas, in full regalia

of horn-rimmed glasses, buzz cut and pocket protector, viscerally depicts the

rage of a disenfranchised male who is mad as heck and isn't going to take it

anymore. The Game , currently playing as the number one movie in the country,

provides yet another opportunity for Douglas to shine as a reserved man pushed

to the edge by unusual circumstances.

Nicholas Van Orten (Douglas), a wealthy investment banker, has all the

material things anyone could ever want. He lives in a spacious mansion, wears

Italian suits, drives a luxury car and owns shoes that cost more than one

month's rent for a chic Manhattan apartment. Yet something seems to be

missing. On Nicholas' 48th birthday, his reckless younger brother, Conrad

(Sean Penn), offers him a solution: an invitation to call Consumer Recreation

Services (CRS), a mysterious company who offers to make their clients' lives

"fun." It's just the shot in the arm Nicholas needs. Or is it?

First, Nicholas finds his TV set talking back to him, giving him clues as to

what to expect from his "game." From there, things get increasingly more

strange as his regimented, ordinary life begins to take exceedingly bizarre

turns. On the way to an important meeting, his shirt falls prey to the stains

of a leaky pen. His briefcase, containing crucial business documents, fails to

open at a critical time. A plucky waitress (Deborah Kara Unger) collides with

him and spills drinks all over his suit and tie. Annoyances, to be sure, but

not exactly the end of the world.

But the "fun" is just beginning. Is CRS a harmless entity seeking to spice up

one's life, or does it have more sinister motives? Before long, Nicholas'

escapades begin involving police chases, elevator escapes, crazed taxi drivers

and repeated run-ins with the attractive blonde waitress. Could she be in on

it, or is she the only person Nicholas can trust? Nicholas finds himself

backed into a corner, and all restraint goes out the window.

It's here that Douglas really makes the desperation of his character so

palpable. Though he comes up short of saying, "Don't make me angry...," he

does have a terrific scene in which he repels a would-be attacker by pointing

a gun and explaining, "I'm really in a fragile state right now."

Director David Fincher, whose last film - the dark, atmospheric and

dread-drenched Steven - dared viewers to gaze at the screen without flinching,

again crafts a distinctive, creepy and engrossing picture. Unlike Fincher's

preceding picture though, The Game will not have you peeking between your

fingers waiting for the next gruesome moment. Rather, it lures your attentions

and compels you to fix your eyes and intellect upon the screen to better

decipher the twists and tangles. By the time this thriller concludes - and be

sure you don't let anyone tell you how it ends - you'll have enjoyed a taut,

well-constructed movie that delivers enough surprises to please most any

crowd.

The Game is rated R, mainly for its intensity and eerie mood. It contains some

violence (not graphic) and profanity.