Talking Truffaut (and Darling Companion) with Kevin Kline

Here is my favorite Kevin Kline story: We’re riding the elevator down to the lobby of a swanky L.A. hotel at the end of a long day of interviews during the 1991 press gathering for Grand Canyon. And he’s politely listening to my whining about a decision I have to make soon – very soon, like within an hour or so.

As a film critic for The Houston Post, I really, really should go out that evening to see a nationally advertised advance screening of The Last Boy Scout, because I’ve already missed the press screening of that Bruce Willis flick back home in H-Town.

But gee whiz, a rep-house theater within an easy drive from the hotel is showing newly restored prints of two Francois Truffaut movies – Mississippi Mermaid and The Bride Wore Black – on a double bill. I’m flying home tomorrow morning, so tonight will be my only chance to see them. But Bruce Willis is a big star, and Last Boy Scout may be a big film. But I’m a big Truffaut fan – hell, I’m still mourning his 1984 death – and these two particular films aren’t in wide rep-house circulation. But I do kinda-sorta have a duty to my readers. But I…

Gently but firmly, Kline interrupts my blather. He looks me squarely in the eye, smiles just a bit, and says: “You’ve already made your decision, haven’t you?” His tone signifies he is not making a query, but stating a fact. And, of course, he is absolutely correct.

Flash forward 21 years, and wouldn’t you know it: Even as Kline and I are settling down for a chat about his latest movie – the wise and witty Darling Companion, in which he co-stars with the lovely and talented Diane Keaton (above) – we’re still talking about Truffaut. And other things as well. You can read the rest of my CultureMap.com Q&A here.

Update: And you can rent a DVD of the movie starting Aug. 28 through Redbox.

Mama's Boy

In certain primitive cultures, it is common for the aged or infirm to be abandoned in the wilderness, or atop ice floes, and left to fend for themselves. On Friday, Warner Bros. emulated that approach to disposing of the inconvenient with its conspicuously unpublicized regional release of Mama’s Boy, which I review here. This strenuously unfunny comedy is just aggressively quirky enough to attract a small but fervent cult. But here's the catch: I'm willing to bet such a cult would be comprised primarily of emotionally stunted slackers who have far too much in common with the lead character played by Jon Heder.