Still, the critical savagery puzzles me. Altman’s movie may be indefensible, but it’s not unenjoyable. The fun of it is entirely superficial, like skimming a gossip column. Look – there’s Cher! Isn’t that Sonia Rykiel? Do you think Forest Whitaker is playing Patrick Kelly? There’s amusement in Kim Basinger’s dizzy impersonation of a haplessly gushing TV reporter; there’s the chance to marvel at Anouk Aimee’s grave elegance and Sophia Loren’s time-defying beauty, and there’s the simple pleasure of watching the 69-year-old Altman trying to keep several dozen balls simultaneously spinning in the air. All right, so he drops a lot of them this time. But when most every other filmmaker is tossing one ball at a time, why lynch the guy for trying?
