Themes: Unlikely Friendships, Living With Disability, Gender-Bending
Main Cast: Robert De Niro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Miller, Christopher Bauer, Skipp Sudduth
Release Year: 1999
Country: US
Run Time: 112 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Can a homophobic former rent-a-cop find happiness learning to sing with a man in a dress? That's the big question in this comedy-drama. A retired security guard (Robert De Niro), deeply conservative and set in his ways, falls victim to a debilitating stroke. His doctors prescribe an extensive program of physical therapy once he's released from the hospital, including singing lessons to help him regain his full powers of speech. As it turns out, there's a vocal instructor living next door to the guard, so he signs up only to discover that his new teacher is a flamboyant drag queen awaiting a sex-change operation (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Written and directed by Joel Schumacher, Flawless also stars Wilson Jermaine Heredia and Daphne Rubin-Vega, both of whom first gained notice in the Broadway musical Rent, as well as Rory Cochran and Barry Miller. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
After the back-to-back box-office failures of Batman and Robin (1997) and 8MM (1999), filmmaker Joel Schumacher retreated to a lower-budget, more personal style of project by writing and directing this character-driven comedy-drama. Schumacher uses a heavy hand with his plot, cramming in cliches such as a drug deal gone sour and a supporting cast of New York eccentrics that are straight out of central casting. However, the substance of his tale is in the relationship that develops between stroke victim Walt (Robert De Niro) and drag queen Rusty (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and it's here that the director's talent shines once again. Certainly, the delightful character interaction that forms the basis of Flawless (1999) can be attributed in great part to a pair of uniquely gifted performers. Hoffman, all gentleness and grace, finds the fractured soul inside an outrageous, flamboyant bon vivant, eschewing the hysteria with which so many other modern actors would have played the part. Opposite him, De Niro employs his great mechanical skill to convincingly mimic the mannerisms of the semi-paralyzed, even finding humor there, which is a bold and courageous choice. But credit must be given to Schumacher for crafting the scenario, choosing his leads well, and letting them shine instead of overwhelming them with the gloss and visual wizardry of his most recent films. Despite periodic forays into hand-wringing, over-the-top melodrama, Flawless is a promising and welcome return to substance for a filmmaker who appears to be back on track. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Sarah Knowles - Art Director, Eli Richbourg - Associate Producer, Mali Finn - Casting, Caroline Baron - Co-producer, Amy Sayres - Co-producer, Daniel Orlandi - Costume Designer, Michael Steele - First Assistant Director, Joel Schumacher - Director, Mark Stevens - Editor, Neil Machlis - Executive Producer, Bruce Roberts - Composer (Music Score), Jan Roelfs - Production Designer, Declan Quinn - Cinematographer, Jane Rosenthal - Producer, Joel Schumacher - Producer, Leslie Pope - Set Designer, Gary Alper - Sound/Sound Designer, John Leveque - Sound Editor, Tony Milch - Sound Editor, Joel Schumacher - Screenwriter
The 1999 film features De Niro as Walter Koontz, a homophobic New York police officer who suffers a stroke that leaves him partially paralyzed and with a severe speech impairment. His doctor recommends singing lessons to help him improve the clarity of his speech. Too ashamed by his impairment to seek out a professional voice coach, he turns for help to his neighbor (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a flamboyant pre-operative transsexual who is also a drag performer. In the course of their interactions, they discover that although they are each deeply prejudiced against one another, they also have a great deal in common.
