Email Author Melissa Anderson

2012 Stories by Melissa Anderson

• "Friends with Kids": Traditional Rom-Com Takes No Risks

  published March 7, 2012

  Best friends since college, Jason (Adam Scott) and Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt) witness the misery that seems to dominate the lives of their... More >>

• "Project X": Empty Hedonism for High-Schoolers

  published March 7, 2012

  "There's a midget in the oven!" is about as inspired as the dialogue and set pieces get in this queasy-making entertainment about a 17-year-old... More >>

• "Crazy Horse": Elegantly Uncovers French Cabaret

  published February 29, 2012

  Recording the anthem "Les Filles du Crazy," half a dozen women — performers at the Crazy Horse, the classy Parisian nudie cabaret —... More >>

• "Tyler Perry's Good Deeds": The Only Novelty Is the Setting

  published February 29, 2012

  Set in San Francisco, Good Deeds is the rare Tyler Perry film—his 11th—not to take place in Georgia. Despite the new... More >>

• "Undefeated": Fails to Defeat Cliches

  published February 29, 2012

  An inspirational sports tearjerker in distilled form, this new Harvey Weinstein-hawked doc lands in North Memphis, where the underfunded,... More >>

• "Bullhead": Testosterone Stunts Plot Development

  published February 22, 2012

  In Bullhead, Michael R. Roskam's first feature, thirtyish Jacky (Matthias Schoenaerts) is a cattle-farming hulk who keeps his mini... More >>

• "Domain": Dependence Overshadows Charm

  published February 1, 2012

  Fearless Béatrice Dalle, who made her screen debut at age 21 as the sexed-up, self-mutilating title character in Betty Blue... More >>

• "Carol Channing: Larger Than Life": Uncovering Broadway's Blonde

  published February 1, 2012

  "There was this creature with huge eyes and an enormous red mouth," recalls Bruce Vilanch on first seeing Carol Channing on TV — an... More >>

• "One for the Money": A Mediocre and Messy Action Comedy

  published February 1, 2012

  One for the Money—not just the title of Katherine Heigl's latest but also the mantra she chants before every movie contract she... More >>

• "Albert Nobbs": A Daring Story Rendered Static

  published January 25, 2012

  Fulfilling a mission that has consumed her for almost two decades, Glenn Close — as producer, co-writer, and lead — brings to the... More >>

• "Sing Your Song": Harry Belafonte's Moving Hagiography

  published January 25, 2012

  Produced by his youngest daughter, Gina, this profile of Harry Belafonte, foregrounding the 84-year-old actor and singer's political activism,... More >>

• "Pina": Added Dimension Expands Emotional Range

  published January 18, 2012

  "You just have to get crazier" was advice mighty choreographer Pina Bausch once gave to one of her dancers, who fondly recalls the moment in... More >>

• Song Worth Singing Again

  published January 18, 2012

  Produced by his youngest daughter, Gina, this profile of Harry Belafonte, foregrounding the 84-year-old actor and singer's political activism, is... More >>

• "Joyful Noise": Nothing Is Sacred in This Gaudy Mess

  published January 11, 2012

  A holy hot mess of the sacred and the inane, Joyful Noise, about a gospel choir in Pacashau, Ga., is Jesus for Gleeks. Less... More >>

• "The Conquest": Sarko Wins the Republic, Loses His Wife

  published January 4, 2012

  A brisk, fascinating chronicle of a pre-Carla Bruni Nicolas Sarkozy that time-shifts from May 6, 2007 — the day he was both elected... More >>