Flawless [Blu-ray]

Director: Joel Schumacher Joel Schumacher

Overview

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.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/19/2015
UPC:	0887090099202
Original Release:	1999
Rating:	R
Source:	Olive
Language:	English
Time:	1:52:00
Sales rank:	17,564

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Robert De Niro	Walt Koontz
Philip Seymour Hoffman	Rusty Zimmerman
Barry Miller	Leonard Wilcox
Christopher Bauer	Actor
Skipp Sudduth	Tommy
Wilson Jermaine Heredia	Actor
Nashom Benjamin	Actor
Scott Allen Cooper	Actor
Rory Cochrane	Actor
Daphne Rubin-Vega	Actor
Vincent Laresca	Actor
Karina Arroyave	Actor
John Enos	Actor
Jude Ciccolella	Actor
Mina Bern	Actor
Wanda De Jesús	Actor
Madhur Jaffrey	Actor
Mark Margolis	Actor
Shiek Mahmud-Bey	Actor
Luis Saguar	Actor
Kyle Rivers	Actor
Sammy Rhee	Actor
Hyunsoo Lee	Actor
Richie LaMontagne	Actor
Penny Balfour	Actor
Winter B. Uhlarik	Actor
Raven O	Actor
Joey Arias	Actor
Jackie Beat	Actor
Blake Willett	Actor
Ingrid Rivera	Actor
Craig Braun	Actor
John Doumanian	Actor
Melissa Osborn	Actor
John Contratti	Actor
Stacy Highsmith	Actor
Rod Rodriguez	Actor
Alice Williams	Actor
Antonette Schwartzberg	Actor
Hamilton De Oliveira	Actor
John Polce	Actor
Logan McCall	Actor
John E. Mack	Actor
John R. Corcoran	Actor
Matt Merchant	Actor
Kevin Aviance	Actor
Coco LaChine	Actor
Jose Angel Garcia	Actor
Bruce Roberts	Actor
Al Marz	Actor
Michelle Robinson	Actor
Nina Sonja Peterson	Actor
Larry Marx	Actor
Mitchell Lichtenstein	Actor
John Fink	Actor
Bret Kropp	Actor
Cooley	Actor
Constance Boardman	Actor
Lucy Cerezo-Scully	Actor
Al Thompson	Actor
John Enos III	Actor

Technical Credits

Joel Schumacher

Joel Schumacher	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
Connie Brink	Special Effects
Mali Finn	Casting
Neil Machlis	Executive Producer,Executive Producer
Jane Rosenthal	Producer
Matt Vogel	Special Effects
Eddie Yansick	Stunts
Caroline Baron	Producer
Amy Sayres	Producer
Gary Alper	Sound Effects
Ron Bartlett	Sound Effects
Gary Blufer	Sound Effects
Robert De Niro	Producer

Editorial Reviews

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.

All Movie Guide - Karl Williams