THE QUEST FOR THE MOST ’90s FILM OF ALL TIME
Devil’s Advocate

I have a special place in my heart for Devil’s Advocate, mainly because it’s the type of movie that isn’t made anymore. It’s ambitious and expensive, but it’s clearly made for adults. Studios now either green-light lavish spectacles for children or ration tiny budgets out to anything that can’t get a PG-13. There is no in between. And if a movie is aimed solely at adults, it better be a prestige picture with perfect reviews. Here, however, is a film full of sex, violence, movie stars, top-notch effects, and a completely retarded premise that no adult would ever take seriously. It gives those of us writing ironic movie reviews hope for the future.

STARS/PERFORMANCES 
Actors Who Are Unquestionably Tied to the Decade- Keanu Reeves [+10]
I’ve written before that Keanu Reeves is unfairly maligned, but I’ll readily admit that he’s terrible in this. The movie opens on his hotshot attorney Kevin Lomax—with a resplendent Florida accent [+3]—persuading a jury to acquit That Guy Chris Bauer [+3], a man he knows is guilty of improper conduct with minor Heather Matarazzo [+3]. Part of the way he does it is with a SURPRISE EXHIBIT [+5] that turns the case on its head. Here’s evidence that has not been vetted by the court in any way, and the defense has no prior knowledge of its existence; but the judge is just like, “In the future, please, uh, tell us when you have a damning document that perjures the key witness.” And Lomax is all like: “Whatever, I’m 64-0. Gayyynesveale 4 life!”

So he celebrates that he’s 64-0 [+1], since a prosecutor’s record is the only way a film audience can know that he’s successful, and a big New York firm comes sniffing around to lure him into their clutches. For another hour of its two-and-a-half hour running time, the movie dances around the fact that his new employer is Satan, even though the audience clearly knows this already because they saw the trailer in which Al Pacino does all kinds of pimp Devil shit like taking Kevin to Roy Jones, Jr. fights [+1] and guessing where girls are from based on their accents [+1].

- Other Notable Actors/Characters- Jeffrey Jones [+5], Craig T. Nelson [+5], and Delroy Lindo [+5]
This is a movie that, for what it is, takes itself really seriously, and part of it is because reputable actors lend their services to thankless roles. Director Taylor Hackford must have called in a lot of favors to get almost every part played by a name-actor. “Hey, Delroy. Are you interested in playing a crazy dude who has two lines in the entire movie? I mean, most of your scenes are probably going to be cut. If it’s any consolation, I’ll be grandiloquent in discussing you on the DVD commentary.”


Speaking of improper conduct with minors…

I don’t know where else to mention this, so here. Looking back, Charlize Theron is shockingly good in this movie. At a time when most people just assumed she was another pretty face, (And it is a pretty face. She’s in her prime here.) she blows everyone else off screen. It’s the most difficult part in the script to play, and she nails it with a fearlessness and commitment that Pacino could have learned from. What thanks does she get? 75% of the hits in image searches for the movie are her full-frontal. To be fair, there is some quality nudity in this film. It’s a perfect movie to catch halfway through on HBO, just for “the good parts.”

TECHNOLOGY/CULTURAL RELICS
- Could the Plot Reasonably Occur with Current Technology?
I know this is supposed to be a parable, but isn’t it a waste of the Devil’s resources to take a job as even the highest profile attorney when he could be a dictator of a country or something? Imagine the time the Devil has to waste keeping up appearances by taking meetings and billing hours. The whole time he’s on the company retreat he has to be thinking, “I could turn into that snake over there.” As the movie goes on, we understand why he went after Lomax specifically, and that it fits into his evilest of plans, but this is still a dumb premise. [-10].

- Hacking/Computers
Not much computer love, but there is a shot of Kevin’s computer that reveals the word processing software of supposedly the biggest Manhattan firm as Corel WordPerfect. [+3]


I haven’t mentioned Al Pacino’s performance, but this photo should suffice. By the way, his character’s name is John Milton [+2], and I guess you’re supposed to think that’s clever because John Milton wrote Paradise Lost, which is an epic poem about the Fall of Man. But it’s not like Milton himself was Satan or even thought Satan was cool. Like many elements of the film, it’s a reference that seems like a good idea at first but never quite makes it all the way there. And that allusion solidifies this as a movie for people who dropped out of college. Don’t ask me to explain.

- Other Technological Notes
Flip-phones and payphones are involved. [+2] Theron’s Mary Ann tries to page Kevin. [+1] I have to mention the CGI of the film, particularly near the end, because it actually holds up well. There’s an eerie scene of an empty Times Square that looks great. Well done, Taylor Hackford.

FASHION
Do khaki double-breasted suits sound like something that would interest you? How about light-washed jeans tucked into a t-shirt/blazer pairing? What about vests? And suspenders holding up pleats? A solid showing. [+5]

’90s FILM CONVENTIONS
People Out-Doing Each Other by Quoting The Bible [+1]
Leftover Meal Wrapped Up in a Tinfoil Swan [+1]

“Fast Motion” Photography to Show Time Passing [+3]
This Is Really Important. Here’s a Close-Up So That You Remember It Later [+3]

Acting As If Florida Is a Part of the South [+3]- Anyone actually from the South knows that Florida is more of its own weird White Trash country that operates outside of the confines of Dixie.

Scene in Which the Unhinged Protagonist Is Having Sex with His Wife but Is Hallucinating (?) That He’s Having Sex with Someone He Subconsciously Favors, and He Doesn’t Know What’s Real and What Isn’t (a/k/a Black Swanning) [+3]

Dream within a Dream [+5]

OTHER
I’m a bit sheepish to admit how much I like this movie. Although there are entire subplots that could have been kept out, entire performances that should have been rethought, and a tone that varies wildly throughout, I love how convinced of its own greatness this movie is. By the time its apocalyptic final thirty minutes wind down, you’re ready to go anywhere with it. It’s Pacino at his most cheeky, Keanu at his most unintentionally hilarious, and Charlize at her most everything.

Final score: 64.