The Glitter, The Glamour: Take Five

By Rick Horowitz

And the nominees are:

"D.C. Confidential" -- The year's runaway favorite with the critics, though it's yet to win the hearts of a wider audience, "D.C. Confidential" serves up a smoky stew of intrigue, sex and corruption in high places.

It's hard to tell the good guys from the scoundrels in this high-gloss homage to the great scandal flicks of the past. Start with a clean-cut chief executive with an eye for danger. Add a mysterious young woman who knows exactly what she wants. Stir in enough steamy secrets to bring down a White House -- and watch the sparks start to fly!

The ensemble cast delivers top-notch performances, and the screenplay's constant twists and turns will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Somebody's lying. Somebody knows it. At the corner of Truth and Consequences, collisions can be fatal.

"Satanic?" -- They said he was unsinkable -- until he ran into something unexpected below the waterline. Was it the devil's work, payback for the hubris of modern man? Or just a vast right-wing conspiracy?

Thrill to this improbable -- but not "improper," nosiree -- romance set against the backdrop of one of history's most infamous events. (A particular nod to the spectacular special-effects work of James Carville, Paul Begala and the entire crew at Industrial Smoke & Mirrors; they almost convince you the whole thing is fiction!)

Billy Jeff Clinton stars as the poor boy from Arkansas who wins passage on the mighty ship of state, while Monica Lewinsky scores a career breakthrough as the well-bred young lady from Beverly Hills on her not-quite-maiden voyage. Their love cannot be -- but what about a little hanky-panky on the side?

It's amazing how much damage a few well-placed leaks can do.

"He's Still Hunting" -- He could have been mopping the floors at Pepperdine Law School. Instead he's swept up in the greatest adventure of his life. Now the critics are convinced: A Starr Is Born!

That's Kenneth Starr, of course, plucked from obscurity and asked to investigate the president of the United States. Can he leave his partisan past and low-rent friends behind and become a truly "independent" counsel? Will his "street-tough" tactics keep him from ever reaching his goals? And can he find true happiness at last with the woman who suddenly enters his life with 20 hours of incriminating tapes?

Years in the making and millions over budget -- but you'll never forget this one.

"As Good As His Pets" -- You can't tame him. You certainly can't embarrass him. He's a charming rogue who lives by his own rules and doesn't mind whose intelligence he insults along the way. And that smile!

Bill Clinton earns his latest Oscar nomination in this heartwarming comedy-drama about a seedy middle-aged guy who hits on women half his age but likes dogs and cats so he must be a family man. Hillary Clinton is equally good as the woman who keeps taking him back despite his faults, and the frequent antics of White House rivals Socks and Buddy provide just the right touch of fun.

But don't they have the wrong hound on that leash?

"The Full Monica" -- The year's biggest little word-of-mouth hit stars Peter Jennings, Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw as down-on-their-luck TV anchors whose job prospects are fading as all the news in town seems to have dried up. And then they discover: Sex sells!

You won't stop laughing as these establishment icons strip away their last shreds of restraint and get down and dirty with the rest of the scandal-crazed media. Their initial embarrassment makes for some wonderful comedy bits, but that self-flagellation dance in the media-food-chain line is worth the price of admission all by itself.

This one's not for the kiddies. For everyone else? A classic in the making!

2/10/98