'Langoliers' ruined by overacting, dialogue
By Jennifer Richmond
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Stephen King has two types of films. The successful and the unsuccessful. Successful include films like Misery and Stand By Me where the story is realistic. Unsuccessful films include It and Christine where the fantastical take over and bizarre occurrences seem to run the story.
King's newest film, "The Langoliers," is unfortunately one of the latter.
Airing as a miniseries on ABC this weekend, "Langoliers" looks at 10 passengers on a flight bound for Boston who end up trapped in a time rift facing the terrifying langoliers.
Only the langoliers aren't so terrifying. They are actually reminiscent of large fuzzy Pac Men with razor sharp teeth. Special effects hinder rather that improve the fake appearance of the langoliers.
If it could be said that the langoliers were the only drawback, the film might not be too bad. But, they aren't the only problem. The script is a serious drawback as well.
While the story, like most of King's books, makes for a great read, keeping you glued to the pages and fearing the next line, the story doesn't translate well to the screen. The lines are trite, clichéd and sometimes so stupid it's hard to believe people would actually talk that way.
Toward the end of the film, Nick (Mark Lindsay Chapman) is forced to choose death over life and remain awake while the rest of the cast falls asleep so they will survive their return to the present. As he watches the plane get closer to the rift, he yells to the unconscious pilot, Brian (David Morse), "My God. It's so beautiful!" As he says this with tears streaming down his face, Chapman is so overcome with unrealistic emotion, one can't help but crack up hysterical laughing over the corniness of the scene.
But it's not just the lines that make "Langoliers" so hard to take, it's how they're handled by some of the actors. The above scene is a perfect example of the overacting, as is an earlier scene between Christopher Collet's Albert and Kimber Riddle's Bethany.
It's been clear from the start that the geeky Albert is interested in the strung-out, chain-smoking Bethany. And the two have handled themselves perfectly given the situation. But they screw up the chemistry when she asks him "Do you want to kiss me?" and he answers with a resounding "YES!" She then replies with "Well, you better do it. We don't have much time." Of course they kiss. But their entire relationship is ruined.
This version of young love is tiresome and annoying. It was more interesting watching Albert adore Bethany from afar than see him kiss her in a very anti-climactic scene. This moment also negates the other believable romance that has bloomed between Nick and Laurel (Patricia Wettig).
There's really only one redeeming factor to this entire fiasco Bronson Pinchot's Craig Toomy. As the obsessed businessman who knows all too well what the langoliers are, he goes off the deep end when the flight lands in Bangor, Maine rather than Boston. Now he's going to be late for his very important business meeting. So, like all lunatics, Toomy starts killing as many people as he can.
Although his actions seem a little extreme, watching Pinchot as he goes from somewhat sane businessman to totally insane lunatic is delightful. His fetish for tearing strips of paper to keep calm is enrapturing and his dark stories of the langoliers are enticing. It's unfortunate that Pinchot's Toomy gets his in the end because Pinchot is really the only plus to this complete negative of a film.
TELEVISION: "The Langoliers." Starring Bronson Pinchot, Dean Stockwell, Patricia Wettig and Mark Lindsay Chapman. Airing Sunday, May 14, and Monday, May 15, at 9 p.m. on channel 7.