Original Sin: Movie, DVD Review

Written and directed by Michael Cristofer, based on the novel "Waltz Into Darkness" by Borness Woolrich, 112 minutes, rated R.

(Originally published 2001)

For fans of camp and truly bad movies, Michael Cristofer's potboiler, "Original Sin," is a treasure, a real find, one of those monolithic mediocrities that's so disastrous, it's badness is a virtue, something that transcends mere rottenness to become one of 2001's biggest jokes.

Whether the film is busy featuring Angelina Jolie naked, harried and unhappy as a conniving Havana harpy out to rip-off the world, or tossing Antonio Banderas onto the floor so he can foam at the mouth after drinking rat poison, or asking its actors to speak this sort of dialogue--"I just killed a man!" "Yes, well, I just bought a hat!"--it's impossible to take any of it seriously, so the only honest reaction is to snort with laughter.

Set in Havana, circa 1900, the film stars Jolie as Julia Russell, a hot-to-trot mail-order bride hauled to Havana to marry the wealthy Cuban coffee planter, Luis Vargas (Banderas).

Or so Vargas thinks. In spite of the fact that this Julia looks nothing like the photo he has of the real Julia, Vargas is so taken by her beauty, he decides to overlook the glaring inconsistencies and marry her anyway.

Big mistake. Before Vargas can cry "liar" and "tramp," Julia has revealed herself to be both, a woman who gleefully rakes men over the coffee grounds so she can fatten her bank account.

The best thing about the movie is that all of this takes place within the first 30 minutes, allowing director Cristofer ample time to focus on what really matters to him--Angelina Jolie's lips, which have become an institution.

Watching them open time and again to devour one of Jolie’s fingers, which she sucks on and nearly swallows in her heroic effort to please the "Emmanuelle" crowd, is one of the more curious moments in recent cinematic memory. Here we have an Academy Award-winning actress willing to sandbag her talent and plunge herself into self-parody all while fueling what's little more than a tawdry scrap of soft core porn.

If the film weren't so damn funny, that might give some people reason to pause.

Grade: F