Review: Me and Orson Welles

Review: Me and Orson Welles

Rating: **1/2

Nonna's Rating: $$

Rotten Tomatoes: 84%

Add Tim Robbin's vibrant The Cradle Will Rock to Richard Benjamin's delightful My Favorite Year and you will get something that approximates Me and Orson Welles -- only most of what makes those two contributing films so fine is lost in the mix. The film focuses (in a manner of speaking) on the relationship of a high school student (played by Zach Efron) and Orson Welles' assistant (Clare Danes). But Zach must have skipped Chemistry in high school because there's certainly none here. The relationship goes nowhere fast and just doesn't hold our attention. The problem is Efron. He's pretty enough, but seems insubstantial in this movie -- a lightweight compared with everyone else. If there is any reason to see this movie, it is the performance of Christian McKay, who embodies a fully-flavored Orson Welles, warts and all. He's flamboyant, bombastic, brilliant, and a womanizer. He's downright charismatic and infuriating -- and you can't help loving him.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price
$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it