I purposely didn’t read much about this before going in, relying only on my knowledge of the subject matter and of Robert Altman’s work. It is about what I expected, which is to say that I mostly enjoyed it. It’s better than that one Altman did about the dance company, but with the same feel. If you like PHC, you will recognize a lot of stuff. GK is pretty funny in this, although the bit about the "dangerous woman" in the white coat kinda threw me off. Guy Noir (Kevin Kline) is quite funny, and Woody Harrelson was strong as Dusty. It is a little weird that the radio characters are "real" in the film, but it works. In many ways this is typical Altman, which is to say that it is atypical, unique. The overlapping dialogue, the motif of the backstage comedy/drama, the meandering storyline, lack of closure are what we’ve come to expect from him, and, while I like the idea and the freshness of the unHollywood movie he has come to embody, it still leaves me a little unsatisfied. And maybe that’s the point, why his work can seem so lifelike.
