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GOLDIE HAWN: CRISSCROSS, DEATH BECOMES HER, HOUSESITTER

© Sean Gallagher

Goldie Hawn burst into stardom in late 1960's on TV as part of the ensemble cast of the TV show "Laugh-In." Though she, like everyone else, mostly appeared in brief sketches or comedy bits, her persona was of the airhead (which, since she was a blonde, played right into the stereotype) - she often burst out laughing during intros, or would forget what she was saying. Her film roles started as continuing that image, as with CACTUS FLOWER, which won her an Oscar, or her smash hit PRIVATE BENJAMIN, which she also produced. However, Hawn has been best when she's tried to stretch a little, as with the woman on the run in Steven Spielberg's SUGARLAND EXPRESS, or Warren Beatty's impatient girlfriend in SHAMPOO. In 1992, she took three varied film roles - Chris Menges' CRISSCROSS, Robert Zemeckis' DEATH BECOMES HER, and Frank Oz's HOUSESITTER. All three of them required her to stretch a little, though the last film, as a film, doesn't stretch.

Menges' film is the least known, mostly because it was delayed, not screened for critics, and received atrocious reviews from those who did see it (though it did get some good notices). It's too bad it was ignored, because although it's somewhat flawed, it's also a moving story.

The title refers to the name of the main character, played by David Arnott, a 12 year old in 1969 Key West. His father John (Keith Carradine) was in Vietnam, and has been so shattered by the experience that he's joined a monastery. Cut off, Chris' mom Tracy (Hawn) has taken a number of jobs to help pay the bills, including cleaning the hotel where they live, and stripping. When Chris discovers this last job, he resolves to make enough money so she doesn't have to do that anymore. He gets a job delivering fish, and when he discovers drugs in the fish, he decides to deal them on his own.

Admittedly, there are problems with the story. For starters, writer Scott Sommer, adapting his own novella, has kept the narration in the movie, and it's overexplicit. Also, while it's believable Chris would want to go to desperate measures to help his mom, the drug subplot seems tacked-on. Finally, this was Arnott's first film, and it shows; though he looks like a believable 12 year old, some of his line readings come off flat, especially the narration.

Still, why this got slammed is a mystery. Menges resists the urge to make this a nostalgia piece. True, there are constant references to the moon landing, but the people presented feel like real people, rather than Hollywood's idea of 60's people. That's also partly because of the rest of the cast, especially the highly underrated Arliss Howard as a writer who gets involved with Tracy. But mostly, it's because of Hawn. There's always a danger with stars when they try to play lower-class roles that they come off as self-important. But there's nothing vain or self-important about Hawn here. She's got a believable bond with both Arnott and Howard, and the scenes where she's stripping are just played naturally. CRISSCROSS is, for the most part, a film that could have been melodrama, but is played naturally and therefore is affecting.

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