Interesting take on Balzac's novel "Papa Goriot", where Goriot is Cruise's absent father and the reluctant devil Vautrin is played by Brown. The line that Brown tries to teach Cruise is how to get into high society through the right kind of woman.
The slickness, including the overwritten dialogue, gets in the way, but it sure is fun to look at. Brown is good in a scene-stealing kind of way, and you can see flashes of brilliance in Cruise's performance - occasionally. The scene where Banes tells him what kind of shirt to wear, for example. It takes about three seconds, but you can see the resignation on Cruise's face and in his voice.
Gershon and Shue are underused, in my opinion, having what amounts to incidental roles.
The slickness, including the overwritten dialogue, gets in the way, but it sure is fun to look at. Brown is good in a scene-stealing kind of way, and you can see flashes of brilliance in Cruise's performance - occasionally. The scene where Banes tells him what kind of shirt to wear, for example. It takes about three seconds, but you can see the resignation on Cruise's face and in his voice.
Gershon and Shue are underused, in my opinion, having what amounts to incidental roles.