User reviews

The object in question is a pint-sized Henry Moore statuette, owned by shallow sophisticate Andie McDowell and appraised at $35,000, an amount in many ways even more beautiful to its owner than the item itself. Especially when McDowell and her 'husband' (played to haughty perfection by John Malkovich) find themselves at a fiscal disadvantage while living beyond their means in a posh London hotel. In the vernacular of the upwardly mobile, they aren't 'fluid', and when the statuette disappears they immediately accuse each other of plotting to collect the insurance value. The film is an underhanded, cynical, satirical poke at American materialism, pointless in the end because nothing is resolved. But the plot itself is secondary to the characters (ugly though they are), and rarely have two actors been better suited to their roles: McDowell's poor little rich girl routine is by now second nature, and Malkovich captures all the self-absorbed boredom of the ersatz upper class with his languid voice and steady reptilian gaze.

Jake (John Malkovich) and Tina (Andie MacDowell) are living beyond their means in a classy London hotel. Hotel manager Mr. Mercer (Joss Ackland) and his underling Victor Swayle keep trying to collect. Jake is down from a cocoa investment in Sierra Leone. Tina has a small highly priced Henry Moore sculpture from her husband Larry (Peter Riegert) which Jake would like to sell. Joan (Lolita Davidovich) is her friend. Deaf maid Jenny steals it for its beauty. The hotel investigates. The insurance company stalls on paying the claim. Distrust grows between the couple. Jenny's brother Steve tries to sell the ugly little sculpture.

As a comedy, it's not that funny. It's intermittently quirky. Its pacing does not give it the needed tension. It's a bit of an odd duck. It has a darkness but isn't dark enough to be compelling. Nobody is worth rooting for. I worry more about the sculpture than any of the characters. This film needs an upgrade in intensity. I have questions about how Victor gets to ransack Jenny's home. I also have questions about who that lady is to Jenny. I would be more interested in following the odd little head than any of these characters.

Jake and Tina are living a lavish life in a top London Hotel, only they are living way beyond their means, their only asset, Tina's limited edition Henry Moore figurine. Its disappearance coincides with new maid Jenny, who took a shine to it.

I understand why it has a relatively low score, and I don't think anyone could argue it has a massive appeal, but it has a definite appeal.

It's a real fusion of styles, yes it's a drama, but it's a comedy, it's a romance, it definitely crosses the genres.

Jake and Tina are two very spoiled adult children, they have no respect for one another, no regard for one another, I don't even think they like eachother, you have to wonder how on Earth they got together.

Delightful performances from the leading stars, John Malkovich and a radiant Andie MacDowell are both terrific, she edges it for me, Bill Patterson and Joss Ackland are both quite wonderful.

Not quite an underrated gem, but definitely well worth seeing.

7/10.

Call me a goody-goody, but I have a hard time liking a movie (or a story) in which dishonest people - right from the start - are made out to be the "good guys."

The main couple in this film - "Tina and Jake," played by Andie MacDowell and John Malkovich, respectively - are a couple of cheats, liars and bankrupt people when it comes to ethics. We are supposed to root for these people, and "laugh" along with them?

Later we have to hear them squabbling all the time when their con goes awry. No thanks.

What a sick message and a poor excuse for entertainment.

Have you ever been to a party where you dislike everybody? By that, I mean, you can not find one single person whose company you enjoy. This movie is that party!

There is not one single redeemable character in this movie, no one you can sympathize with or care about. No one worth spending your time, which means this movie is not worth spending your time.

The two main characters are two spoiled, rotten, selfish, moronic individuals without one good character trait I can see. The one character that you would expect to illicit sympathy, the deaf house maid, is also portrayed as selfish and idiotic. Each character's moves throughout the entire movie illicits the following question: "Why would anyone do that?!"

If you like this type of party, then enjoy, but if you're like me, throw the invitation away.

This is by far one of my favorite little films, & just yesterday I bought it on DVD for a mere pittance ($6 & change)& settled in happily to enjoy it again. Only once in a blue moon does it turn up on artsy/independent film-type channels, so don't hold your breath looking for it on TV.

Everyone in this film is perfectly cast, & what makes it come together so beautifully is that each character in this piece exhibits faults & foibles, as we all do. It's so refreshing to watch something entertaining where the characters are portrayed as "real" - albeit flawed - people. In addition, the jazz musical score throughout the film fits the mood like a glove.

My favorite not-to-be-missed extremely funny scene? John Malkovich's "Jake", in a moment of depressed exasperation, talking aloud to himself composing his own obituary. I laugh every time I hear it - his delivery is perfect. Another favorite scene, very poignant, is when Mr. Malkovich's "Jake" phones his parents, after an apparently long absence, with the apparent intention of requesting monetary assistance. From the one-sided conversation you hear, you get an automatic insight into "Jake"'s upbringing, & perhaps why he's taken the path he has. Even though short, it's an extremely moving & insightful scene.

This movie is definitely worth renting if you can find it - but for the money, it's also worth adding to one's permanent DVD collection.

John Malkovich and Andy McDowell star in "The Object of Beauty," a 1991 film directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.

Malkovich and McDowell play Jake and Tina, an unmarried couple (she's getting a divorce) who love to travel, stay in beautiful hotels, call room service, and go to lovely restaurants. Just one problem: Jake is in commodities and the cocoa shipment he's heavily invested in is being held up, and he's broke. The hotel wants their money. His credit card is declined at dinner. He is able to give the restaurant a check, but if the bank refuses to pay the check, it will bounce.

Jake eyes one of Tina's gifts from her husband (Peter Riegert), a small Henry Moore statue, worth a fortune. She won't agree to let him sell it. Finally she suggests that if it were stolen, they could collect on the insurance. She asks a good friend Joan (Lolita Davidovich) to keep the statue for her should she ask her to do so. Joan agrees.

When the statue appears to be missing, Jake thinks Tina took it. But Tina didn't. It appears that the statute was actually stolen. The hotel and insurance company start an investigation, and, seeing Jake's financial problems, don't really believe him.

Amusing comedy fueled by a wonderful performance from John Malkovich, who is very funny, especially when he's lying on a bed composing his own obituary, and during a phone call to his parents where he wants to borrow money but ends up not asking for any. Andie McDowall is sweet and beautiful as Tina, who wants to be taken care of but realizes she's in the relationship for more than that.

Very charming and stylish comedy, not a laugh out loud one, but a sophisticated one that has some warmth underneath it.

My review was written In March 1991 after watching the film at a Times Square screening room.

"The Object of Beauty" is a throwback to the romantic comedies of Swinging London cinema, but lacks the punch of the best of that late '60s genre. It has only modest prospects among sophisticated theatrical audiences, with a much better outlook in ancillary exposure.

Following up his "The Sheltering Sky" performance with another drifting character, John Malkovich toplines as a ne'er-do-well holed up in a swank London hotel with his mate Andie MacDowell. Everyone assumes the two of them are married, but MacDowell is still hitched to estranged hubby Peter Riegert.

With amiable comedy situations to sugarcoat the opening reels, not much happens as the duo dine in the hotel's expensive restaurant, Malkovich worries about his broker selling him out on dubious investments and he carefully dodges the hotel manager (Joss Ackland) with inquiries about paying a portion of their bill.

Plot concerns the title object, a small Henry Moore figurine that MacDowell received from Riegert as a present and which Malkovich desperately wants to sell or use for an insurance scam to cover his hotel tab and ongoing business reverses.

Key script contrivance has a deaf-mute maid (Rudi Davies), newly hired at the hotel, becoming obsessed with the Moore sculpture and stealing it for a keepsake. This sets into motion trite complications, notably developing a wedge (as corny as O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi") between Malkovich and MacDowell as each believes the other has pocketed the $50,000 art work.

A subplot involving Davies and her punk-styled brother strains heavily for pathos. Another unsuccessful side issue is Malkovich's selfish affair with MacDowell's best friend Lolita Davidovich, who makes the most of her one-dimensional part. (She replaced Elizabeth Perkins in the role.)

As in "Sheltering Sky", Malkovich ably brings out the unsympathetic nature of his antihero, but the script doesn't help him much in balancing that with any compelling reason for identification. It's hard to care about someone whose future lies in produce sitting on a dock in Sierra Leone.

The viewer will instantly side with MacDowell, whose natural beauty is augmented here by a feisty violent streak whenever Malkovich steps over the line (which is frequent). In addition to Davidovich, Davies, Ackland, officious hotel dick Bill Paterson and no-nonsense insurance inspector Jack Shepherd turn in pro turns.

Filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg, whose diverse credits range from the Beatles' "Let It Be" to farce ("Nasty Habits"), develops effective individual scenes but fails to create a reason for sustained interest in his characters. Result is a mildly diverting but empty picture. Daid Watkin, whose experience in the genre dates back to Richard Lester's classic "The Knack", has photographed the deceptively carefree setting with aplomb.

I have to give credit to Andie McDowell and John Malkovich, American citizens, who are living it up in the lapse of luxury in London, England. They are living beyond their means and owe plenty of money to their creditors especially the hotel.

Anyway, Tina has a statue which is worth thousands but doesn't protect it very well. It lays about in their hotel suite. When a deaf chambermaid take the statue, Tina and her partner's plan to stage a fake robbery to collect the insurance gets thwarted. They don't trust each other when it comes to the statue.

While the film is fine, it's not great but bearable and almost forgettable. The cast does the best with a weak script. I enjoy the London locales. The girl who played the chambermaid does a fantastic and believable job in creating sympathy. She lives with her brother in a small flat in London, England. Getting the statue doesn't buy happiness for anybody involved.

In this '90s caper romance, John Malkovich and Andie MacDowell star as a happy couple who love to live in the lap of luxury. They can't always afford to, but that doesn't stop them. When they completely run out of money and can't even pretend to pay their bills anymore, they have to come up with a scheme. If you think they should just get real jobs and learn how to budget, you're not going to like this movie.

If you like seeing extravagant people who talk or swindle their way out of paying their bills, you probably will like this movie. What will John and Andie think of next? Andie has one prized possession, hence the title, and when things get really rough, they just might think of using it to help keep their finances afloat-but not in the way you're thinking. Interested? Rent this one for date night or when you're in the mood for something fun like Gambit.

I remember liking this film more on first viewing many years ago. I still liked it, but maybe not as much. Some people called it slow-moving, I prefer thoughtful. Malkovich once said it was among his favorites, but perhaps he was just being contrary. The titular object. A Henry Moore statuette, seemed to me to be singularly ugly, an almost certainly deliberate irony. Oh, and for those who commented on the nude scene by Andie MacDowell, be advised that it wasn't her.

It is difficult for me to comprehend why there is only one viewer comment for this film, or why it is rated under a six. If an excellent film is about entertainment, intelligence, great acting and a terrific story with a treasury of clever humor that expounds the deeper meaning of a good relationship between a man and a woman over wealth and selfishly egotistical success, then this is a standout film that achieves a richness of artistic accomplishment that very few films do. No one truly sees the beauty of the bronze statue except the lowly and weathered housekeeper, a financially struggling mute, unable to express the profound feelings that are moving within her in words, but Rudi Davies sure gets it across with her expression and eyes. I had to drive 30 miles to the Cedar Lee Theater, Cleveland's only real art house, during it's original release, but after the film was over I realized it would have been worthwhile if I would have had to walk...some films are just that special

None of the main characters in The Object of Beauty are likable. I usually don't care for this in a film. The Object of Beauty is a bit of an exception. While the film is just all right, it did keep me interested through out.

Not the usual fare for PPV on Bulsatcom in Bulgaria and, with Malkovich currently appearing every few seconds on CNN, in ads for one of their items about him (I've seen the item and he is sickeningly pretentious), I was in two minds whether or not to use my last (free) token to watch it.

My God! I am glad I did. Malkovich and MacDowell gave superlative performances in a beautifully written, directed and acted piece where even the minor roles combined to make this a masterpiece of story and film. Not just "even" the minor roles, as these were excellent performances by Joss Ackland, Ricci Harnett, Bill Paterson, Roger Lloyd-Pack, etc., etc., yes even the few lines from Pip Torrens as the art evaluator. Rudi Davies was excellent (not sure why we haven't seen anything from her in the last fifteen years).

Well, my free token ran out three minutes before the end. Pity!

a smart, little chekhovian drama about greed and infidelity. malkovich and mcdowell play themselves: a cold, calculating bastard and a spoiled, falsely naive princess. a great little film that deserves to be mentioned more often.

The Object of Beauty (1991) it has all that is needed for a movie to keep you interested I love it. Its funny, interesting and romantic kind of...and let's not forget who is playing : John Malkovich & Andie MacDowell I recommend it. Enjoy

synopsis:

American couple Jake and Tina are living in an expensive London hotel way beyond what they can afford. When they were asked to pay the bill, Jake wants to sell Tina's 20.000 pound Henry Moore sculpture, but she is not happy about that. The deaf-mute hotel maid admires the sculpture for its beauty rather than its value. When the sculpture goes missing, the couple start fighting over it... Written by Sami Al-Taher {staher2000@yahoo.com}

Charming comedy about how a couple's relationship waivers in tandem with the disposition of their statuette. With no fixed abode, Jake and Tina live in hotels across the world. With a large bill due, and money in short supply, their plan to "steal" their Henry Moore statue and claim against it is thwarted when someone else steals it first! They soon start distrusting each other's motives as they search for the statue, and keep trying to get its valuation boosted while avoiding the bill. With no sign of it, they start to drift apart, despite being in love, and don't reconcile until it reappears one day - having been stolen by a deaf-mute maid, who feels the statue "spoke" to her. Written by Cynan Rees {cynanrees@hotmail.com}

I watched this for the first time on DVD last night and early this morning. I totally fell in love with Jenny and wanted to take her into my world and live happily ever after. I am sorry that more wasn't concluded with her at the end. Jake and Tina other wise should have been swept out to sea by a tsunami at the end. Jenny portrayed the commonalty & frailty of most of humanity(her brother being the subversive side of the rest of the commoners). Jake of course was the corporation and greed aspect of humanity with Tina being the human lemmings that follow the Jake side of life. I am sure though that if Tina had realized the true reason why Jenny took the statue she would have probably given it to her.(NOT!!) Tina's self-obsession during the encounter with Jenny just shows how shallow she really is. Glad I watched this movie and goes again to prove that the the Yanks still don't know how to make a good movie. Well not since D.W. Griffith that is. DEVO the guy who will never see ET.

This movie disappointed me. It's billed as a 'low key comedy', but ends up being so low key, you wonder (with the exception of a couple of scenes) where the comedy is. Most of my disappointment, however, stems from the script - aside from the chambermaid and her brother, I simply did not care what happened to the characters. The juxtaposition of the two ways of life was excellent - but it's too obvious where the scriptwriter's sympathies lie.