 In recent interviews, Ray Romano has worried aloud whether his first movie, Welcome to Mooseport, might be received poorly by critics and his TV fans and end up wrecking his career. So far as the critics are concerned, Romano ought to feel relieved. Not that he's receiving much praise from them; it's just that they have concluded that the film is mostly inoffensive and often quite pleasant. "Terminally mild," is how Dave Kehr describes it in the New York Times. John Anderson in Newsday calls it "mild as milk." Chris Kaltenback in the Baltimore Sun regards it as "determinedly genial and relentlessly bland." "At best it's innocuous. Your friendly living room TV set already offers plenty of that," comments Ed Bark in the Dallas Morning News. What the film has going for it, the critics seem to agree, is a first-rate cast, including Romano, Gene Hackman, Marcia Gay Harden, and Rip Torn. Of these, the critics also seem to agree, Romano, who they say is playing pretty much the same sort of role that he plays on television, may emerge a bit the worse for wear. Writes Megan Lehman in the New York Post: "Hackman's effortless command of the weak material serves to emphasize just how out of his depth bland TV star Romano is in his first film role." On the other hand, Kevin Thomas in the Los Angeles Times, again displays his contrarian viewpoint, not only applauding the performances but calling the film, "a handsome production ... a most welcome treat." |
