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Review by Susan Granger
1 star out of 4
Who hasn't speculated about the link between news and gossip?
At least, that's the premise for a college journalism class assignment
proposed by "professor" Eric Bogosian. And three students - James
Marsden, Lena Headley, and Norman Reedus - decide to test his
theories. One night at a drunken, off-campus party, Marsden sees a
beautiful, wealthy, virginal freshman, played by Kate Hudson (Goldie
Hawn's real-life daughter), making out on a bed with Joshua
Jackson. Hudson calls it quits before she passes out, but Marsden
decides to start an "experimental" rumor that she's "put out" for
Jackson. It's kind of like "Cruel Intentions" goes to college. The
slanderous story spreads quickly throughout the university, soon
acquiring salacious details, including a black rubber bra. But then it
turns ugly, implicating that Jackson took advantage of Hudson after
she passed out, not before, which leads to his subsequent
arrest. Working from a taut, tension-filled screenplay by Gregory
Poirier and Theresa Rebeck, "NYPD Blue," "ER" director David
Guggenheim explores and exploits the date rape concept, bringing in
Sharon Lawrence as an angry cop and Edward James Olmos as a homicide
detective. It's an intriguing, dangerous premise but the execution
lacks believability. Why wouldn't any suspected rape victim undergo a
medical examination? What accredited college would allow Bogosian to
rant and rave in class? Which students can live in such an
extravagantly hip loft? And why would these distraught people talk and
behave in such an incomprehensible way? On the Granger Movie Gauge of
1 to 10, "Gossip" is nasty, tawdry, inept 3. Despite its R-rating,
it's obviously targeted at a teenage audience.
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
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out of 4
