Lumet stones 'Gloria'

"Gloria," a remake of its 1980 predecessor by John Cassavettes, seems to rest all its cards on its star, Stone, hoping her looks and charms will detract from the otherwise uninteresting parts of the film. Actually, it's doubtful that anyone could've done justice to "Gloria."

Just released from jail after three years, Gloria (Stone) returns to New York City in hopes of getting her end of the deal made with former boyfriend Kevin (Jeremy Northam), that is, money. She discovers that not only is he stubborn, but she also realizes that she's been jaded by his petty pleadings and entreaties to lure her back to him. The truth is, he's always been a scumbag and always will be.

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures Although Sharon Stone doesn't seem the motherly type, she seems too take a liking to this boy in "Gloria."

But before leaving him forever, she decides to help him with some "excess baggage" that's been weighing him down - a boy whose parents were murdered by Kevin and his mafia-like cohorts. What Gloria doesn't realize is that 6-year-old Nicky ("kid" as she calls him one too many times) has possession of a valuable computer disk that would basically indict Kevin and his friends for their corrupt practices, one of which is a serial murder of the parents of the child. As for the rest of Kevin & Co.'s illegal activities, we never understand much more about them in the movie.

So now Gloria has the burden of dealing with this homeless, orphan kid whom she can't let go of because beyond her hardened exterior there is a soft, caring person inside of her that is really concerned with Nicky's future. She soon learns that her "bond" with Nicky (after sleeping in a few hotels and eating in various diners for a couple of days) is too great to sacrifice. Since she has to start her life over anyways, why not add a kid the equation?

The problem with this movie is that though Stone is somewhat appealing to watch on the screen, her character is way too overemphasized and her actions so overly deliberate that it feels as though Lumet is putting her up on a pedestal with no one to look at her. We tire of the same New York accent she almost does a good job of emulating, and we tire of her tough-girl demeanor. Also, Nicky's character gets tedious as a kid who wants to be tough, but needs parental guidance, and therefore turns out to be stubborn, but not in the "cute" way that we would want him to be.

An appearance by George C. Scott as Kevin's ringleader is actually fairly well-done, but loses all respect in a chat with Gloria when he (an elderly man) mentions the fact that they used to be a couple. How can we have respect for Gloria when we know she slept with someone four times her age? It's OK that she went down the wrong path with Kevin and ends up in jail, but we can't forgive her for going down on an old guy.

Most entertaining is the cameo by Cathy Moriarty, who plays an idol of Gloria's throughout her entire life. Somehow, she made a lot of sense as someone Gloria would admire.

But most of the movie deals with Lumet's attempt at capturing as much of New York City's street life on camera and providing a wardrobe for Sharon Stone of every conceivable sexy outfit. Nice try, but a beautiful woman and the Big Apple isn't going to make up for everything else that is lackluster in "Gloria."

01-25-99