Splendor (1999)

So much average

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The acting in this movie is really good.

SPLENDOR is a quick little film that once again demonstrates writer/director Gregg Araki's talent in making big social comments out of just a little idea. Though this may not be one of his most successful films, it certainly has enough going for it to give it a look.Narrated by flippant, kooky, slightly irritatingly shallow Veronica (Kathleen Robertson) who also is the main character of the story, we find that Veronica (aka V aka Ron) has been on a dry run for a love life for a long time, and just when she thinks she'll never find her man, up pops Halloween, and with her best friend Mike (Kelly MacDonald) she ventures into a party where she meets not one but two candidates for relationship - Abel (hunky Jonathan Schaech) who is a would be writer and is inept at about everything social and Zed (also hunky Matt Keeslar) who is a drummer whose intellect and socialization skills don't go far beyond his drumsticks. Veronica beds them both, finds them equally attractive and eventually the three become a ménage à trois in the same apartment. The two men, while transiently jealous of each other, ultimately find happiness in Veronica's breadwinning capabilities and both truly love her and each other. Things become strained when Veronica learns she is pregnant! Meanwhile, Veronica is offered upward mobility by yet another hunk Ernest (Eric Mabius) who represents stability and money whereas Abel and Zed represent only passion. Considering her pregnant life choices she agrees to marry Ernest despite her lack of loving him and all proceeds towards the wedding day when Abel and Zed decide to make changes in the plans.Schaech, Mabius and Keeslar provide sufficient eye candy to overcome a strained script. Had Veronica been cast differently the story may have had a better impact, but as it is this remains a fun, spunky movie that for Araki fans is a good diversion. Grady Harp

SPOILER: Boy meets Girl meets Boy, Girl gets scared, Boys lose Girl, lots of soul-searching, Boys win Girl back, everyone lives happily ever after.And that's what is so unusual about this film. It really is a film about love; it just happens that there's two love stories going on at the same time. The film confronts the question of what happens if you really do love two people at the same time, and how society reacts. All this insight, and a fast-moving mature comedy to boot.Every other Threesome movie ends in a judgemental collapse of the triangle. Its conclusion leaves "Splendor" in a genre of its own.

Um, this movie wasn't so good. It started out mediocre, before dropping into bad pretty quick. I think Kathleen Robertson was beautiful and played the role right. She was the highlight. She could've easily been over-dramatic and cheesy, but she wasn't. Kudos. She must've learned something from 90210. The story should've been more about the relationship and the struggle to make it work and more sociology, but throwing the pregnancy and that movie director guy into it were just huge, uncreative cop-outs in telling the story. The writer should be ashamed.

Unfortunately watched this the other night on cable because there was little on, and I was trying to see if I could remember what I had seen some of the cast in before. I was intrigued by the fact that the girl has 2 boyfriends and they all live together, but I wish I would have moved on after I watched it for 5 minutes and it did not become interesting. I did not catch it from the very beginning, but I was hoping to at least see some menage a trois action; of course no dice! I am not going to waste your time with a description of all the cinematography & everything, but let me just tell you: it was really bad writing, a bad plot, bad acting, and it was stupidly predictable. I just wish I had predicted that it would be so bad, and I could've done something else with that hour or so I wasted. UGH!