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CRASH

James Spader plays James Ballard, a film director somewhat disinterested in his career. He's much more interested in the swinging sexcapades he and his wife (Deborah Kara Unger) engage in. One night he has a serious car accident. While recovering, he begins an affair with Holly Hunter, the wife of the man killed in the accident. Following up on the strange new feelings of excitement they've experienced, Hunter draws the couple within a group of people who share this unusual sexual fetish - people who get horny thinking about car crashes. They are led by Vaughan (Elias Koteas), a former medical photographer turned performance artist, who is obsessed with his "project" - a documentation of what he terms a "beneficial psychopathy".

If you're a member of the same fetish sub-category as the characters in this film, this could be one of your all time favorite films (right next to The Blues Brothers). If not, it's pretty slow going, nothing more than very well made pornography. J.G. Ballard's source novel was very daring when it was published in 1973, but the material has lost a bit of its edge over time. Also dating the story is the way characters keep hopping into the back seat with each other for carefree, unprotected sex. The film is very atmospheric, and features an excellent Howard Shore score, but like writer/director David Cronenberg's previous literary adaptation Naked Lunch, it boils down to bland obsession with the chosen subject with no thought to plot whatsoever. It's one scene of auto-erotica after another. When they're not bumping fenders the characters wander around in a daze. Only Koteas and his stunt driver cronies with their quest to recreate celebrity death crashes reach out beyond the haze. They should have been the focus of the story. ½

LIAR LIAR

In 1941, Bob Hope reteamed with his co-stars from The Ghost Breakers, Paulette Goddard and Willie Best, to make Nothing But the Truth. The zany comedy (filmed twice previously) had Hope playing a stockbroker who makes a bet that he can go 24 hours without telling a lie. This Jim Carrey slapstick extravaganza runs through the same course, but ups the emotional ante. Instead of just trying to win a bet (and the girl, of course), Carrey's bout of truthfulness is brought on by the magical birthday wish of his neglected son. Throwing irony into the fire is the fact that his character is a weasely trial attorney.

The same sort of cornball setup was used last year in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Jingle All the Way - for the Baby Boom '90s, no trump card is played so often as that of the parent-child relationship. It's easy to tug at the heartstrings of insecure kids and grownups, who see the threat of a broken home around every corner. But the team behind Liar Liar pulls off the trick well here. Carrey - believe it or not - is operating in a much more believable universe, one in which his antics are the only truly outrageous facet. No pet detective here - his character is a high spirited but otherwise acceptable human. When his honesty "curse" hits, the real belly laughs begin. One would think that he could simply keep mum and stay out of trouble, but no such luck. Not only does he have to tell the truth, but he's also compelled to blurt out his feelings on every subject. The fits he goes through while attempting to keep the truth from coming out are just as funny as the zingers that come out when he fails. He even takes time to make fun of himself now and then, especially during the end credits outtakes. Only the ending, in which Carrey races to catch his son and ex-wife Moira Tierney at the airport takes things too far over the top, but only to afford a bigger climax.

Excellent support is provided throughout, especially by Amanda Donohoe who shows off some snappy comic timing. Jennifer Tilly deserves special mention for her work as Carrey's bimbo fatale client in a divorce case, taking her already established Judy Holiday act and giving it a richly wicked turn.

Jim Carrey is still dodging the stumbling blocks that tripped up the film career of his guiding light Jerry Lewis. So when are these two going to get together in a film?

LOVE AND OTHER CATASTROPHES

This low budget Australian comedy by 23 year-old writer/director Emma-Kate Croghan is worth seeking out for its warm and very funny look at a day in the life of a group of college students. Film student roommates Mia (Alice Garner, a dead ringer for a young Jessica Harper) and Alice (Frances O'Conner) and their various companions find life in the '90s a wild mix of hilarious hurdles involving school, work, and especially romance. A quirky group of young adults who --

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STAR WARS (Special Edition)

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Upon its initial release, this third Star Wars film seemed to be aimed more at kids than its predecessors. The cute, fuzzy Ewoks of the forest moon Endore delighted children while annoying adults. The cuddly aliens were so popular with tikes that they spun off into TV movies and an animated series of their own, seemingly eclipsing the more adult elements of the film.

With the fresh view provided by the release of this special edition of the film, the influence of the Ewoks has lessened considerably. It's worth noting that they appear nowhere in the trailer or other promotional materials, and the improved pacing provided by the added scenes put the little guys in better perspective. Now they take a well deserved back seat to the rest of the film.

This gives more emphasis and emotional depth to the epic struggle of Luke Skywalker and his ultimate confrontation with Darth Vader, while solving his situation involving his friends and mentors. Luke's story is allowed to approach its intended resonance as a sci-fi casting of Japanese samurai drama.

However much I've enjoyed these re-releases of the trilogy, they've had one very unexpected drawback: while increasing their resemblance to adventure serials by spacing them a few weeks apart, I'll be going through a big Star Wars jones while waiting for the next one. ½

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