|  Artificial
Intelligence
(I am presently
ignoring the hang-nail faux pas at the end Mr. Speilberg...)
Starring:
Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Sam Robards, Jake Thomas, and William
Hurt Directed
by: Steven Spielberg Bluntly
speaking? A.I. combines
a brilliant, believable premise, meticulous, ornate sets, a precise cast and a
wonderful three-dimensional script, which is all orchestrated by one of our greatest
living directors, Steven Spielberg. The
premise behind A.I., a boy-bot with nearly human emotions, is not so far fetched.
Artificial intelligence is all around us now. From the purchase of an airline
ticket to fiiling up your tank at the gas-n-blow mart. We deal with it everyday
on a lower level. Meanwhile, MIT's (a really smart person place in Boston) Dr.
Cynthia Breazeal has actually even invented an animated robot with higher than
the normal wax your- shoes- cart-your-drink-intelligence, named Kismet. It actually
has the ability of instantiation - reaction. Not as sophisticated as A.I.'s near-perfect
"David" but I'd say they are heading there. Through the science of film
and sound, Spielberg brings us to the future. A time when human-esque robots wait
on us, make love to us and are as common as fluffy pink elephant slippers. A pair
in every home. A.I.
is about a new kind of robot or "mecha", mechanical being, that is being
beta-tested. There's only one and he's been programmed to accept and to give love.
To feel emotion. Before
you start gasping for air from a sudden aneurysm caused by the traumatic memory
of that mega-creepy-flop Bicentennial Man (Robin Williams' hardly seen
film faux pas), remember this is Spielberg production. We
meet David (Haley Joel Osment). David is to be placed with a family that meets
all the designers' criteria, mostly their despair. The
"real" son the adoptive family presently has is frozen in a lab waiting
for a cure for his particular illness. When the father's (Sam Robards) place of
employ, a cybertronics plant, offers him their newest and most avant-garde robot/product
to date, he thinks it would be healthy for his wife (Frances O'Connor) to have
a mock-child to love. Not to replace the freeze-dried carcass, er, son, they visit
every weekend, but to, perhaps, help her let go and love again... David
arrives not by stork, but by elevator. He is just "fitting in" with
his new organic mommy and daddy when he gets a rude surprise. Poor boy, er, robot.
Ultimately, he must be taken away from the family and, even worse, his new, beloved
mommy.
Okay it starts off a bit hokey and could use some editing, but
stay with it. It will get better.
He
and his personal animatronic super-toy he received from his mom, a wise old teddy
bear that walks, talks, and advises (that will be in my vast obsessive toy collection
by Sunday), named, Teddy, are left in a mean, robot hating part of the world to
fend for themselves. David
is rounded up, with other misfit "toys" and sold to a Flesh Fair, where
humans string up, smash, melt and torture robots in a protest to the robots "taking
over." How humane. But, it's in this wretched, scary circus of the cruel
and bizarre that David meets and befriends a renegade man lover-bot, yes, I mean
LOVER-bot Gigolo Joe (Jude- dreadfully handsome-Law). Together
they escape and set out on a journey never before attempted by their kind. David
wants to find the magical fairy that he had heard about, unfortunately, in a fairy
tale he'd been read while back with his "family." He's smart, but not
Dennis Miller smart, just child-like smart. David believes, in his little panel
wired heart, that it is only through her that he can become a "real"
boy and gain acceptance and true love from his mommy. Sniff. As
we travel with David, Teddy and Joe we are introduced to a world that comes spectacularly
alive and surges off the screen. One such place is a future metropolis, with Gotham
tendacies and Las Vegas style glitz called Rouge. A sleazy red-light district
of the future that would make Amsterdam blush with modesty. Lover bots carouse,
sex shows abound, XXX is the name of the game. But, Rouge also happens to be where
an all-knowing Wizard of Oz-like character resides. The wizard holds the answers
for all, and most importantly for questing David, to ask. Haley
Joel Osment is perhaps, the only child that makes my mothering "clock"
tick. I simply adore this child. If you could be absolutely guaranteed a little
Beatle-cute boy like that...well, I'd say "stick an epidural in me and call
a mid-wife." But, with my luck I'd get a mutant demon spawn, so best I stick
to canine children and leave the breeding to those who can handle it. H.J Osment
is an intense talent, who just keeps turning in remarkable performances. Jude
Law is so sharp and tangy looking, in a slather him up in Thai peanut sauce and
finger-paint the day away way. He's a pretty boy. BUT a manly, sexy pretty boy.
Especially in the Who Quadrophenia gear they have him sporting in this shindig.
Anywhere, anyhow, anyway! He's a sensual hit with women, men, and I believe, Koalas.
Another immensely talented actor who seems to pick his work for script and not
loot. I even loved The Talented Mr. Ripley. Still don't get people's loathing
of that movie... While
the screenplay is scripted by Spielberg, it's based on a short robot toy story,"Super
Toys Last All Summer Long," by acclaimed Sci-fi writer Brian Aldiss that
had appeared in a 1969 Harper's Bazaar, and it was the late visionary Stanley
Kubrick who first wished to see it done with technical extravagance on the big
screen. Kubrick,
a colossal multi-talent himself, told friend Spielberg of the A.I. tale.
Stan trusted it to his friend before his death, and he wouldn't be disappointed
in what Stevie's done. A quote from long time Spielberg associate Kathleen Kennedy
sums it up best, " There's no question this is a movie that has Steven Spielberg
sensibilities all over it. But the subtext is all Kubrick." So,
relax Kubrickians. It turned out to be out-there-enough that it would have intrigued
our beloved Kubrick, and gosh-golly Spielbergy enough to keep it for the "others."
The end is just terrible as, Spielberg, well Spielberg's it up with a terribly
awkward E.T.-y section - but till then, it's brilliant. A.I.
is a modern fairy tale for the more computer savvy audience. It has a PG-13 rating
and deservedly. I would say watch out with the real preteens. This is heavy, thought
provoking, possibly nightmare inducing stuff for the wee-er ones folks. Not to
mention the six or seven heart- in- your- throat emotional- moments, moral issues
on creating which will probably have their little heads near combustion with confusion.
Yep, best to leave the squirts at home with a sitter and their artificial intelligence.You
know; their computers, their play stations, their Furbys. I hate those creepy
little monsters...
The Furbys - not your kids. Snack
Recommendation: Spinach and Coffee.
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