Corpus Christi Caller-Times Ricardo Baca, media critic

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Friday, August 31, 2001

Just say 'No' to teen flick 'O'

It's a lesson that bears repeating: It's best not to mess with the Bard

Mekhi Phifer (left) and Julia Stiles star in the motion picture ‘O,’ a modern teen-age adaptation of Shakespeare's ‘Othello.’

Hip-hop infused but lyrically challenged, the new teen-aimed movie "O" pounds but doesn't connect. Yet another screenwriter has taken a Shakespearean play and retells it from the perspective of today's quick-witted high school students. This time, the victim is "Othello," one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies. Screenwriter Brad Kaayas version reminds us that sometimes you don't mess with the masters.
   To note: Bard spelled bganackwards (and done backwards, for that matter) is drab.
   I love Desi
   In this case, Othello isn't married to Desdemona; Odin (Mekhi Phifer) has been dating Desi (Julia Stiles) for four months. Their own Venetian paradise is a private high school in the South, and the war they're fighting is for a basketball championship.
   Odin has NBA dreams and is the school's only black student; Desi is the dean's daughter. Desi is everybody's object of affection, either because of her good looks or her place next to Odin. Hugo (Josh Hartnett) knows Roger wants Desi and he has a plan that, after ruffling a few feathers, would hook up Roger and Desi and tear apart Odin and Desi.
   Hugo will get something out of it as well, because he admires - and is jealous of - Odin and wants to improve their friendship. Hugo warns Odin that Desi is having an affair with Odin's close friend Michael, and Odin's male hubris takes over and he resorts to emotion rather than logic.
   When performing or modernizing this work, the key element is Iago, Othello's scheming friend who sets into motion the entire twisted plot. Iago, or in this case Hugo (Hartnett), is one of Shakespeare's most deviant characters, and his perverse mind and sly actions truly set him apart from any other Shakespearean villain.
   That's a big responsibility for Hartnett, a veritable rookie despite his role in "Pearl Harbor." Hartnett comes up disappointingly short. His Hugo is a watered-down rogue, more of a delusional baddie as opposed to a grudge-bearing, shameless murderer.
   Martin Sheen has a terrific turn as coach Goulding, but the Iago character is so essential that the body of work depends solely on his performance.
   Stiles, now with two Bard retellings under her belt with "O" and 1999's "Taming of the Shrew" homage "10 Things I Hate About You," acts and reacts well with co-star Phifer.
   'O' not 'O Brother'
   Of note, "O" is directed by Tim Blake Nelson, who recently sashayed into the spotlight last year when he acted (and sang) in the Coen brothers' love letter to old-timey country music, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" His direction is consistent, but not brilliant.
   "Othello" fans, fear not; PBS's Masterpiece Theatre presents its own take on the play - John Othello is London's first black chief of police, and he and his wife Dessie are disliked by Ben Jago because he thought the job should have been his - in January. It looks to be fascinating, and you can see that "Othello" for free.

Pop culture and media critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 886-3688 or by e-mail at bacar@caller.com

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