One From the Heart
By JOE WILLIAMS
Post-Dispatch
12/26/2003

"One From the Heart" was supposed to change the way movies were made. But it
never got the chance. When it was released in 1982, Francis Ford Coppola's
flamboyantly stylized pseudo-musical was so widely panned that it never had
a theatrical run in places like St. Louis. For most movie buffs, it existed
merely as a legendarily expensive failure that was locked in Coppola's
keepsake box. But now the director has re-released the film. And although
it's more a curiosity than a compelling story, Coppola's shiny trinket is
something to see.

The movie was entirely filmed on the soundstages of the fledging American
Zoetrope studio in San Francisco, but it's set in a gloriously fake version
of Las Vegas. The neon-dabbled decor is a deliberately tinny echo of the
studio potboilers of Hollywood's golden age. The obvious subtext is that Las
Vegas is America's most unreal city. Unfortunately, that sketchiness
affected the plot as well, and because there are no scenes inside casinos,
Coppola can't use the simplistic delusions of gamblers as an excuse.

"One From the Heart" is a wispy love story about a stuck-in-a-rut couple,
Hank (everyman Frederic Forrest) and Frannie (the typically delightful and
uncharacteristically sexy Teri Garr). For their anniversary, Hank gives
Frannie the deed to their Strip-vicinity bungalow. But Frannie's idea of a
fitting gift is a trip to Bora Bora. When Hank protests that they can't
afford a romantic vacation, Frannie flounces out the door.

On festive Fremont Street, she meets Ray (Raul Julia), a charming and
handsome waiter turned lounge singer. He shares her taste for travel --
although their first journey only goes as far as his humble apartment -- and
they make plans to leave for the South Seas.

Meanwhile, Hank meets itinerant acrobat Leila (Nastassja Kinski), who struts
her stuff for him on a high wire at a moonlit junkyard.

Until the moment of reckoning in an airport concourse, that's virtually all
that happens. Garr provides the comedic spark, and Tom Waits (both solo and
with Crystal Gayle) provides the torchy songs, but "One from the Heart" is a
visual treat, with lovely painted backdrops and an innovative use of
theatrical scrims.

The streamlined production is a fascinating hint of a generation of films
that were never born. But without a strong storyline, this visit to the neon
circus is like cotton candy - colorful, sweet and insubstantial.

"One From the Heart"
*** (out of four)
Rating: R (for nudity and sexual situations)
Running time: 1:47


Critic Joe Williams
E-mail: joewilliams@post-dispatch.com
Phone: 314-340-8344