from production design by Patrizia von Brandenstein to direction from Fred Schepisi to the last performance of Kitty Carlisle Hart as a doyenne hostess, really first rate. Also first on screen appearance I think, for Heather Graham and Eric Thal, two kids from Utah. As for the back of the head kiss between lead Will Smith and the brat pack's Anthony Michael Hall, it came out this week that Denzel Washington advised Smith not to kiss Hall but frankly, I didn't miss it. Nice cameos from Sir Ian McKellen, Richard Masur, the always wonderful Mary Beth Hurt and Bruce Davison. It mostly takes place in a penthouse overlooking Central Park so that's why I love it so, that and a score that really gets under your skin. Stockard Channing will want to forget some of the 80s outfits but all in all, I could watch this one anytime. Watch for future director JJ Abrams as a bratty dorm phone thrower.

Ouisa (Stockard Channing) and Flan Kittredge (Donald Sutherland) are upper class Fifth Avenue NYC private art dealers. Their prized possession is a two-sided Kandinsky. They recount the story of their dinner with wealthy South African investor Geoffrey Miller (Ian McKellen) to a growing crowd. Paul (Will Smith) interrupts the dinner showing up at their door claiming to have been robbed in Central Park. He supposedly is studying at Harvard with their kids Talbot and Woody and is the son of Sidney Poitier. All the while, he is shown practicing his con. Then they catch him in bed with Rick (Eric Thal) and they kick him out. However Miller wants to connect with Sidney Poitier. Then their friends Kitty (Mary Beth Hurt) and Larkin (Bruce Davison) come to them with the same story. They find Dr. Fine (Richard Masur) with a familiar encounter. The kids find out that it's their high school classmate Trent Conway (Anthony Michael Hall).It's an eye-opening performance from Will Smith and it's actually one of his best. He's being the slick performer and it's playing up his natural charisma. It is probably one of his most daring character and one which he has not gone beyond. I do wish he takes some chances in non-conventional roles to expand his repertoire. Channing and Sutherland are also terrific. It's sharp social commentary. On a minor note, J.J. Abrams overacts a bit as Dr. Fine's crazed son. His ridiculousness is somewhat funny. The kids generally yell and overact too much.

i voted this film very highly, an 8 to be exact. i might be the only one that thought Will Smith did a fine job within this movie. His character rehearsed his lines, therefore sounding rehearsed. So that robotic argument is virtually out the window, considering that's what his character was to be and sound like. Did anyone write about the possibility of Paul having any mental illness? It seems like people missed that the character of "Paul" needed mental help and that is one main reason louisa or oisa or whatever her name was felt for the kid. She was also impressed with his ability to learn so much and be able to change his way of speech and become so articulate in a matter of just 3 months. Personally, i cant think of a movie i've seen where i thought Donald Sutherland ever did a bad job either. I will agree with one thing though, the acting of the "kids" of each family was god awful.

Occupy Wall Street might use this film for fund raisers. It presents the livIng hell of being rich and shallow, and it gives me the creeps much more today than it did when I first saw it. There are some interesting references that date it. For example, the Rainbow Room ejects Will Smith for dancing the tango with a male friend, an act which no such NYC establishment would likely do today. Along those lines, Michael Anthony Hall hands in a very courageous performance as the gay kid who falls for Will and sets his antics in motion. I remember how sensational that kiss between them seemed at the time. Will's character has universal appeal. He is the ultimate con man and hustler, but he is so successful because he is charming. Maybe if rich people today would allow themselves to fall for what is charming, they would delight in helping the struggling people of the world today rather than worrying so much about selling their Kandinskys. Stockard Channing turns in one of the great film performances of the century, showing how a One-Percenter can experience a spiritual epiphany. In this sense, Guare is a modern Dickens, deserving of all the accolades he received for this script and screen play, which reminds us that we are six degrees of separation not only from Kevin Bacon but of every kid in Zuccotti Park or Tahrir Square. "How much of your life can you account for?" With tears in her eyes, Stockard Channing asks Donald Sutherland this question with the same direness in her voice that Jesus must have had when he addressed the rich guys in the Holy Land.