When I first started watching Alan Rudolph's "Trixie", my reaction was that Emily Watson's character talked like George W. Bush. However, it turns out that her malapropisms are nothing compared to the double-speak of those around her. It's basically a satire on the political world. Nick Nolte's senator is truly a slimeball.No, "Trixie" isn't a masterpiece, but it is a fun satire. The character's Archie Bunker-style verbal goofs are the best parts, but there's even more in store, as she ends up involved in a murder plot surrounded by sleazy characters. Worth seeing.Also starring Dermot Mulroney, Brittany Murphy, Nathan Lane, Will Patton and Lesley Ann Warren.

I have an idea. Mr. Rudolph, whose production history has been less than profound, should make a movie about the making of "Trixie". It is bound to be more fascinating than the film itself. I would pay money to see Emily Watson, Nick Nolte and Nathan Lane explain that they agreed to do this project on artistic grounds. Great script? Deep character development? Big check? I really am at a loss to imagine that real story. This film is annoying, badly filmed, poorly written and simply horrid. It is so bad, that it couldn't even attract a cult following of the lovers of the worst camp. And the talent! The wasted talent! Unbelievable. There are artistic geniuses waiting on tables in New York and L.A., while big stars are making this junk. Perhaps this film's only value is its exemplary illustration of what damage Hollywood ego can actualize in the film industry. If you see this film anywhere, run. That's the kindest advice I could give you.

This horrid movie is another year 2000 waste of film that combines the very worst of Rain Man and Striptease. Besides being a misdirected rip off of mostly bad movies itself, it goes absolutely nowhere. Watson is painful to watch here, and Nick Nolte speaks like a cross between Tommy Lee Jones in Natural Born Killers, Burt Reynolds in Striptease, and some non-descript tall southern/western bumbling gentleman. The dialogue here is supposed to be funny by delivering these annoying twisted one word punchlines at the end of sentences, and by being "comically" serious. Even worse is the detective character played by Watson, combined with the movie's 1:57 length. Although it's unwatchable, I'm not surprised after 10 Things I Hate About You, Being John Malkovich, Pearl Harbor, The Mexican, Hugo Pool, Snake Eyes, and the Matrix. Nick Nolte must really regret this one.

One needs a certain warped sense of humor to enjoy this film. Trixie (Emily Watson) is a self proclaimed `Private Defective' whose butchery of English is nothing short of cleavacle. Her command of idioms is not as bad as it is worse. She is Norm Crosby taken to the tenth powder. She mixes semaphores with a high-speed blender. Her malapropriations are so funny they border on historical.The writing of Trixie's dialogue by Alan Rudolph is extremely clever, but the story that surrounds it is very quirky, meandering off point constantly. I'm not a big fan of Rudolph's wry style of directing, but this film actually has its moments. Some of the things that pop out of Trixie's mouth are priceless. I found myself tolerating the boring story to hear what she would say next.Emily Watson's performance is excellent. She gives Trixie a naïve charm and gritty determination that is fun to watch. It is hard to fathom how she is able to say her lines with a straight face. Her Chicago accent is horrendous though. Nathan Lane also gives a tragically droll performance and Nick Nolte is absurdly humorous in his caricature of the corrupt state senator.This film was pounded by almost everyone, but I like this kind of word gymnastics, so I enjoyed it despite itself. I rated it a 6/10. If you can appreciate a punny character without much of a story, it might be worth a try.