Peter O'Toole played the part of
Peter O'Toole, a charming, boozy, eccentric,
rubber-legged, and sentimental actor who seems to
carry in his eyes the secret that he has seen
everything, enjoyed most of it, and forgives
everyone along the way, including himself ... oh,
wait a minute ... the character did have a different
name and was supposed to be a scientist, but O'Toole
plays the same part he has always played in the past
25 years.
It's a really mushy romantic comedy with even more
romance in the sub-plots. In the main plot, O'Toole
is trying to clone his dead wife, and of course he
has to do this in secret away from the eyes of his
colleagues. In addition to the near-presence of his
late wife, O'Toole is shot into further sentimental
reminiscences by watching his young assistant fall
in love in stages which parallel O'Toole's own
youthful courtship of his true love.
OK, it's corny. Like you were expecting anything
else in a Peter O'Toole comedy? Creator is the kind
of movie that I normally hate - a sappy love story
in which love conquers all, and in which the aged
Nobel laureate finally gives up on his 30 year quest
to clone his dead wife when he falls in love with a
19 year old nymphomaniac. It even includes a
resurrection, flying in the face of my general
principle that no good movie can include a
resurrection.
Despite the utter silliness of the premise, Peter
O'Toole makes it all work. I'm not sure if he's
really a great actor, because it depends on your
requirements. No matter what he has done since
Lawrence of Arabia, he's always Peter O'Toole, so
that may rule him out as an "actor." But he sure is
good at being Peter O'Toole, and has managed to
carry several films solely on the strength of his
charm.
The film has another virtue besides Peter. All of
the main characters, and several of the minor ones,
are both likeable and interesting. Mariel Hemingway
was cast perfectly as the nymphet farm girl, and you
could actually believe that she had the humor,
strength, and integrity to win not just the penis,
but the heart and mind of a Nobel Prize winner.
Vincent Spano, Virginia Madsen, and the screenwriter
created just the right mood and dialogue so that you
could see that they really were a couple in love.
You don't just see them say "I love you," but you
can actually witness them loving each other, and you
can see that they clicked perfectly together.
Creator is painless and gentle of spirit. That ain't
all bad. Like chicken soup, it won't hurt you any,
and you can even watch it with the kids if they can
tolerate a little harmless nudity.
And it is funny! Examples:
Peter O'Toole shows his microscopic
fertilized egg to a colleague who knew O'Toole's
late wife:
O'Toole: Do you know what this is?
Other guy: No ....
O'Toole (offended): Why this is Lucy!
Other guy: Well, you have to forgive me for not
recognizing her. It's been thirty years since I've
seen her, and she's lost a lot of weight.
=============
Mariel Hemingway, talking very loud to
O'Toole, in order to be heard at a party:
Hemingway: I'm just a formal kind of girl. You're
Dr. Wolper to me, not Harry. If I slept with the
King of England I would say (the rest of the party
suddenly quiets, so the other guests can hear only
the next line, and not the previous conversation),
"Thank you for banging me, your majesty."
Of course, the other party-goers think she is
addressing O'Toole. There is shocked quiet until
O'Toole's colleague says, "Now THAT'S what I call
respect!"
A much underrated and underappreciated film.
I also like author Jeremy Leven's other major film,
the equally sentimental Don Juan DeMarco, which he
also directed.