Molly

I mentioned in my review of Leaving Las Vegas that Elisabeth Shue has never had as good as a role since then, and seems to have dropped off the radar. But she did try, and while watching her 1999 film Molly, all I could think of was Robert Downey Jr.'s line in Tropic Thunder about going "full retard."

Shue is the title character, Molly, a mentally retarded and autistic 28-year-old woman. When the institution she lives in closes down due to budget cuts, her brother (Aaron Eckhart) must care for her. He had only visited her at Christmas before, and thus their new situation is very awkward at first, especially when Shue strips down at his office and gets him fired.

So we have a film that starts out like Rain Man and then gradually turns into a remake of Charly (indeed, the script is based on the same source novel, Flowers for Algernon). Shue is operated on by Jill Hennessy, who implants new brain cells, and she makes rapid progression, enjoying a trip to Dodger Stadium and a evening of theater (though she forgets it's a play and jumps on stage to stop Romeo from killing himself).

Of course this won't last, as it didn't with Charly. Along the way we get platitudes about the worth and dignity of every person (usually delivered by Molly's sweetheart, a learning-disabled man played by Thomas Jane). Eckhart learns his lesson, and the discerning viewer will be rolling his eyes. It's got its heart in the right place, but this is no better than a Lifetime movie.

All that needs to be said about this film is that a woman undergoes brain surgery and leaves the hospital with a full head of hair. That's the kind of authenticity it has.