If nothing else can be said about ÒExcess Baggage,Ó it is one unique film.
Emily T. Hope (played by Alicia Silverstone) is a frustrated 18 year old, made this way by a father who doesnÕt care about her. So, she fakes her own kidnapping, later explaining that she does it to make him Òfeel something.Ó
After paying the ransom to the fictitious bad guys, EmilyÕs dad is to find her in the trunk of her car, in a parking garage. A perfect plan. That is, until Vincent (Benicio Del Toro) comes along and steals the car.
Okay, so that isnÕt exceedingly unique. But what ensues is. I wonÕt make the mistake of giving away the entire plot, but it only gets stranger.
As anyone could predict, after some initial spats, Emily and Vincent start to like each other, complicating the situation. Not only does Emily now have a real kidnapper, but she doesnÕt mind that sheÕs been abducted, at one point not even letting Vincent get rid of her.
All would be well and good, except for two things. One is EmilyÕs ÒuncleÓ Ray Perkins (Christopher Walken), who actually does care about her, and takes it upon himself to find her and bring her back. Second, Vincent owes two men $200,000, and the cars he was supposed to sell for that money burned down.
So, everything is set for a road adventure to end all road adventures.
Undoubtedly the best aspect of the movie, most of the main characters are not clearly good or bad. Emily plays the damsel in distress, but she got herself into it. Vincent is a charming boyfriend-to-be, but heÕs also a car thief. And Uncle Ray is kindly trying to save EmilyÕs life, but does it by waving his gun in peopleÕs faces.
Alicia Silverstone is her usual charming self, relying much more on her smile than her acting abilities. Her character isnÕt that much different than hers in ÒClueless,Ó only Emily has more angst than that movieÕs Cher had superficiality.
Del ToroÕs character is a much tougher nut to crack. His accent is difficult to understand at time, and his acting is mostly limited to speaking his lines, but heÕs always convincing, and once the accent got out of the way, the humor in his part shone through, loud and clear.
As usual, Christopher Walken is as entertaining as ever. Differing from his norm, he isnÕt entirely the bad guy, and the movie benefits from it. At first, his character is a little confusing, but that quickly gets cleared up.
Whether good or bad, the actual plot of ÒExcess BaggageÓ is meaningless. The interaction between the characters is what makes the movie tick, and the highly sophisticated humor keeps it moving.
ÒExcess BaggageÓ is almost like an art film without the unknown stars. The characters are well-developed, the conversations are very believable, and plot, however meaningless, is unique. To call it a romantic comedy would be to unfairly classify a film unbound by genre.
Grade: B+