Suzie Gold
- Film Worth:$5.00
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Suzie Gold essays, often crudely, the vicissitudes of a young Jewish girl living in North...
Suzie Gold essays, often crudely, the vicissitudes of a young Jewish girl living in North West London. The eponymous Suzie (Summer Phoenix) is embroiled in a large Jew set-up and is under almost seismic pressure from her clan to meet-cute with a Jewish boy named Anthony (Iddo Goldberg). Unfortunately, true love is never a path so smoothly paved, and Suzie finds herself instead falling for an equally pleasant sort named Darren (Leo Gregory). But here's the rub: he ain't no Jew.
It's a typical plot for an ethnic comedy, and one that always condemns the insularity of the culture in question. This movie obviously hasn't been made to endear itself to the Jewish community, because most of the characters come across as banal, venal and thick - at least if the characters are unsympathetic, they ought to be more fully rounded. It's no wonder then that Summer Phoenix stands out like a fleck of, well, gold, amidst this drab-coloured ruff. Iddo Goldberg is also able as the young Jewish suitor, growing into his part and injecting personality into what could be a very dowdy role. The credibility hurdle the script faces begins and ends with the Darren character. His only obvious appeal for Suzie is that he doesn't own a dradle. It's not a slur on Leo Gregory, who appears to be a competent performer. It's more that his character doesn't come across as more than the knee-jerk choice for young Suzie, who is fed up with conforming. But this arrested development is par for the course in a film that gives anti-Semites plenty of ammunition. Now that's a wailing shame.
