PAPARAZZI

Cole Hauser stars in 'Paparazzi' as action movie star Bo Laramie, and that character name says about all you need to know about this film. What could have been a probing into celebrity photographers and the lengths they will go to to feed America's hunger is instead an '80's retread revenge flick.

Bo Laramie is a new celebrity, and thus he and his family have to deal for the first time with the spoils of fame. These include recognition, money, and a posse of photographers who follow Bo around for - note the subtlety - Paparazzi magazine. When the photographers cause a car accident that injures Bo's wife and son, he decides to take revenge by murdering the underlings and framing the paparazzi boss. Oh, and Dennis Farina stays hot on Bo's trail in a role that borrows heavily from TV detective Colombo. Yes, it's that ridiculous, and, no, they're not joking.

Mel Gibson produced 'Paparazzi,' which led me to believe that the script would have some insight into the celebrity world or, well, anything. Instead, it seems as if it were written based on movies seen on cable TV on Sunday mornings and not on any sort of reality or thought. Aside from one mildly funny joke about the Baldwin brothers (brother Daniel has a part here), there's no charm or wit to be found. There's nothing offensively bad either, and that's probably the best that can be said for a film that aims so low in the first place.

NO (3/10)