Review: 'Majestic' is good -- and sappy

Not likely Oscar-helpful to Carrey

By Paul Clinton
CNN Reviewer

(CNN) -- "The Majestic," directed by Frank Darabont ["The Green Mile" (1999) and "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994)] and starring Jim Carrey, is a throwback to the highly sentimental films of director Frank Capra.

Capra's work reached the height of its popularity with leading men like Jimmy Stewart, in "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" (1939) and "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946), and Gary Cooper, standing up for American values in "Meet John Doe" (1941). Even then, many viewers felt these films were overly sappy and corny, labeling them "Capracorn." "The Majestic" will no doubt suffer some of the same critical slings and arrows.

Not only is "The Majestic" set in the 1950s, it's a 1950s movie in its sensibilities, acting style and pacing. Its themes are also very Capraesque -- set in a small American town where one man can make a difference by standing up against all odds for what is right, and along the way taking down a few arrogant Washington politicians. In this case, the politicians are involved in the House Un-American Activities Committee.

VIDEO Jim Carey stars in 'Majestic' Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   EXTRA INFORMATION Movie review from EW.com  Internet Movie Database: Frank Capra      MORE REVIEWS Van Wilder High Crimes Big Trouble Panic Room Blade II Ice Age Showtime Time Machine We Were Soldiers Queen of the Damned Dragonfly Iris John Q Big Fat Liar Collateral Damage Monster's Ball Slackers Birthday Girl Monte Cristo Mothman Orange County Charlotte Gray I Am Sam Gosford Park Black Hawk Down Ali Kate & Leopold Shipping News Jimmy Neutron Joe Somebody Beautiful Mind The Majestic The Lord of the Rings Lantana The Royal Tenenbaums Vanilla Sky No Man's Land Affair of the Necklace Enemy Lines In the Bedroom Spy Game Sidewalks Harry Potter Shallow Hal Man Who Wasn't There Heist Amelie Focus Domestic Disturbance Tape Monsters, Inc. Life As A House My First Mister K-Pax From Hell Riding in Cars Last Castle Mulholland Drive Bandits Serendipity Joy Ride Training Day Don't Say a Word Zoolander Hearts in Atlantis Glitter Liam The Glass House Hardball The Musketeer Rock Star O Bubble Boy Jade Scorpion Corelli's Mandolin Apocalypse Redux Now American Pie 2 The Others Osmosis Jones Ghost World Rush Hour 2 Jackpot Planet of the Apes America's Sweethearts Jurassic Park III Legally Blonde The Score SongCatcher Cats and Dogs Scary Movie 2 crazy/beautiful A.I. The Fast and the Furious Dr. Dolittle 2 Atlantis Tomb Raider Swordfish Evolution Worst That Could Happen? Pearl Harbor Angel Eyes Shrek Calle 54 A Knight's Tale Mummy Returns About Adam One Night at McCool's Town and Country The Claim Freddy Got Fingered Bridget Jones's Diary Joe Dirt Along Came a Spider Blow Tailor of Panama Someone Like You Heartbreakers Say It Isn't So Enemy at the Gates The Dish Blow Dry 15 Minutes The Caveman's Valentine The Mexican 3000 Miles to Graceland Monkeybone Sweet November Hannibal Shadow of the Vampire The Gift Snatch Chunhyang Finding Forrester O Brother, Where Art Thou Thirteen Days Before Night Falls Vatel The House of Mirth Traffic Malena An Everlasting Piece All the Pretty Horses Miss Congeniality The Family Man Cast Away Chocolat What Women Want Emperor's New Groove Crouching Tiger,  Hidden Dragon Proof of Life Vertical Limit Dungeons & Dragons Unbreakable Quills 102 Dalmatians Just Looking What's Cooking The 6th Day The Grinch Bounce Boesman and Lena A Room for Romeo Brass You Can Count on Me Men of Honor Red Planet Little Nicky Wonder Boys Legend of Bagger Vance Charlie's Angels George Washington Lucky Numbers Blair Witch 2 The Yards Pay It Forward Bedazzled Lost Souls The Contender Billy Elliot Dr. T and the Women Requiem for a Dream Meet the Parents CyberWorld 3D The Broken Hearts Club Girlfight Best in Show Beautiful Remember the Titans Into the Arms of Strangers Under Suspicion Woman on Top Dancer in the Dark Crime and Punishment in Suburbia Duets The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack Bait Almost Famous 'Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God ...Be Back by Five' The Watcher Nurse Betty Whipped Love and Sex Bring It On The Crew Art of War The Cell Original Kings Of Comedy Autumn in New York Tao of Steve Cecil B. Demented The Replacements Wonderland New Waterford Girl Hollow Man Space Cowboys Coyote Ugly Criminal Lovers Saving Grace Nutty Professor II What Lies Beneath Loser The Wisdom of Crocodiles Chuck & Buck X-Men But I'm a Cheerleader Blood Simple Scary Movie Disney's The Kid Trixie Rocky and Bullwinkle Sunshine The Perfect Storm The Patriot Me, Myself & Irene Chicken Run Boys and Girls Shaft Titan A.E. American Pimp Gone in 60 Seconds Passion of Mind Big Momma's House Mission: Impossible 2 Small Time Crooks East Is East Dinosaur Center Stage Battlefield Earth The Big Kahuna Virgin Suicides Gladiator Me Myself I Time Code Where the Heart Is Frequency 28 Days U-571 Joe Gould's Secret American Psycho Keeping the Faith Here on Earth Rules of Engagement Return to Me Romeo Must Die The Road to El Dorado The Ninth Gate Mifune Waking the Dead Beyond the Mat Erin Brockovich You be the critic! Recommend a movie on our message board

Carrey plays Peter Appleton, a staff writer for a fictional Hollywood studio. He's desperate to break out of B movies and into the big time. But just as he's about to get his big break, he's accused of being a Communist sympathizer. Fired from his job and disgusted with the system, he jumps into his car and heads up the California coast. After a freak accident on a bridge, he finds himself washed up on shore near a small Northern California town. He has no memory of who his is, or where he came from.

Now comes the twist. Apparently, Appleton is a dead ringer for Luke Trimble, a soldier lost in action in World War II and still mourned by his father (Martin Landau) and the entire town he left behind. Having no memory, Appleton goes along with the town's belief that he is, in fact, the long-lost hero, and eventually starts to believe he just might be Luke after all -- especially when he begins falling in love with Luke's old girlfriend, played by newcomer Laurie Holden.

Meanwhile, Appleton's friends and enemies in Hollywood and Washington are searching for him. Of course, his past catches up with him, and Appleton must decide whether to stand up for what is right, as Luke would have done, or go along with the status quo and name names in front of the committee.

This movie is a huge slice of apple pie, with a great big American flag stuck right in the middle. It's beautifully directed and mounted by Darabont, and the production values are first-rate. But in addition to wearing its bleeding heart on its sleeve, the film is too long -- even by Capra's standards. With the exception of "It's A Wonderful Life," Capra's films were usually short and sweet.

To be sure, some will find this film just what's needed in these turbulent times: a shot in the arm of good old-fashioned American values. Others will claim that only the emotionally gullible will fall for this hokum.

"The Majestic" may enjoy moderate success, but once again, Carrey's bid for an Oscar nomination appears very unlikely. Holden makes an impressive debut, and there are other solid performances from film veterans Hal Holbrook and James Whitmore. But ultimately, this movie is so sappy, every maple tree in the country will be green with envy.

"The Majestic" opens nationwide on Friday, December 21 and is rated PG.