Broken Flowers

Of the 137 reviews of Broken Flowers posted at the Rotten Tomatoes Web site, an overwhelming 88 percent are positive, with an average rating a 7.5 on a scale of 1 to 10. The pairing of ultra cool indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch and low-key actor Bill Murray has been called inspired. Overall, the quirky comedy is one of the best-received movies so far this year.

Bill Murray and Sharon Stone

It didn’t work for me, though. My hopes were high for the film. Though I’ve paid little attention to Jarmusch, I love Bill Murray and was eager to see what he has been up to lately.

Alas, it turns out that he’s up to the same thing he’s been up to in every one of his films since Rushmore. Once again, Murray plays a stone-faced burn-out dragging himself through life for no apparent reason. I know I’m supposed to appreciate his minimalist approach to acting, but I have officially hit the wall. I mean really, what is the line between minimalism and monotone?

I miss the Bill Murray that expresses a full range of emotions. But more importantly, I am tired of watching him play the same role, give or take a twitch or two. Perhaps if the film around him had something to say I might have enjoyed this subtle performance as much as I enjoyed his other ones, but the movie is as remote and shielded as Murray’s character.

Don Johnston (Murray), who is quite well-to-do courtesy of his work in computers, sits on the couch in the living room of his suburban house and stares impassively at the TV set. His latest girlfriend, Sherry (Julie Delphy), is moving out today. Also, a letter arrived in the mail, on pink stationary: an anonymous letter from a former girlfriend informing Don that he has a 19-year-old son who is searching for his father.

Don shares the letter with his next door neighbor, Winston (Jeffrey Wright), an Ethiopian with a large family and a nose for mystery. Apparently, Don, who projects all the personality of a lawn gnome, has long been referred to as Don Juan. Any of five women might have written the letter.

Winston encourages his lethargic friend to investigate, and does some of his own poking around on the Internet. He locates the four women who are still living and arranges for Don to travel to each of the four cities in which they reside. Don initially resists, but finally agrees, realizing that the movie would be over if he didn’t.

With that, the journey begins. Sure, the premise seems unlikely, but that’s fine, because we’ll eventually learn what turned Don Juan into the great lump of a man he has become. Well, no. Consider this a spoiler and be warned if you will, but nobody learns much of anything in this movie. Be prepared for lots of trudging and impassive expressions and very little in the revelations department.

Sharon Stone plays Laura, the first lover in Don’s Listless-apalooza Tour. Sexy and quirky, she opens her kitchen and bedroom to her ex. The presence of her daughter, the aptly-named Lolita (Alexis Dziena), adds more spice to the situation.

Other towns, other lovers: Frances Conroy is ex-hippie Dora, now half of a pair of zombie realtors with hubby Christopher McDonald. Jessica Lange appears as Dr. Carmen, an animal communicator (ahem) who treats pets with problems. Her very attentive assistant (Chloe Sevingy) seethes at Don. Former lover No. 4 is Penny (Tilda Swinton), a fiery woman with some protective male friends.

Once the premise is set, the film lurches from vignette to vignette with diminishing returns. Occasionally, something mildly intriguing or amusing happens. The acting is fine, with Sharon Stone and Alexis Dziena adding the most juice. Jeffrey Wright is certainly likeable. But thanks to the tag-team distance of Murray and Jarmusch, I left the theater feeling nothing but a vague annoyance.

One point of interest. The guy that looks at Murray from his vehicle very late in the film is Murray’s real-life son.