Viewed on 13 Jun 03   Hollywood doesn't like to be outdone by the Television Industry - ever.    For years, Television has had the likes of Oprah and Jerry Springer as sterling examples of All-American Voyeurism, and Hollywood hasn't been able to do anything about it.   But now with PHONE BOOTH, all that has changed.   Think of PHONE BOOTH as Ultimate Oprah - just imagine the kind of audience response you could get if Oprah were pointing a gun at their heads...    At any rate, this should help set the scene...
        Stuart Shepard (Colin Farrell), an Under-Assistant East Coast Promo Man from the Bronx, is glib, wise-ass, rude and unscrupulous.   In other words, pretty much your average New Yorker.    Why anyone, especially a shooter on the eighth floor with a high-powered rifle, would take exception to this, is beyond understanding, unless of course, he, the shooter, wasn't from New York.    But nevertheless, this mystery shooter (Kiefer Sutherland) takes extreme exception to Stuart and his lifestyle, and decides he is going to publicly humiliate him, and then shoot him.
        Captain Ramey (NYPD) (Forest Whitaker) rushes to the scene when someone is shot next to a phone booth, only to find himself in the middle of a most unusual hostage drama.   You might even say 'preposterous hostage drama' if you were even the least bit candid.    Once Ramey gets the strange 'clues' sorted out in his head, he undertakes to ensure that no more shooting will be done on his watch.    Easier said than done; its not likely you will guess the ending on this one.
        Top-notch acting just barely saved Director Joel Schumacher's job at 20th Century Fox.  And, no, Colin Farrell doesn't shave for this film either.   Sandra Bullock doesn't do nude scenes, and Farrell doesn't do bare face.   It's a Hollywood thing - learn to live with it.    Don't buy a large tub of popcorn for this one - mercifully, PHONE BOOTH is only 80 minutes long.
        Enduring Line or Phrase:  "...The sin of  'spin' - avoidance and deception."


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