The Decline Of The American Empire

The Decline of the American Empire is not going to be everyone's cup of Spanish Fly. Talking heads films, of which this is definitely one, rely entirely on the script to hold the audience. And while just about anyone is willing to drop what they're doing to listen to a conversation about Sex, Canadian writer-director Denys Arcand has given his finely cast ensemble of players an appealing mixture of comedic gags and philosophical speculations which raise "Decline" way above the average sex comedy. The first half of the movie introduces four men who are busily preparing a gourmet dinner with which to regale their respective spouses, lovers, friends. This second group consists of four women who, ironically, are shown pumping iron at the local health club. Both men and women (all of them, incidentally, either college professors or mates of same), away from their better/lesser halves, boast at length about their sexual exploits. The twist, for the audience, is that by listening to both groups, we know who's sleeping with whom. When everyone gets together for a very civilized meal, it's only a matter of time before that surface calm is broken by revealed secrets. Whether or not you're convinced by the movie's thesis (that the selfish pursuit of individual happiness inevitably results in the erosion of society), or follow closely the semantic games the script revels in, is not terribly crucial. The food looks good, the people are interesting, and the conversation is pure dirty linen. Recommended. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review--Sept. 21, 2004--Koch Lorber, 102 min., in French w/English subtitles, R, $24.95--Making its second appearance on DVD, Denys Arcand's 1986 The Decline of the American Empire bows on an extra-less disc that sports a very good widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Bottom line: Arcand's sequel The Barbarian Invasions won the Oscar this year for Best Foreign Film, so there should be interest in this solid first film featuring the same actors nearly two decades earlier.]