Anna Nicole

Blonde, buxom, baby-voiced supermodel Anna Nicole Smith encouraged comparisons to Marilyn Monroe. Like the 1950s icon, Smith also fell victim to the darker aspects of celebrity life and died amid a swirl of personal crises. This Lifetime-aired biopic attempts to retrace Smith's meteoric rise and calamitous fall, but winds up being mostly a soapy mess. Agnes Bruckner bears a so-so physical and voice resemblance to the late model-actress, but she fails to channel any of the vibrancy and charisma that fueled Smith's career. The prominent ensemble cast—including Virginia Madsen (as Smith's free-spirited Texas mother), Martin Landau (as billionaire husband J. Howard Marshall), Cary Elwes (as Marshall's son), and Adam Goldberg (as Smith's controversial lawyer Howard K. Stern)—brings a level of prestige to the film, but everyone here seems to be playing their parts with tongues firmly planted in cheek. The real disappointment, however, lies behind the camera: director Mary Harron once electrified the indie world with inventive and emotionally jolting feature films like I Shot Andy Warhol and American Psycho. Seeing her at the helm of this silly, connect-the-dots endeavor is sad. Not recommended. (P. Hall)