I Dreamed of Africa

Kim Basinger tries hard to bring dignity to her dime-store Meryl Streep role in this weepy epic based on the memoirs of an American socialite roughing it on a derelict 100,000-acre ranch in Kenya with her intrepid husband (Vincent Perez) and young son. Almost entirely scenery and labored melodrama, I Dreamed of Africa is an overly poetic effort, tinged with tragedy and adventure but very little depth and no organic flow whatsoever. Director Hugh Hudson (Chariots of Fire) races roughshod over years at a time--like entries being read at random from this woman's diary--leaving little room for character development. Not recommended. (R. Blackwelder)