Marci X

A dismal attempt at a combination satire-romantic comedy about interracial relations on the contemporary music scene, Marci X is an embarrassment to all involved. Lisa Kudrow plays Marci, a wealthy but hapless New York socialite whose father falls ill when a right-wing senator (rabidly unfunny Christine Baranski) castigates him for owning the label that records Dr. S (Damon Wayans), a hip-hopper whose lyrics are anathema to conservatives. When dim-bulb Marci tries to persuade the rapper to mend his ways, they become unlikely allies against their politically motivated critics and, ultimately, an item. Under the leaden hand of director Richard Benjamin (who also plays Marci's dad, very badly), none of the actors fare well: Kudrow is robotic as the ditzy society princess, and Wayans, characterized as a thoroughly unthreatening fellow who's irresistible to white women, affects a weirdly strangulated voice that becomes annoying after about 10 seconds. Even the music is uniformly dreadful in this wannabe clash of cultures tale that's instead a clash of stereotypes, so clueless about its subject that it's like being force-fed a 10-CD retrospective of Vanilla Ice's greatest hits. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include both widescreen and full screen versions. Bottom line: while it's always nice to have both formats for the price of one, more is not more in this case.] (F. Swietek)