Rough Magic

Though not without its charms, this adaptation of James Hadley Chase's novel, Miss Shumway Waves a Wand, does not cast a lasting spell. Set in the 1950s, it's an oddball hybrid of road movie/film noir/magical realism. Bridget Fonda literally breathes fire into her role as Myra, a magician's assistant who flees to Mexico City after capturing on film the accidental shooting of her mentor by Cliff Wyatt (D. W. Moffat), Myra's fiancé and an aspiring politician. Shades of Out of the Past, Wyatt hires Alex Ross, a hard-boiled reporter (Russell Crowe) to track Myra down, and the pair--naturally--fall in love. Unlike Jane Greer, who simply shot anyone who stood in her way, our Myra can turn a villain into a sausage…literally. It's too bad the screenwriters couldn't conjure up better dialogue (a sexual reference to said sausage is what passes for banter). Small favors: the casting of Mel Brooks' veteran Kenneth Mars and Jim Broadbent (Enchanted April), and there might be interest in Crowe, currently on Hollywood's hot list with L. A. Confidential. Optional. (K. Lee Benson)