University of Virginia Library

Not His Part

The role of the Reverend should
not have been played by Van Dyke.
It just isn't his part. The role
confines him instead of allowing
him to develop his potential. Pippa
Scott, as his wife, is good in the
scenes when she was not smoking.
She plays within the limits of the
role well — but the audience has
not been prepared for her action
(or lack of it) in the final scene.

Because of the lack of subtlety,
the shots fired by "Cold Turkey"
destroy their targets instead of
simply hitting them. An overly
patriotic old woman, for example,
fires a gun, hits the wrong person,
and shows no sign of surprise or
pity. She fires again, succeeds this
time, and says "A lotta bullshit." Is
this subtlety? Is this realistic? The
scene succeeds in the element of
shock, but in nothing else.

The only redeeming factor of
the movie is its theme song: "He
Gives Us All His Love." It is
peaceful and soothing, while
providing a painful contrast to the
beginning and the end of the film.
However, a song alone cannot
rescue it from its numerous faux
pas. "Cold Turkey" couldn't have
been much better, and it couldn't
have been much worse.

(Now at the Barracks Road)