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Peaceful Warrior

Following the template by numbers
By MATTIAS FREY  |  July 12, 2006
1.5 1.5 Stars
060714-inside-peaceful.jpg
EXCRUCIATING KITSCH: Nolte's dialogue would have sounded better coming from the late Pat Morita
The wise-elder/insolent-apprentice story has been so durable in Hollywood that many scriptwriting manuals teach it as a paradigm. Inspired by Dan Millman’s New Age bestseller, Victor Salva’s crib follows the template by the numbers. Scott Mechlowicz’s Millman is the big man on a Berkeley campus inhabited seemingly only by 35-year-old models. A star gymnast and champion rake, Millman is perfect but wants more: a spot on the Olympic team. Enter Nick Nolte as an unnamed “Qwik-E-Mart philosopher.” Lecturing from his gas station/convenience store, he teaches his ambitious pup to harness superbia with mundane tasks and aphorisms that sounded better in Mr. Miyagi’s affected accent (“Take out the trash to clear your mind”). The kitsch factor is excruciating. Salva’s disciplined direction and Nolte’s wheezy performance supply a modicum of grace to this otherwise banal exercise.
Related: Off the Black, Primary concerns, Et tu Brute?, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Nick Nolte, Pat Morita
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ARTICLES BY MATTIAS FREY
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  •   LIGHT SHOW  |  April 02, 2008
    The biggest stars of this year’s Berlin Film Festival were neither actors nor directors.
  •   PEACEFUL WARRIOR  |  July 12, 2006
    The wise-elder/insolent-apprentice story has been so durable in Hollywood that many scriptwriting manuals teach it as a paradigm. Watch the trailer for Peaceful Warrior (QuickTime)
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    Boynton’s restrained vérité reveals the consultants’ video-game mentality — and the violent consequences of their meddling.
  •   THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA  |  February 20, 2007
    If Lauren Weisberger’s bestseller was a Starbucks espresso — overall bland, but hot and quick — then David Frankel’s adaptation is the decaf version. Watch the trailer for The Devil Wears Prada (QuickTime)

 See all articles by: MATTIAS FREY

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