Moonlight and Valentino -

Moonlight and Valentino is a drama about grief and women’s relationships. Elizabeth Perkins plays a young woman who husband was killed, having been hit by a car. Gwyneth Paltrow is her rebellious, but innocent, younger sister. Kathleen Turner is her businesslike, but never accepted, stepmother. Whoopi Goldberg rounds out the cast as the best friend who is in the prelude to a divorce. As usual, in this genre, the film takes turns…each woman has an emotional crisis to deal with, and it all ends in an uplifting catharsis of feeling. However, there is very little connection to the characters in this film. Perkins is competely emotionless until the end, and she’s the centerpiece. Turner is annoying, Paltrow is alternately demanding and pathetic, and Goldberg is strangely restrained. As far as the male roles go, the largest role goes to Jon Bon Jovi (who fares surprisingly well without much to do). Unless watching other’s misery is your forte, there’s nothing here that makes Moonlight and Valentino worth watching.