The Object of Beauty

The Object of Beauty
The Object of Beauty
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Lindsay-Hogg
Written by	Michael Lindsay-Hogg
Produced by	Jon S. Denny
Starring	John Malkovich; Andie MacDowell; Joss Ackland; Rudi Davies; Lolita Davidovich;
Cinematography	David Watkin
Edited by	Ruth Foster
Music by	Tom Bähler
Distributed by	Avenue Pictures
Release date	April 12, 1991;
Running time	103 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom ; United States
Language	English
Budget	£2 million
Box office	$5,136,759

The Object of Beauty is a 1991 comedy crime–drama film directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg and starring John Malkovich and Andie MacDowell.^[3]

Plot[]

Jake and Tina have taken up residence in a London hotel, living way beyond their means. He is a commodities broker whose shipment of cocoa beans is tied up by a Third World country's revolution. She is a woman with extravagant tastes who is still technically married to Larry, her first husband.

The two of them are so broke that when it comes time to pay for a dinner at the hotel, Jake hands a credit card to the waiter and prays that it won't be canceled. A pair of hotel executives, Mercer and Swayle, repeatedly make attempts to confront Jake and Tina about their growing unpaid bill.

Only one object stands between the couple and total insolvency. That is a tiny sculpture by Henry Moore that was given to Tina by her husband as a gift. But just as she and Jake hatch a scheme to pretend the object is stolen and collect the insurance on it, a deaf housekeeper, Jenny, decides to steal it for herself.

After she steals it Tina and Jake get upset. Then Jenny's brother decides to take it and sell it, but nobody will buy it and he ends up losing it. Jake and Tina argues, he goes to Joan (Tina's best friend) and they end up sleeping together. Next day Jenny searches with her brother and find the statue in a heap of rubble. Jenny returns it then steals it again and when the insurance company comes she hands it over. Jake and Tina auction it off later and are able to pay for everythinand go on vacation.

Cast[]

John Malkovich as Jake Bartholemew
Andie MacDowell as Tina Lesley Bartholemew
Lolita Davidovich as Joan
Rudi Davies as Jenny
Joss Ackland as Mr. Mercer
Bill Paterson as Victor Swayle
Ricci Harnett as Steve
Peter Riegert as Lawrence ″Larry″ Oates
Jack Shepherd as Mr. Slaughter
Rosemary Martin as Mrs. Doughty
Roger Lloyd-Pack as Frankie
Andrew Hawkins as Gordon
Pip Torrens as Art evaluator
Stephen Churchett as Mr. Mundy
as Housekeeper
Richard Ireson as Night porter
as Auctioneer
Jeremy Sinden as Jonathan
as Melissa
John Crocker as Waiter
Victoria Willing as Portuguese maid #1
as Portuguese maid #2
as Portuguese maid #3
as Steve's friend
as Steve's friend
as Steve's friend
as Steve's friend
Brian Coyle as Steve's friend
as Steve's friend
as Enrico
as Italian father

Reception[]

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 77% based on reviews from 13 critics.^[4]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3.5 out of a possible 4 stars. He wrote: "By the end of the film, the plot has been worked out to everyone's satisfaction, but the plot isn't really that important. What is important is the ways that people love one another."^[5]

TV Guide wrote- "The Object of Beauty is not a joy forever. To watch Andie MacDowell and John Malkovich flounder in roles that might once have gone to Cary Grant and Irene Dunne or William Powell and Myrna Loy is to experience moviegoing misery.^[6]