Six Degrees of Separation

Will Smith, Stockard Channing and Donald Sutherland are very good. The characters are sick; what they do is sick; how they act is sick; what they say is sick. If you're sick, you'll love it. All others stay away. A frustrating flick, unless you appreciate sick. It gets a 3.

That's the rhetorical question that I think most people will have wandering through their minds while watching this film, a favorite of mine. Yes, friends, Will Smith indeed can act, and he does so quite well in this film. So well, you wonder why he keeps picking flicks that show up during the Summer months versus the flicks that show up in the Fall. If you don't see this film for any other reason, watch it just to witness Will Smith break away from his usual mold.

A brilliant premise features Will Smith (very young, at the time) able to cunningly enter the New York high society and trick them into accepting him as a part of them. The movie title refers to the theory that, taken 2 people at random from the globe, be it the Pope and yourself, an eskimo and the President of the United States, there can be at most 6 people separating them. Therefore the trick of getting in contact with any person can be reduced to the finding of 6 people. In practice, Will Smith gets particularly lucky, as only one person will be needed to accomplish his task, of stepping into the world of the rich bourgeois New York society. In particular, the life of a family of art merchants (Donald Sutherland and Stockard Channing) is literally swept by his arrival, which opens a crack in their life and start making them reflect about their own existence. The movie is witty, amusing, passionate, rich in surprises and in elements of interest, as it addresses the problem of existence (how much of it you can account for), the role of fantasy and imagination and the relationship between parents and children. Great story, with brilliant acting from everyone and a nice violin soundtrack: perhaps my personal favourite movie of all time! 10/10

One out of three is actually pretty bad. Has 1 thing going for it: Will Smith is great. Otherwise, what a swill-bucket! It manages to be about the worst offender in two of the worst "gawd-this-flick-sux" categories. First, almost everyone in the flick acts like a total moron most of the time. Sutherland acts like a coherent person would a few times, but then he just reverts right back to moron- mode. Only House of Sand & Fog can match this for requiring everyone to be moronic in order for the movie to move forward. Second, it is just pompous celibacy of the kind common to people trying to act educated. Putrid, pompous, puerile, pretentious pablum. From the first scene to the last. Every single scene. How did they accomplish that? Only My Dinner With Andre comes close, and even that had some good stuff stuck in the private-parts of the pablum. As I reviewed Andre, at least it has some honest truths. (but the reality is that the people who will give it a "10" are the exact people who these truths are most honest about. Hypocrisy defined.) This bucket has nothing but swill. I guess I can say one other good thing about it. It continues the tradition of movies that somewhat accurately portray the inhabitants of the two worst places I have ever lived. People, over the age of roughly 35, in NYC are mainly pompous celibates. People in SW Connecticut are mainly obnoxious A-holes with no family life nor concern for the people around them. Try naming a few movies that take place in SW Conn. where the people are presented warmly, etc. Go ahead, try.

I watched this movie because of the title - 'Six Degrees of Separation' does sound interesting. Well, to put it shortly, it's just a bag of pseudo-intellectual trash. A waste of time, money and effort on everyone's part. The characters are fatuous, the storyline ridiculous. The plot starts nowhere, goes nowhere and ends nowhere. I kept waiting for something, anything, to happen. Nothing did. Frankly, I demand 1.5 hours of precious time back, even if for sitting on a park bench staring into space! My rating for it is 1 on 10 - just because you can't do a zero rating.

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION is an outstanding play transformed to the screen with dignity but with a script that keeps us in the live theatre instead of in a motion picture. Not that that is a bad thing: the script by John Guare is brilliant. It simply seems a little static, with its marvelous plays on words, repeated phrases, and disjointed movements significant unto themselves but not really taking advantage of cinematic possibilities of flow. Essentially the tale of how a married couple who deal art (Stockard Channing and Donald Sutherland - both in peak form) are so caught up in their superficial lives that they are taken in by a handsome young African American con artist (Will Smith) whose various antics bring the couple round to reexamining their shallow existence. Most of the story is related over art dealings and dinner conversations and are peopled by such luminaries as Kitty Carlisle, Ian McKellen, artists Chuck Close and Kazuko, Mary Beth Hurt, Bruce Davidson etc - a really fine ensemble. There are many social comments clustered in this story and it continues to play well after its origins on the stage and fifteen years after the movie was made. This was one of Will Smith's entries into film as well as one of the gifted Stockard Channing's finest roles. Highly recommended for repeated viewings. Grady Harp

In New York, the art dealers John Flanders ('Flan') Kittredge (Donald Sutherland) and Louisa ('Ouisa') Kittredge (Stockard Channing) are ready to have a business dinner with their South African friend and client Geoffrey Miller (Ian McKellen), when a wounded young black man comes to their fancy apartment telling that he had been just robbed in Central Park and asking for help. He introduces himself as Paul (Will Smith), a friend of their son and daughter in Harvard and son of Sidney Poitier, and the couple invites him to stay with them. During they night, they find that Paul is not who he claims to be. When they investigate the life of Paul, they find the hidden truth. The first time I saw "Six Degrees of Separation" in 1993 or 1994, I was very impressed with this movie. I liked the concept of the six degrees of separation between human beings, but mostly the acting of Will Smith, Stockard Channing and Donald Sutherland. The very difficult and long lines were brilliantly presented by this trio of excellent actors and actress, almost as if they were on the stage. Further, the name of Stockard Channing in a film for me is a synonymous of high quality. Today I have just seen this movie again, and I maybe I am more critical with the years, but I found the screenplay quite confused. For example, the relationships of parents and sons and daughters are extremely aggressive from the side of the Harvard students, and I have not understood the point in the story. The affection of Louisa ('Ouisa') Kittredge for Paul Poitier- Kittredge could be a projection of what she would like to receive from her apparently ungrateful son and daughter, but her daughter actually talks to her. Anyway, this movie is intriguing and original and deserves to be watched. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Seis Graus de Separação" ("Six Degrees of Separation")

source: Six Degrees of Separation

from production design by Patrizia von Brandenstein to direction from Fred Schepisi to the last performance of Kitty Carlisle Hart as a doyenne hostess, really first rate. Also first on screen appearance I think, for Heather Graham and Eric Thal, two kids from Utah. As for the back of the head kiss between lead Will Smith and the brat pack's Anthony Michael Hall, it came out this week that Denzel Washington advised Smith not to kiss Hall but frankly, I didn't miss it. Nice cameos from Sir Ian McKellen, Richard Masur, the always wonderful Mary Beth Hurt and Bruce Davison. It mostly takes place in a penthouse overlooking Central Park so that's why I love it so, that and a score that really gets under your skin. Stockard Channing will want to forget some of the 80s outfits but all in all, I could watch this one anytime. Watch for future director JJ Abrams as a bratty dorm phone thrower.

Even if you don't like Will Smith at all (Sutherland is great, of course) this is an amazing story - fast, funny and reasonably deep. Lacks a bit of an ending, though. You wonder if you would do better belonging to those spoilt kids. You wouldn't fancy Afghanistan, but then? Everything about Rome is great, even if the studio copy of the Sixtinian Capella could be a better one. As long as the Kandinski is painted on both sides I don't complain.