By: debbie lynn elias
Enough already.
Starring Jennifer Lopez and Billy Campbell, “Enough” is a way below average attempt at retelling that now common themed story of a woman victimized by man who then turns the tables and fights back gaining freedom, self-respect and amazingly, no jail time.
Jennifer Lopez stars as Slim, poster child for the hard luck story – abandoned at a young age by her father, now a struggling gum chewing waitress, uneducated, skeptical, but looking for Mr. Right to give her a better life. Enter Mitch, exceedingly rich, tall, handsome, sensitive stranger who defends Slim’s honor when a customer asks her out as the result of a bet which Mitch allegedly overheard being made the previous day. Smitten, love blossoms and wedding bells ring. Money flows, a child is born and Slim wants for nothing. The perfect life. Of course, as we all know, life is not a bed of roses and into each life, some rain must fall and for Slim that comes in the way of Mitch’s violent tendencies and penchant for beating up on his wife. Strangely, however, this character flaw doesn’t materialize until after their child is some 3-4 years old which gives rise to a plethora of unanswered questions, like: Who or what was he beating up on for all the years prior? Where did this sudden rage come from? Who is Mitch?
Rather than take legal or police action, Slim goes on the run, attempting to hide herself and young Gracie from Mitch. Surprisingly (duh!), Mitch always manages to find them. With no money, no job and apparently unable to once again obtain fake identification and a new identity, Slim looks up her long lost father. Jupiter, in an over the top performance by Fred Ward, must have been inserted for comic relief. Never having acknowledged Slim as his daughter, and still refusing to do so and despite handing her a mere $12.00 for sandwiches for “herself and the kid” on their initial meeting, Jupiter nevertheless miraculously forwards oodles of money to her (enough to buy a house, car, etc.) and apparently continues to do so when needed as we never see Slim working to support herself and Gracie.
One interesting plot twist has Slim being found once again by Mitch thanks to the efforts of his good cop buddy, Robbie, who strangely enough is that same customer who hit on Slim oh so many years ago when Mitch came to her defense. It’s no secret, and you’ve probably already guessed, Mitch and Robbie were friends then and are now and pulled similar scams on many women over the years. (Maybe that’s where Mitch was taking out his rage during those early years with Slim.) On this last discovery and narrow escape, Slim finally speaks with a lawyer who offers these great pearls of wisdom – “There is nothing you can do. He will win.”
Discouraged and realizing that she now must finally fight back (duh, again), Slim gets some intensive martial arts training and plans to go on the attack. Seeking further help from her father (who it appears with whom she now has a somewhat established relationship), Slim puts her final plan in motion with a series of cleverly written ploys and twists leading up to her beat-the-living-crap-out-of-him, one-on-one with Mitch. This also gives rise to another unanswered question: Having been so “dumb” throughout most of her life, when did she all of a sudden increase her IQ level to concoct and create her plan and all the surrounding diversions and subterfuge? The final showdown is expertly done – leaving no stone unturned, no piece of furniture unbroken and no body part unpummelled. (And yes, for certain of my readers, please note that I took good notes on the tactics used here.)
Not a big J-Lo fan, her performance as Slim certainly did nothing to change my opinion. On the other hand, Billy Campbell was superb as Mitch, doing a complete 180 from pre-marriage nice Mitch to post-marriage bastard, with perfect use of facial expressions and tonal voice changes. Having known Billy some 20 years ago when he was first starting out and following his career over the years, this is undoubtedly his finest performance. And Noah Wylie as Robbie – wow! In a total departure from his Dr. Carter persona on “ER”, Wylie is another one who does a complete 180 with his sleazoid cop on the take, scam artist performance here. A complete and welcome surprise. And of course, Dan Futterman as Slim’s ex-boyfriend/ best friend/future boyfriend and the talented Juliette Lewis as Slim’s best girlfriend, are always a joy to watch and don’t disappoint.
Screenwriter Nicholas Kazan obviously didn’t do much research on spousal abuse when writing this script and as a result, we are faced with implausibility, unfinished sub-plots, dangling characters and unanswered questions galore, none of which could be covered up or salvaged by director Michael Apted, known for his superb work on films such as “Nell” and “Gorillas In The Mist.”
Disappointing? Definitely. Disturbing? Without a doubt. But, enough is enough.
