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Gossip

2000, Movie, R, 90 mins

Gossip: Review

Imagine a hysterically overwrought episode of Felicity crossed with hit-and-run Gen-X angst thriller BODY SHOTS and you more or less have the measure of this pandering picture about what happens when poisonous rumors take on a life of their own. It begins in a college journalism class, where super-hip professor Goodwin (professional ranteuse Eric Bogosian) is lecturing on the blurring of news and entertainment. Assigned to write a paper on the topic, three super-cool students — Jones (Lena Headly), Derrick (James Marsden) and Travis (Norman Reedus) — decide to go the prof one better. They devise a project: They're going to start a virulent rumor and plot its spread through the student body. Jones comes up with the idea, but Derrick supplies the buzz — he catches a glimpse of super-snotty, vociferously chaste fellow student Naomi Preston (Kate Hudson) in a drunken swoon in the arms of her boyfriend, Beau (Joshua Jackson). Derrick proposes that they concoct a story that Naomi was seen doing the nasty with Beau, run it up the flagpole and see who salutes. To the trio's smug delight, everyone does, embellishing and spinning bizarre variations on the original. But within 24 hours the story has mutated into sordid accusations of date rape, Naomi is filing charges and Jones is having second thoughts about their little jaw-wagging joyride. Set in Anytown, USA, and art-directed within an inch of its chichi life (does it come as any surprise that executive producer Joel Schumacher originally conceived it as a project for himself?), this moral tale is so thoroughly preposterous on every level that the only way to enjoy it is to throw logic to the wind and groove on Marsden's cheekbones and the shelter-porn appeal of his super-swanky loft. leave a comment --Maitland McDonagh