'The Words' Fails Despite Cast, Dennis Quaid, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy I... Movies for Grownups

Review ' The Words' With Dennis Quaid

His solid performance in this muddled drama is a reminder of his best movies We' ve got a list

Director: Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal
Rating PG-13. Running Time: ‎97 mins.
Stars: Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana There was a time when was better known as Randy Quaid's brother and Meg Ryan's ex than for his acting skills. Not anymore — and definitely not this fall. On the heels of playing colorful roles in the 2011 feature films and , and 2012's , Quaid will offer intriguing performances in three indy films before year's end, along with a leading role on CBS's new 60-minute drama series, Vegas, in which he plays the real-life cowboy turned Clark County sheriff Ralph Lamb, as he confronts the mob justice that ruled Sin City in the 1960s.

More Movies About Writers and Writing

In the first of the indy films, The Words, Quaid plays a self-important, somewhat disingenuous about a successful writer who is in fact a plagiarist. The phenomenal cast includes Bradley Cooper (Limitless), Jeremy Irons, Zoe Saldana (Avatar) and Olivia Wilde (best known for TRON: Legacy). Quaid's character's story actually functions as a framing device — and a not terribly necessary one, at that. That said, Quaid conveys through his expressions and body language his character's inner duplicity, and he forces the viewer to want to learn the truth about him. He also sizzles in his romantic liaisons with Wilde, bringing to mind his turn as Detective Remy McSwain in The Big Easy, when he seduces Ellen Barkin. AP Photo/Danny Moloshok Dennis Quaid is one of the stars of "The Words." See this if you like, but here are some better Quaid films to enjoy. The film explores the legitimate grownup theme of the lengths that people will go in the name of ambition. The Words begins in present-day New York as Clay Hammond (Quaid) gives a reading from his latest book to a packed audience that includes a comely grad student (Wilde), who's got eyes for him. The main character in Hammond's book (story-within-a-story, remember) is struggling writer Rory Jansen (Cooper), whose ever-adoring wife, Dora (Saldana) buys him an old leather satchel in an antique store while they're on their . Later, Jansen discovers a weather-worn but brilliant manuscript in the satchel, and, desperate to prove himself (to his father, his wife and the world), pawns it off to his agent as his own writing. Massive literary recognition follows — until an old man (yes, that's how the script refers to him), played by Irons, tracks Jansen down and reveals the story is his own, written in a creative spurt and long ago lost on a train. Will the old man expose him? Will Jansen come clean on his own? Is Jansen's story really Hammond's? Written and directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal (Bradley Cooper's childhood friends who wrote TRON: Legacy but direct for their first time here), the film explores the legitimate grownup theme of the lengths that people will go in the name of ambition. The intergenerational nature of the cast is a plus, and Jeremy Irons (who won an Oscar for Reversal of Fortune) is fascinating to watch. But the story-within-a-story conceit is forced, and the bookend nature of the Quaid plot line requires much of the action be told in voiceover, as if taken from the pages of a very-well written book. The dialogue, in fact, hardly lives up. Sure, if you've got the time and the money, pop into the theater to see The Words. The cast, at the least, will sufficiently entertain you. But better yet, hit up Amazon, and have a stay-at-home Dennis Quaid filmfest.

My Favorite Dennis Quaid Films

That crooked smile, those dazzling eyes, are always fun to watch — even in The Words. If you're a fan, check out some of these flicks for Quaid at his best. The Right Stuff (1983): As Mercury 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper, Quaid has just the right amount of moxie and deep-seated angst to play a space cowboy. The Big Easy (1986): Though Quaid has admitted he was in the throes of cocaine addiction while filming this, his sexy New Orleans drawl is spot on, and he meets his romantic match in Ellen Barkin. Great Balls of Fire (1989): The guy's got an uncanny gift for impersonation, playing a rollicking, wild Jerry Lee Lewis in this (and a pretty good version of Bill Clinton in the 2010 TV movie, The Special Relationship). The Parent Trap (1998): He's a good dad (even to Lindsay Lohan). Say no more. The Rookie (2002): He's just a natural as a baseball player, channeling, once again, a real-life character, the pitcher Jim Morris, who made the big leagues in his 30s. Far From Heaven (2002): Quaid has never been better playing serious than in his role as a married man (opposite Julianne Moore, who is equally astounding in this fantastic portrait) who's hiding a secret. Soul Surfer (2011): OK, the shark story was true though tabloidy, but Quaid was totally believable as the Kauai surfer dad who helped his daughter reclaim her life. You may also like: Featured AARP Member Benefits See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures

Close In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.