Deception' just deceives
MOVIE REVIEW
by TIMOTHY CHIPP Reporter

"Deception" lives up to its name: throwing a star-studded cast on the screen, then failing to provide the expected entertainment.

Talk about an erotic thriller that wasn't erotic - save for one montage - and wasn't thrilling, outside of a five-second segment involving an explosion.

Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman are capable actors with healthy resumes, and separately, they command the screen. So why when they are together do they stumble?

It's partly a matter of chemistry between the two. As often happens when two major stars team up, there isn't enough movie screen to handle them. A classic example would be the movie "Face/Off " with Nicolas Cage and John Travolta.

There also remains the simple fact that Jackman is not a supporting actor, despite being cast as one. He's talented enough that whenever he is on screen, it takes away from McGregor.

And as the bad guy of the film, he isn't very villainous. In fact, he's comical, lending to the film's ineptitude.

The story is about a dorky accountant named John (McGregor) who gets caught up in an anonymous sex ring and finds himself enjoying a life not his own.

Through the ring, he meets and then gets serious about a girl known only as "S," played by Michelle Williams of "Dawson's Creek." When S is kidnapped from a hotel room during one of their trysts, John gets a call from a guy he thought was his best friend ( Jackman), who is blackmailing him.

The story unfolds from there, featuring one gunshot, an explosion that wipes out an entire floor of an apartment building and two deaths. Personalities are switched, deceptions take place and loves are rev ealed.

But sadly, I just don't care.

The movie's biggest weakness is that the payoff is below minimal. It's nonexistent.

Williams is a delicate flower trying to be a Venus' flytrap, a move she can't pull off with her limited ability. And it plays directly into stereotypes, having the audacity to make things appear to be one way and then flip them around.

Now, normally in a flick about deception, this would make for a good show. But in this case, you know it's coming before you even buy the movie ticket.

It's a "Do it or I'll kill her" movie, but I just don't care if she lives or dies.

There are some bright spots, most notably in Mc- Gregor's ability to portray a squirmy little accountant. He's not the most physically imposing person in the world, allowing his character to look natural.

And the script was well written, too, including the conversations of such minor characters as Lisa Gay Hamilton's Detective Russo investigating the disappearance of S.

But, overall, the movie fails to excite, a sin no erotic thriller should commit.

And there are silly little errors, such as how it takes the main characters a couple of hours to get passports when it takes me six months.

I'd say, if you want something thrilling, go watch "The Lion King." It has more suspense than "Deception."