Looking for an Echo

Who would have thought that Armand Assante and Diane Venora could deliver good, heartfelt performances? Surprise. On the face of it, the idea of marble-mouthed tough guy Assante playing a former teen idol doo-wop star seems highly implausible, but he pulls it off. As the nurse who cares for Assante's cancer-stricken daughter (and ultimately falls for Dad), Venora, freed from the fake accent constraints that bogged her down in The 13th Warrior and The Insider, is similarly charming. If you've guessed that there isn't a lot of conflict inherent in that scenario, you'd be right: For the film's first half, the only problem that occurs is a minor misunderstanding between Assante and his youngest son, aspiring rock star Anthony (Eduardo Ballerini, looking like a sullen younger version of Morten Harket of the band A-Ha). Then the sick daughter experiences a dramatically convenient complication, prompting Assante to realize that it sucks not being famous any more. So he commiserates with his former bandmates. There's really not much to the plot, and the idea that Anthony will become a rock star in the 90s (the film is set in 1998) by singing doo-wop songs is absurd. Nonetheless, it's hard not to like a movie that was so clearly a labor of love for all involved. It doesn't hurt to like doo-wop, but fear not: Assante's singing voice is dubbed by someone who can sing, except perhaps in one scene, during a truly off-key birthday party singalong. If you're a sucker for stories about dysfunctional has-beens rediscovering the wonders of life (and aren't most of us, given the right mood?), Looking for an Echo certainly hits the marks. Martin Davidson (The Lords of Flatbush) directed.