Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle ★★½ Mrs. Parker and the Round Table 1994 (R)
Bio of witty, suicidal writer Dorothy Parker and her equally witty friends, including theatre critics, playwrights, and novelists, who lunched together at New York's Algonquin Hotel for most of the 1920s. An irreverant band known as the Algonquin Round Table, their numerous bon mots were regularly reported in the papers. Their private lives were often less than happy with alcohol, drug addiction and depression prominent factors. Parker's downward spiral is depressing though compelling to watch, thanks to Leigh's performance (in spite of much criticism for her lockjawed accent) but many of the characters come and go so quickly they make little impression. 124m/C VHS, DVD . Mina (Badiyi) Badie, Natalie Strong, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Matthew Broderick, Andrew McCarthy, Campbell Scott, Jennifer Beals, Tom McGowan, Nick Cassavetes, Sam Robards, Rebecca Miller, Wallace Shawn, Martha Plimpton, Gwyneth Paltrow, Peter Gallagher, Lili Taylor; D: Alan Rudolph; W: Rudolph Coburn, Randy Sue Coburn; C: Jan Kiesser; M: Mark Isham. Natl. Soc. Film Critics ‘94: Actress (Leigh).