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Hollywood Bore

Sofia Coppola is getting lazy. Or, perhaps, she's getting bored. After the brilliant "Lost In Translation," which taught us all that the chemistry between two characters could carry a movie, "Somewhere" attempts to recreate that magical dynamic. Alas, chemistry is no replacement for story, and the film suffers for it.

Stephen Dorff is Johnny Marco, an A-list actor so entrenched in a hedonistic lifestyle, he's lost touch with the real world. In fact, it seems that only his daughter, Cleo (Elle Fanning), grounds him. Being a part time father is something he slots in between parties at his hotel apartment and private pole dances by twin Playboy bunnies (where is an editor when you need one??). When Cleo's mother "needs some time" and disappears suddenly without any explanation, Johnny is called upon to man up, grow up and get over himself. Unfortunately, he only has limited success.

It's as if someone told Ms. Coppola it was time to make another movie, and she had no ideas. So she did a riff on "Translation". This time, the actor is still in his prime, and the ingenue is his daughter instead of a lonely girl at his hotel. Instead of the bright lights and alien backdrop of Tokyo, "Somewhere" has Hollywood as its scenery. A very unglamourous Hollywood. There are brief sojourns elsewhere, but those not enoamoured of Tinseltown already will be underwhelmed. The Chateau Marmont plays like an upscale bohemian brothel. There are far too many minutes of screentime watching the bumper of a car on freeway after boulevard. Much like the film itself, it's colorless, flat and uninteresting.

"Somewhere" desperately wants to tell a story - one of a lost father and the daughter that reminds him that he's more than just an icon; one of the ultimate emptiness of hard living. The foundation is there. There is definite chemistry between Mr Dorff and Ms Fanning, both of whom do well with what little they have to work with. But there's too much dead space and too little movement. Like the monotonous laps of Johnny's racecar that open the first scene, Ms Coppola seems to be rehashing past themes and adding little to distinguish them. In the end, instead of being subtle, "Somewhere" simply feels smug.