Born Yesterday

An update of George Cukor’s Born Yesterday, Born Yesterday follows mean-spirited businessman Harry Brock (John Goodman) as he and his dimwitted girlfriend (Melanie Griffith’s Billie Dawn) arrive in Washington to complete a lucrative deal – with complications ensuing after Billie, having learned a few things from a handsome reporter (Don Johnson’s Paul Verrall), decides to finally stand up for herself. It’s familiar subject matter that’s employed to slightly erratic yet mostly entertaining effect by Luis Mandoki, as the filmmaker, armed with Douglas McGrath’s screenplay, delivers a briskly-paced comedy that benefits substantially from its winning performances – with Griffith’s affable turn as the sympathetic protagonist certainly matched by costars Goodman and Johnson. (And it doesn’t hurt, either, that the chemistry between Griffith and Johnson is essentially off the charts.) There is, as such, little doubt that the infrequent lulls within the movie’s lackadaisical midsection aren’t quite as problematic as one might’ve feared, while the ongoing inclusion of standout sequences, including a terrific interlude wherein Billie charms a table full of politicians with a mnemonic song, goes a long way towards perpetuating the progressively engaging atmosphere – which, when coupled with a satisfying (if slightly overlong) final stretch, cements Born Yesterday’s place as a better-than-average remake.

**1/2 out of ****