Walk All Over Me

Though well acted and stylishly directed, Walk All Over Me is ultimately undone by its emphasis on relentlessly quirky elements – with the hopelessly routine storyline only exacerbating the movie’s various problems. Leelee Sobieski stars as Alberta, a dimwitted grocery store clerk who finds herself caught up in an increasingly dangerous situation after she assumes her roommate’s identity (which just happens to be that of a dominatrix). Director Robert Cuffley certainly tries his hardest to inject some energy into his and Jason Long’s lifeless screenplay, though even the most talented filmmaker would be hard-pressed to liven up this material (this is, after all, a movie that features a Eurotrash villain and a pair of eye-rollingly moronic goons). That Cuffley expects the viewer to sympathize with Alberta’s plight is nothing short of absurd, as the character’s complete lack of authenticity ensures that she, along with virtually every other figure within the movie, generally comes off as a walking cliche. Tricia Helfer’s Celene, the aforementioned dominatrix, is clearly one of the few bright spots within the movie, although even she falls victim to the script’s rampantly inconsistent vibe (ie why is she able to expertly defend herself against one character but not another?)

** out of ****