Very Close Quarters Reviews

Virtually plotless, VERY CLOSE QUARTERS makes a laughable attempt at depicting living conditions in modern-day Moscow where 31 people share a cramped communal flat. As the mass of Soviet citizens elbow each other for breathing room, a story of sorts emerges. Galina (Shelley Winters)--an unwed mother who doesn't want her pretty young daughter, Vera (Lee Taylor Allen), to suffer the same fate--tries to play matchmaker for her child. The target of Galina's obsession is Vera's wealthy but alcoholic boss, Kiril (Paul Sorvino). Vera, however, has her own ideas. Boring, obnoxious, and bereft of any comic value, VERY CLOSE QUARTERS is maddeningly inept. The filmmakers make no attempt to capture the look or flavor of life in the Soviet Union and the actors all speak in their normal American voices--this film could be set in Brooklyn. Most of the jokes play on the fact that 31 people are sharing the same bathroom, and this gets quite tiresome. While most of the cast members can attribute their bland performances to inexperience, there is no excuse for the blatant overacting of veterans Winters, Sorvino, Theo Bikel, and Farley Granger.