Brief interviews with hideous men

Many movies are made simply because someone adored a play, book, event or personality passionately. Actor John Krasinski was clearly enamoured by the words and characters in a collection of short stories, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. Its author, David Foster Wallace, may have been an acute observer of and listener to males with self-revelatory tales. But they do not add up to a cohesive screenplay.

The peg on which they are hung is a graduate student (Julianne Nicholson) coping with an unexplained abandonment by her boyfriend (Krasinski). She studies anthropology, a convenient excuse to interview a wide range of men and try to understand their mindsets. Instant problem : a good researcher will not guide or pass judgment on her subjects. Nicholson consequently comes across as a po-faced wooden figure who was lucky to have attracted the handsome and sensitive Krasinski.

His tale, the final one in the movie, is a credibly cute explanation of why he felt obliged to dump her. The preceding tales form a patchwork quilt of unconnected, over-written and mostly well-acted male monologues. Some contain dialogue their actors visibly relish, and the final credits should have added visual IDs to help moviegoers identify the cameo stars.

The best tale shows an airport passenger re-enacting his chance meeting with a deserted woman, and for a good ten minutes the acting, direction, editing and photography create a small gem. The worst set piece paraded a black washroom attendant being memorialised by his loving son, in language that self-consciously presented cliched images of a noble savage servant.

Dominic Cooper grabs the chance to shine his smile and have a good thespian cry, and another oddly-placed British accent (Max Minghella's perhaps) arrives in one of a pair of waiters commenting on male motives. Their role as a Graecoid chorus is a reminder of one of the director's probable inspirations, Woody Allen. Even more strangely, the least eloquent tale-teller is Nicholson's professor (Timothy Hutton).

Krasinski may have hoped that this movie would become his calling card in Hollywood. It shows that he can direct actors and technicians well, but if there's a next time, he'll need a producer who knows how to make a full-length movie.