Artworks Movie Review

It was 1990's Highlander 2 that sunk Virginia Madsen's career and it was 2004's Sideways that resurrected it. Here's one from those lost years, brought back to life thanks to her sudden resurgence. Expect to see a lot of movies like Artworks in the coming months: Low budget affairs she made, probably out of boredom, and lacking much to really make you want to watch.

In Artworks (and yes, that title is horrible), Madsen is Emma, a security system salesperson, the police chief's daughter, and an amateur artist. She hooks up with Bret (Rick Rossovich), an art gallery owner. Together, they hatch a plan to rob the locals of the paintings they don't properly appreciate: Both of them hate phonies that collect art simply for bragging rights. The remainder of the film tracks their heists and eventual comeuppance, in between panty-clad romps in the bedroom.

The unfortunate thing is that the heists here are terribly tepid affairs, nighttime break-ins with the duo replacing phonies where the originals once were. The love affair is strictly lightweight. Even Emma's art is boring -- primary color slathered on canvas -- nothing to get excited about.

Still, you can see that Madsen has acting chops, and she far outstrips her co-stars in the acting department and visibly aches for a better script. Cute ending notwithstanding, everything else in this film could have easily been improved.