Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert review five new movies, and Ebert recommends three videos. Two thumbs down for
The Client (1994). Ebert liked the first hour of this John Grisham thriller better than Siskel, but both agree that on the whole it's too routine. Two thumbs up for
Lassie (1994), the latest return of the famous collie (if only in name). "Sure it was corny," says Ebert, "but we liked it." Two thumbs up for
It Could Happen to You (1994). They loved everything about this romantic comedy except the boring title (which replaced the wonderful original title, "Cop Gives Waitress $2 Million Tip!"). Two "walloping" thumbs down for Rob Reiner's appallingly tasteless and unfunny comedy,
North (1994). The critics only disagree on who hated it more. Two thumbs up for Whit Stillman's
Barcelona (1994). The dialogue is uncommonly sharp in this comedy about 1980s yuppies. Ebert recommends three buried treasures on video:
Household Saints (1993),
Body Snatchers (1993) and
My Neighbor Totoro (1988).
—J. Spurlin