What did you think of "Vanilla Sky"?   Good 42% 3437   Bad 53% 4337   Wait to rent 6% 482 Total Votes   8256

Grade: C+

Verdict: Kudos to Cruise and Cruz and Cameron Crowe, but the movie as a whole is a little cloudy.

Details: Starring Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz. Directed by Cameron Crowe. Rated R for sex, violence, nudity and language. Two hours and sixteen minutes.

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Review: It's easy to see what attracted Tom Cruise to the 1997 Spanish film, "Open Your Eyes," of which "Vanilla Sky" is a virtual scene-by-scene remake. It's about a man who has everything — looks, wealth, disposable beautiful women and even, a chance at true love. Plus there's a hint of Scientology-like mysticism in the plot.

Cruise plays David Aames. David is 33, gorgeous, and filthy rich, having inherited 51 per cent of his father's publishing empire (much to the chagrin of the board, aka, "The Seven Dwarfs," who only have 49 per cent.) Charmingly irresponsible, he favors one-night-stands with the kind of knock-outs who decorate the power-money circuit. The latest is Julie (Cameron Diaz, very good), a supposed "good friend" who just happens to sleep with him. But Julie's true feelings — definitely not "just good friends" — emerge at his birthday party as she watches him become captivated by Sophia (Penelope Cruz), the date of his best friend, Brian (Jason Lee.) The next thing you know, Julie's pulled a "Fatal Attraction" and David is left with a severely disfigured face.

The rest of the film is a dream/nightmare puzzle in which you're not sure what's real and what's not. And even if you are sure, you may be mistaken.

Much of the movie takes place at a prison where David, his face covered by Phantom-of-the-Opera mask, has been sent for murder. He tells his court-appointed shrink (Kurt Russell) that he's sure there was no murder and even if there was, it's a set-up by the Seven Dwarfs, so they can take over the company. It's during these sessions that we learn what's happened before.

"Vanilla Sky" is not your everyday Tom Cruise movie. Nor is it your everyday Cameron Crowe movie. These two made "Jerry Maguire" together and could've probably spent the rest of their careers making "Jerry Maguire 2, 3 and 24." Just their willingness to tackle something like "Vanilla Sky" gives the picture a kind of odd courage. They must've known it would present problems to the Cruise fans who like to discuss his best screen kiss. At the same time, it's unlikely to win over the cineastes who probably know "Open Your Eyes" as well as Cruise and Crowe do. A good example of the movie's between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place status is the ending which is simultaneously too pat and not pat enough.

Cruise gives it a good shot and it's the sort of serious role that generally turns up a few award nominations. But this time, we're probably talking Golden Globe, not Oscar. Cruz, who plays the same part she did in the Spanish version, does her best English-language work to date (though, it's not entirely her fault that Hollywood decided the best showcase for her talent was muck like "Blow" and "Woman on Top.") She's especially good in the scenes where she's trying to be polite but you can see she's deeply creeped-out by David's disfigurement.

A lot of critics are going to call "Vanilla Sky" too vanilla (as in bland.) Let's say here that the vanilla part isn't so bad; they just should've added some chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough to give the movie some texture and edge.

— Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Cox News Service

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