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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... only if you enjoyed the particular collection of classic Italian-flavored songs heard in the film. Avoid it... if you expect blazing brilliance from more than two of Basil Poledouris' eight minutes of material on the album. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
And what of the score? Well, the producers must have considered it an afterthought, for its role is so diminished and fragmented that it doesn't have much impact on the film. The amazing thing about this is the involvement of veteran composer Basil Poledouris as the primary composer on the project. After almost a year's absence, Poledouris graces Mickey Blue Eyes with a pretty, but completely inconsequential score. His contributions on album constitute only eight and a half minutes, and only one of his cues actually makes an impact on the film. The rambling grand piano elegance of "Gina Runs from Ambulance" is a gorgeous excerpt of what you'd probably have heard Poledouris play in his own home, backed by a moderate orchestral ensemble of strings, brass, and sparse percussion. Solo woodwinds interject when Poledouris' title theme --yes, there actually is one-- offers the stereotypical Italian flavor. For such little running time, and with the ill-fateness of Poledouris' final years of production, you can't help but smile and appreciate the uniqueness of a track like "Truckers on Time" in his career. Of course it's dumb and stereotypical, but its merging of Il Postino and Only You is nevertheless a guilty pleasure. His oboe and accordion theme is a lightweight to be sure, and his more dramatic "Gina Runs from Ambulance" is the only true compilation piece. German newcomer Wolfgang Hammerschmid was brought in primarily for the last few major scenes requiring score, with the circumstances of Poledouris' departure unknown, but possibly due to illness. Hammerschmid's music has a much more robust recording quality, with the larger ensemble handling the one action cue and the wedding reception and waltz music. Some listeners have noted that Hammerschmid's contribution is actually more impressive than Poledouris', and in a technical sense that's true. Hammerschmid is responsible for the wretched source music from the Chinese restaurant proposal scene, however, a piece unfortunately tacked onto the end of the album as a bonus track. Overall, unless you're a fan of the genre of songs included on the album, there's little for score fans to use as justification to purchase the product. Only Poledouris' lovely two-minute "Gina Runs from Ambulance" cue deserves your attention. **
* composed by Basil Poledouris ** composed by Wolfgang Hammerschmid
The insert includes a note from the film's co-producer, Elizabeth Hurley, about the songs. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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