THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY (1982) *1/2 Linda Hunt is the most convincing character, as a male dwarf, which should instantly give you some sense of the thing. Peter Weir wants desperately to say something about Indonesian politics in the mid sixties, the problem being that he apparently doesn't know much. He does flirt at saying something several times, but each time he gets close to being interesting he backs off. Which is probably just as well, as Weir apparently still believes the long-discounted CIA driven "communist revolution" hoax. There's much of significance to be said about the situation, virtually none of which is even vaguely addressed here. Mel Gibson is believable enough as an Australian, but the impassioned journalist bit is pushing it. Sigourney Weaver is, however, far worse as the love interest. First of all the romance bit is glued onto the situation, apparently so that Weir can divert to it whenever he realizes that he's in over his head with all that tricky political business. Weaver is a fine actress, but she's a horrible romantic actress. She never seems to be really falling in love, and gives no apparent reasons for anyone falling in love with her. She laughs too loud and smiles too much, all without creating any semblance of joy. Between the politics, romance, and contemplations of the fate of being both intelligent and phystically repugnant (no, not Mel or Ms. Weaver); this is three lame movies rather than just one.
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