Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #1,140
Written 5/19/98, Revised 3/31/07
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Buy it... only if you can find John Debney's pleasantly
overachieving score inexpensively in a used-CD bin.
Avoid it... if predictable light drama from the composer, similar
in its anonymous tones to many of his other like-minded scores, doesn't
justify a scant 24 minutes on album.
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| Debney |
Paulie: (John Debney) With constant advancements in
special effects technology in films, animals of nearly all the species
have been given the ability to talk through the years. While some
creatures obviously lend themselves better to such artificially moving
mouths, there seemed to be a universal gasp of exasperation when
Dreamworks attempted to make a wise-cracking parrot the animal in the
spotlight for 1998's Paulie. A natural born comedian, the talking
parrot played the role of annoying pest quite well in Paulie, and
despite the film's stereotypically dramatic "kid loves animal but
parents don't" pull, it's natural to root for the timely death of the
bird by the third act. The story exists mostly as a flashback to the
flight of a talking parrot across America, thrown out of the house by
unsympathetic parents of the Paulie-loving girl (parents who, in a
defiance of logic, seem to be the only morons who can't hear the bird
speak in coherent human tongues) and suffering through romances, crimes,
and adventures on the way back to the girl. Predictably, the reunion
with the now-grown woman and the story's overarching premise seemed to
indicate that humans are evil for enslaving animals as "pets." But any
serious, burning statement made by either the drama or the politics of
the story are doused by the film's horrific casting and the downright
dumb lines of the talking bird. Appropriately fading into obscurity, one
of Paulie's few marginally redeeming elements is its predictable
score by composer John Debney, whose career was seemingly stuck in a
myriad of ridiculously stupid comedy projects in the late 1990's. He
tackles the score for Paulie the same way he would with
Dreamer and the plethora of similar "child and animal" genre
projects that he and other composers with similar styles would write in
the coming years. It's safe, lightly dramatic, slightly slapstick, and
totally anonymous music. Debney has proven himself a master of anonymous
music for this genre, and your tolerance for the delightful flows of
orchestral themes that often come out of such projects will determine
your interest level in Paulie.
There is a surprising amount of thematic development
and continuity in this score, despite its short length. Debney conjures
no less than four distinct themes for the film, each with significant
airtime within the confines of the work. The title theme for the bird
opens the album's medley and highlights "Paulie's Big Flight,"
representing the bird itself with a bloated and heroic fanfare for
strings with brass counterpoint and a patriotic rhythm of rolling
percussion. While enjoyable, the theme seems misplaced for the starring
bird, not to mention that it should qualify for some reuse fees towards
Marc Shaiman's
The American President title theme. A theme for
the little girl is delicately performed by piano, violin, and harp, and
flourishes in the finale reunion cue. From the library of Danny Elfman
zaniness comes a scherzo for harmonica and wild percussion that
represents the bumbling criminal activity in the film (a lengthy
performance of this theme inhabits "The Bungled Burglar"). Debney throws
in a sentimental full-ensemble theme at the end of his medley that also
closes the film; it's the kind of emotionally appealing theme that
Debney seems to pull out of the hat at will. The filler cues in between
the primary statements are well connected by each of these ideas (with a
slight, seemingly-synthetic choir added for additional punch in the
final two cues), though only two dozen minutes of such material exists
on the commercial album. There are oddities on that album, of course,
including the Hispanic flavor injected into the film when Cheech Marin's
character becomes involved. The two Latin songs are betrayed by the
comical intent of their own vocals (by Marin, Jay Mohr, Tia Texada, and
Josh Cruze), with "Estoy Loco" serving no real purpose other than annoy
unsuspecting bystanders. An excerpt from Randy Newman's
Marie is
badly performed by actress Trini Alvarado at the outset of the final
score cue. On the whole, Debney's material for
Paulie is
pleasantly overachieving, but there simply isn't enough of it on album
to justify a full price expenditure. It's a score that would have been
better served by the usual promotional album treatment by Debney
himself, but don't let that stop you if you can pick it up inexpensively
in a used bin.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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Bias Check:
For John Debney reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.33
(in 56 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.1
(in 49,960 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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