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AUGGIE ROSE Send This Review to a Friend
At the outset "Auggie Rose" shows promise of being a sensitive film exploring the idea that every life is significant and no person, even one who seems a cipher, is beyond being cared about by someone. It begins when John, an insurance salesman played by Jeff Goldblum, is almost killed witnessing a liquor store robbery. He tries to aid and comfort Auggie Rose (Kim Coates), the clerk who is shot, and when the victim dies, John is shaken by the experience and the callousness with which he finds the police treating the case. John cannot stand the idea of Auggie's unclaimed body being disposed of unceremoniously. Consumed by the situation, he sets out to find out everything he can about Augie, who, it turns out, was a newly-released ex-con.
So far, so good, especially with the compelling Goldblum as the star. But eventually the film, written and directed by Matthew Tabak, takes a bizarre turn that propels it on an improbable course. The story gets more and more preposterous and eventually tries one's patience. The driving motivation stems from John being in a rut in his life as a successful insurance man in a relationship with a girlfriend (Nancy Travis), but without any commitment on his part. He discovers that Auggie has been corresponding from prison with Lucy, a woman whom he was about to meet. John reads all of Lucy's letters in Auggie's room, which he has now rented for himself, and decides to meet her so he can tell her in person of Auggie's death.
When Lucy (Anne Heche) arrives at the designated bus terminal, instead of delivering the news, John succumbs to the temptation to say he's Auggie and cruelly assumes a relationship with Lucy. He's changing his life but taking advantage of her innocent emotions. Anne Heche is sweet and open in the role as she heads for disillusionment. The story gets more and more improbable, both with respect to John's behavior and the general plot details stemming from his decision to be an imposter. To further complicate matters, a criminal connected to Auggie's past is pressing John to participate in a robbery. Enough. "Auggie Rose" is a film that starts well and goes fatally awry. A Franchise Pictures release.
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