Touch

Touch

Paul Schrader adapts Elmore Leonard's comic supernatural novel in what is probably the breeziest film about divine intervention ever made. Skeet Ulrich (Scream) plays a stigmatic former monk blessed or afflicted with the ability to heal the sick. Because Touch is a work by Leonard, he naturally finds himself pursued by diverse groups of people all too willing to exploit his talent for their own ends. As a self-promoting minister and RV salesman, it's nice to see Christopher Walken demonstrate that he hasn't lost the ability to play characters other than psychos and gangsters, and he's joined by a diverse cast (Bridget Fonda, Tom Arnold, and Gina Gershon, who's especially notable as a domineering talk-show host) that seems equally enthusiastic in filling out their offbeat roles. Nonetheless, Touch never quite catches the satiric fire its subject seems to warrant. It's pleasant, disarming, and likable, but never quite miraculous.

 
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