Different Strokes

It's amazing how movie reviewers can applaud male action movies for their jolly ton of testosterone, but find a like amount of the female hormone off-putting.

"With all the tinkling pianos and shots of gentle waves hitting beaches, you expect to see a feminine-hygiene product logo pop up in the estrogen-filled "Evening,'' says James Ward of the Visalia (Calif.) Times Delta. "You can almost see the estrogen flow off the screen in a cast that includes Clare Danes, Glenn Close, Toni Collette and two mother-daughter teams (Vanessa Redgrave and Natasha Richardson and Meryl Streep and Mamie Gummer).''

Well, unless any of the above performers are transgenders, it is likely that estrogen and not testosterone would be the operative hormone.

But if the male hormone sells movies, to both genders, what is it about the female one that apparently is dooming "Evening'' to the box office dumper?

One thing is certain: anybody who wants an inkling of how endless boy and guy movies get made and why they suceed need only consider the attitude of this grown-up, paid reviewer toward a movie from the opposite end.