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Verdict: Flaw-full.

Details: Starring Robert DeNiro and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Directed by Joel Schumacher. Rated R for pervasive language and strong violence. 1 hour, 51 minutes.

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Review: "Flawless" might be a guilty pleasure — if they'd made it 30 years ago. You could slip it into the VCR and giggle at its dated, consciousness-raising plot and its by-the-numbers tale of a homophobic security guard who learns to respect the brassy/soulful drag queen next door.

Unfortunately, the flick from writer-director Joel Schumacher is a new release. Its weary clichés and flat comic bits are apparently supposed to be fresh and insightful. That's like saying Schumacher, who neutered Gotham in "Batman Forever" then gave us the loathsome "Eight Millimeter," is a cutting-edge filmmaker.

Robert De Niro plays Walt, a former security guard medaled for in-service heroism. He has ongoing shouting matches with cross-dressing neighbor Rusty (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who rehearses cabaret numbers with three shrill pals.

Rusty lives in a time-capsule apartment that's like a sequined grotto of gowns, wigs and Marilyn Monroe memorabilia. If that's not sad enough, he's got an abusive boyfriend, and he's saving up for the operation that will make him "a real woman."

In other words, the tired old noble-queen stereotype. Rusty is such a big soft bundle of limp-wristed nobility, you just want to smack him. Or her. And surely that's not what Hall or Schumacher intended.

In classic (or creaky) odd-couple fashion, Walt suffers a stroke, losing much of his ability to speak. He grudgingly takes singing lessons from Rusty as vocal therapy. They bicker, they bond, etc.

Hoffman and De Niro are both dynamite actors, but they're playing against their natural gift for combustible characters. Many scenes play like a duel of speech impediments: Rusty's fluttery whispers vs. Walt's garbled mumbles. Sometimes you can't understand a word.

Sometimes, that's a blessing.

— Steve Murray, Cox News Service

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