AllMovie

Those Lips, Those Eyes is a charming little film. If it somehow manages to never become any more than that, it also manages to travel some familiar territory without wearing out its welcome. Lips is awash in nostalgia, in dreams of a bygone era -- not an era tied to a specific time period (in spite of its '50s setting), but to that time in a person's life when he is on the cusp, learning about life's rules even as he has to decide if he wants to follow them or make his own. The movie imbues this era with a warm glow, and if it slides into sentimentality at times, it does so in a way that is easy to take. Credit for this is split between scenarist David Shaber and director Michael Pressman. The former takes fairly clichéd moments and writes them with enough conviction that they have a fresh tinge; the latter, meanwhile, handles them with a deft touch that enhances them. They're aided enormously by Frank Langella's entrancing, delightful performance as the star-that-never-will-be and by Glynnis O'Connor's worldly-but-innocent chorus girl. Tom Hulce, in the crucial central role, lacks sufficient charm and command, but Lips overcomes this detriment somehow, helped along by nice turns from Jerry Stiller and, especially, Kevin McCarthy. Sweet and modest, Those Lips, Those Eyes is an engaging way to waste a couple of hours.