I’m glad I’m not schizophrenic because I’d be convinced the other guy was having a lot more fun than me. See, at first, I was like, “why can’t she all get along?” And then I figured if Frankie is always getting drunk, but Alice is the one with the hangover, well, I bet she’d be pretty pissed at herself, yeah? In case part of you hasn’t caught up yet, today’s film is Frankie & Alice, where Halle Berry takes another crack at multiple personalities/same film.
The best part of watching a character with multiple personality disorder is if you don’t like one, wait five minutes. The worst part? You have to watch Halle Berry overact in three different ways.
Frankie (Halle Berry) is a caged stripper in 1970s L.A. It’s a decidedly PG-13 strip club; we’ve come for the acting. Of course, it’s a little puzzling to see horny men pay top dollar for [not skin], but hey, what do I know about strip clubs? Behind the scenes, Frankie is confused. Somebody’s done the crossword puzzle in her newspaper. Wasn’t terribly difficult as all the answers were “Steve.” Still, she’s puzzled. Later that night while in the middle of romancing Mandingo, she snaps, stopping foreplay in favor of a bible-thumping anti-fornication tirade spouted with a Southern accent. Just to be clear, that can be a turn-off for some men.
Long story short, Frankie ends up under psychologist care where we meet seven-year-old child Genius (Halle Berry) and refined Southern belle Alice (Halle Berry). Dr. Oz (Halle Berry Stellan Skarsgård) takes a bit, but figures it out. Hold a sec. What if she played her own doctor, too? And she played Mandingo. Maybe this whole thing is in her 
mind. I guess that’s a different film. In this one, Dr. Oz has to figure out why Frankie split from herself, but had to get there in the first place. It’s not like anybody tells you they’re schizophrenic. Frankie doesn’t know why she ended up lying on the pavement in the middle of an intersection on Hollywood Drive. Of course, none of us can really explain that one; none of her personalities seemed to have a death wish.
All of this is an excuse to marvel in the world of Halle Berry acting. I feel a little cheated as she played a split personality in Gothika several years ago. Still, Frankie & Alice has merit – let me rephrase: Frankie has some merit, Alice … less. The film is watchable but hardly groundbreaking. It took four full years to make a theater release. Why was Frankie & Alice on the shelf for so long? My guess is the producer hid it from himself.
♪I’ve got you under my skin
I’ve got two other people inside of me
So deep inside I’m not sure exactly where I be
I’ve got two more under my skin.
I owe folks; my welcome’s run thin.
I say to myself: go kinda easy on all the funky threads
But I’m tellin’ you with so many styles, I might need three beds
I’ve a few more under my skin♫
Rated R, 101 Minutes
D: Geoffrey Sax
W: Cheryl Edwards, Marko King, Mary King, Jonathan Watters, Joe Shrapnel & Anna Waterhouse (you know they’re all the same person, right?)
Genre: Acting!
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Halle Berrylievers
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Schizophrenics
♪ Parody inspired by “Under My Skin”
