Flawless

1999 Comedy Drama

Can a homophobic former rent-a-cop find happiness learning to sing with a man in a dress? That's the big question in this comedy-drama. A retired security guard (Robert De Niro), deeply conservative and set in his ways, falls victim to a debilitating stroke. His doctors prescribe an extensive program of physical therapy once he's released from the hospital, including singing lessons to help him regain his full powers of speech. As it turns out, there's a vocal instructor living next door to the guard, so he signs up only to discover that his new teacher is a flamboyant drag queen awaiting a sex-change operation (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Written and directed by Joel Schumacher, Flawless also stars Wilson Jermaine Heredia and Daphne Rubin-Vega, both of whom first gained notice in the Broadway musical +Rent, as well as Rory Cochran and Barry Miller. more..

Director: Joel Schumacher

Starring: Robert De Niro,Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Miller, Christopher Bauer, Skipp Sudduth

Reviews

  • It says a lot for Joel Schumacher's Flawless that you can see the picture's high-concept heart a mile away and still be won over by it.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    19 January 2013

  • More fable than slice of life, and all these people and props give Robert De Niro and Philip Seymour Hoffman their opening to create two screwy characters from opposite ends of the great personality divide

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    19 January 2013

  • Contrived and overly schematic, but De Niro and Hoffman are such good actors that it never slips into pat sentiment.

    Edward Guthmann - The San Francisco Chronicle

    19 January 2013

  • A smartly crafted throwback to the gritty Manhattan crime melodramas of the '40s .

    Jay Carr - The Boston Globe

    19 January 2013

  • Worth stumbling into on cable not all that far into next year.

    Mike Clark - USA Today

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • Outstanding Film (Wide Release)

    GLAAD Media Awards (2000)

     
  • Actor of the Year

    London Critics Circle Film Awards (2001)

     
  • Best Supporting Actor

    San Diego Film Critics Society Awards (1999)

  • Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical

    Satellite Awards (2000)

  • Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

    Screen Actors Guild Awards (2000)