David Atkins (USA)
Bored with his regimented days and his too-perfect fiancée, a successful dentist (Steve Martin) gets smitten by a sexy patient (Helena Bonham Carter) who is long on guile but short on morals. What follows is designed, by writer/director David Atkins, to be a zany comic sendup of formulaic film noir. So double dealings and murderous doings co-exist with screwball comedy and drawing-room shtick - much hiding in closets and under beds. In that sense, it's the kind of film about film that should be tailor-made for a knowing festival audience. But, beyond prompting the odd chuckle, this meeting of genres seems more of a crude collison than a real merger. Although Martin is as winning as ever, and Bonham Carter as alluring, we're left with a feeling of wasted opportunity - so much on-screen talent, so little solid material. - R.G.

(Sat. Sept. 8, 6:30 p.m., RTH; Sun. Sept. 9, 9:30 a.m. Uptown 1)