M o v i er e v i e w The Sixth Sense Lacks Believability

By Mike Ross A potential holiday gift this season is the DVD version of "The Sixth Sense," the sleeper hit of 1999 which grossed over $300 million for Disney’s Buena Vista Pictures. Well-conceived, craftily-made, highly-entertaining, this movie took audiences by storm, earning Oscar noms for Best Picture and Best Editing, as well as individual nominations for Writer-Director M. Night Shyamalan, Supporting Actress Toni Collette and Supporting Actor Haley Joel Osment. Despite these stunning credentials, "The Sixth Sense" suffers from an overall lack of believability. The plot, which involves a boy who can "see dead people," is intended to be enthralling and effective. And indeed it would be, if it were not for the absurd casting of Bruce Willis as a child psychologist with a full head of hair. Christmas Movie Classics Gremlins (1984) With the Gremlins wreaking havoc in a small town like smaller, less-articulate Grinches, I’m surprised they don’t show this Christmas favorite 24 hours straight on TNT. Die Hard (1988) Most scholars would agree that Detective John McClain (Bruce Willis) is a wise-cracking, sharp-shooting version of Jesus Christ. McClain acts as savior to many and is persecuted by non-believers like the police and FBI. Moreover, he has bloody hands, bare feet, and swaddling clothes. If that isn’t enough proof, the movie takes place during Christmas! The Bridges Of Madison County (1995) No doubt, many of the characters in this movie enjoyed various wonderful Christmas parties and gave each other nice gifts. That includes the horses. While there are no actual holiday scenes in this movie, the movie obviously celebrates implied Christmas. Santa Claus and The Clubman (1911) I’ve never seen it but I am certain it is a holiday classic based on the title alone. Unless it is a spy movie with "Santa Claus" being a code name for someone--perhaps a fat spy with a white beard. If this is the case, then this movie shouldn’t be in this column. -George Eckart Willis, a box-office draw who helped get "The Sixth Sense" made, has been thinning since his early days as David Addison on the television show "Moonlighting." Back then, I admired Willis for his wry, boyish charm and his seeming comfort with his own genetic destiny. Willis’ confidence more than compensated for his thinning pate, and he was rewarded with audience devotion for such films as "Hudson Hawk," "Look Who’s Talking" and the trend-setting action films of the "Die Hard" series. In 1995, at the height of his career, he appeared baldly and boldly in Terry Gilliam’s "12 Monkeys." His courage as a bald man had paved the way for younger celebrities like Woody Harrelson and Andre Agassi to make similar styling choices. For a while, it seemed as though we were entering a new era. Could it be that American male insecurity, with its roots in the powdered wigs of colonial days, was about to go the way of the dodo? Would I one day be able to show my grandsons photographs of Frank Sinatra, Burt Reynolds and William Shatner and proudly proclaim as I choke back tears "Never again, boys. Never again."? Was Bruce Willis to be our messiah? Sadly, it was not to be. Sometime after "12 Monkeys," Mr. Willis began a series of micro-transplants, the fruits of which shamefully cling to his mutilated scalp throughout "The Sixth Sense." And I added Bruce’s name to a long line of disppointments: Connery. Pacino. Pesci. Willis. Watch "The Sixth Sense" if you must. Enjoy the chilling tone and the masterful surprise ending. But if you’re like me, you’ll stick to your well-worn copies of "The King And I" and "Nosferatu." Courage. Our day will come.   Mike Ross is coming to Chicago for Christmas.