Six Degrees of Separation

There's an old Simon and Garfunkel song that lyrically lampoons the aching emptiness of mainstream intellectual conversation. At its best, Six Degrees of Separation, deftly directed by Fred Schepisi, does much the same. But in its dissection of verbal pretentiousness and upper-class vanity, the movie often runs the risk of becoming infected by the very snottiness it's kicking.

Six Degrees of Separation is adapted from the critically acclaimed play by John Guare (who also wrote the screenplay) which, in turn, was based on an actual incident that took place a few years ago in New York. The basic storyline sticks close to the real case about a gay con artist who successfully film-flammed a who's who list of the Upper East Side elite into believing that he was Sidney Poitiers' son. The discovery that Poitier doesn't have a son punctured a few balloons on the social circuit that year.

But gullibility is the least of the characters' problems in Six Degrees of Separation. Their delusions about themselves are what makes them such perfect targets for the sting. That, combined with some old-fashioned liberal guilt and a desire to believe that their own children might actually like them (the con artist claims to be a college chum of their kids and worms his way into the parents' affections with cozy tales about their children's respect for them). Unfortunately, the adults are politically naive and the families are all basically dysfunctional.

Will Smith (of NBC's The Fresh Prince of Bel Air) does a surprisingly decent turn as the con man with a knack for tall tales. His pathological narcissism and fondness for rough trade are the only obvious kinks in his carefully manufactured personality. At first glance, he's the ideal son. (After we meet some of the real kids, Smith still looks good.)

It's Donald Sutherland and Stockard Channing, however, who carry the weight of this film. Sutherland plays an art dealer who peddles his second-hand knowledge of great artists with the superficial sincerity of a man who's substituted learning for living.

The concluding irony is old hat, but parts of the ride we take to get there are
genuinely funny. Most of the characters in Six Degrees of Separation are the biggest windbags you'd ever hope (or hope not) to meet, but their never-ending babble is often both hysterically funny and emotionally touching.

Just in case you're wondering, the movie's title refers to the theory that everyone on earth knows someone who knows someone, until the whole thing comes full circle. The theory suggests that only six contacts exist between you and everyone else.

How about that - life is just a cosmic chain letter.