It would be a pleasure to give a positive review to a film that includes an entirely sincere scene of its hero wowing a bar with his soaring rendition of “Three Coins in the Fountain,” the theme song to a 1954 romance that may have me as its only fan under 70.
Lead actor Jackson Rathbone (a “Twilight” veteran and distant relation of dashing classic-film star Basil Rathbone) has an old-school blend of good looks and complete indifference to emotional realism. Rathbone’s slick lawyer learns to be a mensch by becoming a singer at the Los Angeles lounge of the title, a place so winsome it makes “Cheers” look like the Mafia hangout in “Goodfellas.”
Honesty must prevail, however, and “Live at the Foxes Den” isn’t good. The script putters around aimlessly; the camerawork was more varied on “Cheers.” Elliott Gould is given nothing to do as one-half of a devoted gay couple.
Jack Holmes is the cynical, alcoholic pianist who’s supposed to add vinegar to the film’s sweetness. But his bons mots are damp squibs, and his character winds up as sappy as everything else. Remaking “Three Coins in the Fountain” might have been a lot more fun than “Live at the Foxes Den.’’