Beatriz at Dinner could have been funny and sharply drawn, building on Hayek's strong performance. Instead, it's a clunky morality play rendered in crayon.
Filmmaker Miguel Arteta, working from Mike White's screenplay, delivers a strong opening stretch that revolves almost entirely around the title character's hardscrabble existence...
Together, screenwriter Mike White and his Enlightened director Miguel Arteta have an almost magical way with light-touch verbal sparring, an art that's become lost in today's broad, banter-filled comedies.
Hayek gives one of her better performances, though - she makes it clear that Beatriz may be righteous, but she's also more than a bit unhinged - and Lithgow is so good at playing CEO oiliness that you have to smile. He's the man you love to hate.