Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle purports to examine the life of the famous writer Dorothy Parker and her fellow literary companions of the Algonquin Round Table. While Jennifer Jason Leigh does a passable job playing a drunk, her insufferable accent makes the audience wonder if it was more than the glasses that kept boys from making passes.

The script for this film has holes that average-sized children could stick their heads through. Sporadic jumps in the film's action (from 1920s New York to later dates in Mrs. Parker's life) represent a film technique with potential that the director of this piece, Alan Rudolph, wields like a gorilla with a dental drill.

While the script wins no awards, the costumes are simply fabulous. Their splendid colors stand out against the dirty, bustling streets and blend beautifully with the Hotel Algonquin's restaurant, where the writers speak easy (and critically).

The beginning of the film is vibrant and enjoyable as the players fire lines at each other like automatic rifles; however, the dull pace of the end of the film more than spoils the exuberance of its outset.

This film fails to show Dorothy Parker in an appropriate light. She is a sympathetic character for 45 seconds, after which the audience begins screaming at the screen, pleading with her to get over whatever it is that has her crying all the time. Her depression and her alcoholism are not portrayed in a believable way, nor is her fascination with the uptight Mr. Benchley (Campbell Scott) -- the Ashley Wilkes of her life.