Let's ask the impossible questions right away.

Why did they make this thing, and what is the intended audience, beyond a few curious film buffs? Please don't parrot the official line about giving kids who wouldn't watch a black and white film the opportunity to see a classic. Trust me. Any kid who won't watch black and white would fall asleep in either version.

In a sense, Universal's latest fiasco is a sort of demonstration of what's wrong with the movie industry these days. To wit...

No new ideas. Allowing supposedly successful directors to do anything they want. Making ridiculous casting decisions for female roles. Promising something and then not delivering.

Here's what IS good in this pic:

	**	Danny Elfman's re-working of Bernard Herrmann's great score.
	**	The performances of Julianne Moore as Lila Crane, William H. Macy as Milton Arbogast, and Robert Forster as Dr. Simon, the psychiatrist. These were all small parts, and all presented difficulties, but were handled admirably.

Here's what is different from the original:

	**	The amount of money embezzled is increased from $40,000 to$400,000, but on screen, the wad is way too small to represent such an amount.
	**	Slightly more nudity. Sam Loomis (Viggo Mortensen) gives us a bare butt shot in the opening sequence, and Marion Crane (Anne Heche) does likewise in the shower. For the obsessive, a quick side breast shot is also available, before the victim enters the shower.
	**	Norman Bates (Vince Vaughn) masturbates while watching Marion through the peephole.
	**	Lila Crane (Julianne Moore) kicks Norman in the head at the end. Her predecessor (Vera Miles) stood by and let John Gavin be the total hero.

Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates could have been almost passable, but his repeated nervous laughter a la Beavis and Butthead serves as an unintended hook for any teen viewers. Since this is Norman's film, Vaughn's performance alone sinks the ship--and that's not even the worst problem.

That honor is reserved for the casting of Anne Heche as Marion Crane. This was truly an egregious mistake, unless, of course, it was an in your face conscious decision.

The plot of this pic goes nowhere without the relationship and the sexual tension between Marion and Norman. After all, it is Norman's speech on our "private traps" that convinces Marion to return the stolen money. He wants her to stay and talk some more, but she refuses.

Janet Leigh was sexy as Marion. So why cast Anne Heche, looking more masculine than ever before, in this role? Am I missing some kind of gender ambiguity thing here? Does one member of the killer/victim duo have to be a real life homosexual (Anthony Perkins in the original)?

In the final analysis, we can forgive Viggo Mortensen his goofy performance as Sam, and Chad Everett his over the top Tom Cassidy. But if the shoe-horning of Anne Heche as Marion Crane was a thoughtful decision, Norman is no longer the biggest psycho in this movie.

The title now refers to the Universal execs.