Very cute love letter to slasher movies, but a weak slasher film on its own two legs
Premise: In a world where ALL of our cinematic psychos are real human beings, a film crew follows a slasher-in-training as he plans his killing spree and stalks his Final Girl. It has a predictable climax (you might have already guessed it), but the buildup is done with great wit and affection for the conventions of the genre making it hard to reject Leslie Vernon.
How it balances the story within a story is very well done. For the first 2/3rds of the film, we are watching a slasher film play out within a mockumentary. It has the perfect alibi to make a "paint by numbers" b-movie while admitting its unoriginality. What it does best is get sympathy from absurd characters and command respect for a genre its lampooning. These are very brave achievements. It also goes in deeper with its deconstruction of slasher films than Scream ever did, but it lacks its contemporary's strong base as a horror film of its own. This film is funnier and more romantic than it is scary.
The last Act of the film is where things fall apart. We expect the generic slasher plot these wiser-than-usual characters manipulate the genre into something new and exciting. But instead the film becomes unrewarding and unexciting, especially compared to Acts 1 and 2, and its twist becomes apparent prematurely. As a horror film, Leslie Vernon kind of goes limp.
I still enjoyed myself with this one. The sheer ambition of this film makes it noteworthy, but the execution was rather mediocre. Its derivative and amateur, but what popular horror film isn't these days. Atleast this one has heart, bravery and the brains to make something a tad memorable. There are so many post-modern horror-comedies and tributes to the golden age of horror films and this is easily best one I've seen.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
"Why Do Fools Fall In Love?"
Hollywood-produced parody of a great fallen talent
Watching this biopic of Frankie Lymon, I'm reminded of why I hated a lot of late 1990s cinema. Here we have a very tragic and historic story of the music business and its treated like a campy ghetto melodrama, something John Waters would have envisioned and abandoned. The story is more about the women in Frankie's life, but it still paints a ridiculous portrait of its main character. Everyone is a cartoonish parody of the 60s who speak in never-ending "cute" and unrealistic 1960s euphemisms. The clothing and sets are too stylized and cinematic for a biopic. This is someone's romantic and braindead idea of what the music business was like for young black stars. Its a parody of this man's very important and sad life.
There is little historical accuracy as none of the actors or fashions resemble the real thing. The handsome, muscular, swaggering and very brash Larenz Tate is a good actor, but he is a very wrong Frankie Lymon. Whats really absurd is how his onstage performances look NOTHING like the documented performances of Lymon. Frankie is characterized as a violent, self-destructive "Negro" with no redeeming traits besides the fact he is good looking. Which is retarded because the real Frankie was apparently a classy, but brat-ish man-boy who was corrupted by leeches in the music business. The story finds some respect for Frankie towards the end of the film, but its not compelling at all. Like the film Sid and Nancy we have a very dramatized and speculative climax where Frankie returns to New York and is rejected by his manager and turns to heroin in his disappointment, as he has nothing else to do. THE FILM GLOSSES OVER HIS INTENSE DRUG ADDICTION so this comes out of nowhere and doesn't effect us at all. And the real Frankie actually was in the process of recording new music in New York when he shot up, for the first time in years, to celebrate his good fortune.
The film is written by a woman, a black woman, and it comes off as a condemnation of black men in general as adulterous and insincere. There is little focus on his talent, his deep struggles, his being manipulated by men AND women around him. In the end, his three wives are the heroines for putting up with him. Its poorly staged, poorly researched and way too condescending to be a tribute to this genuine musical legend. Fucking shameful.
Here is the powerful real drama that was absent from this shitty film: An older, heroin-raddled Frankie Lymon makes is final appearance on television having to lip-sync to his classic hit "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" because his voice is so damaged by age and drugs. Despite this, Frankie's class and showmanship is still moving. In the biopic, this event is a garish and joyous choreographed spectacle by a healthy Frankie. Sickening.
Watching this biopic of Frankie Lymon, I'm reminded of why I hated a lot of late 1990s cinema. Here we have a very tragic and historic story of the music business and its treated like a campy ghetto melodrama, something John Waters would have envisioned and abandoned. The story is more about the women in Frankie's life, but it still paints a ridiculous portrait of its main character. Everyone is a cartoonish parody of the 60s who speak in never-ending "cute" and unrealistic 1960s euphemisms. The clothing and sets are too stylized and cinematic for a biopic. This is someone's romantic and braindead idea of what the music business was like for young black stars. Its a parody of this man's very important and sad life.
There is little historical accuracy as none of the actors or fashions resemble the real thing. The handsome, muscular, swaggering and very brash Larenz Tate is a good actor, but he is a very wrong Frankie Lymon. Whats really absurd is how his onstage performances look NOTHING like the documented performances of Lymon. Frankie is characterized as a violent, self-destructive "Negro" with no redeeming traits besides the fact he is good looking. Which is retarded because the real Frankie was apparently a classy, but brat-ish man-boy who was corrupted by leeches in the music business. The story finds some respect for Frankie towards the end of the film, but its not compelling at all. Like the film Sid and Nancy we have a very dramatized and speculative climax where Frankie returns to New York and is rejected by his manager and turns to heroin in his disappointment, as he has nothing else to do. THE FILM GLOSSES OVER HIS INTENSE DRUG ADDICTION so this comes out of nowhere and doesn't effect us at all. And the real Frankie actually was in the process of recording new music in New York when he shot up, for the first time in years, to celebrate his good fortune.
The film is written by a woman, a black woman, and it comes off as a condemnation of black men in general as adulterous and insincere. There is little focus on his talent, his deep struggles, his being manipulated by men AND women around him. In the end, his three wives are the heroines for putting up with him. Its poorly staged, poorly researched and way too condescending to be a tribute to this genuine musical legend. Fucking shameful.
Here is the powerful real drama that was absent from this shitty film: An older, heroin-raddled Frankie Lymon makes is final appearance on television having to lip-sync to his classic hit "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" because his voice is so damaged by age and drugs. Despite this, Frankie's class and showmanship is still moving. In the biopic, this event is a garish and joyous choreographed spectacle by a healthy Frankie. Sickening.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
I rewatched David Byrne's True Stories the other night and its still with me, replaying in my head. This is my romantic cinematic statement for a much bigger romantic cinematic statement.
For those unfamiliar with David Byrne and the film True Stories, it is a deadpan musical-comedy in the style of a documentary. But not like Spinal Tap. We are taken on an odd tour of Virgil, Texas and the story springs from all of Virgil's inhabitants. The film is narrated by the seemingly aloof David Byrne, the front man of first-wave American punk band Talking Heads, who is trying to fit in with the townspeople and their off beat groove. True Stories is Byrne's love letter to yesterday's Americana. He cherishes how slowly paced, flat and plain towns like Virgil are or atleast were. The town is in transition and maybe trying to lose its specialness just to catch up with the world. The worldly Byrne as director and storyteller seems to be saying "No. You are fine the way you are and go at your own pace". Byrne is revealing that he gets his own intellectual high brow ideas from the least likely places like the fictional Virgil, Texas. All of the songs are written by David Byrne but mostly sung by characters in the film. Talking Heads only play 3 songs (1 during the closing credits) but they released an album covering all of the songs from the film as an unofficial soundtrack.
All of Virgil's residents are colorful, friendly but deeply flawed. Their believable humanity is one of the film's strengths. They are all so bizarre and bigger than life, but not so strange that we dismiss the notion of finding them in this world. They all are tied to the large computer corporation in town in different ways. Everyone but David Byrne's character is oblivious to the ways it is changing their lives. The film isn't necessarily opposed to corporatism or technology. It just makes startling discoveries about how it has changed the American landscape. There is one very jarring and powerful musical number about the reality of greed and the huge gap in social classes. Its very interesting because it foreshadows so many of today's hot issues like the "We are the One Percent" and the legacy of Steve Jobs, by a good 25 years.
The tagline fits perfectly: A completely cool, multi-purpose movie. You can take this film as a showcase of 1980s offbeat culture a'la Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Or you can view it as a surrealist piece on late 20th century America. Or if you are a Talking Heads fan, it works as a great companion piece. Its power is flexible and long-lasting. True Stories is, one hopes after watching it, true to life.
For those unfamiliar with David Byrne and the film True Stories, it is a deadpan musical-comedy in the style of a documentary. But not like Spinal Tap. We are taken on an odd tour of Virgil, Texas and the story springs from all of Virgil's inhabitants. The film is narrated by the seemingly aloof David Byrne, the front man of first-wave American punk band Talking Heads, who is trying to fit in with the townspeople and their off beat groove. True Stories is Byrne's love letter to yesterday's Americana. He cherishes how slowly paced, flat and plain towns like Virgil are or atleast were. The town is in transition and maybe trying to lose its specialness just to catch up with the world. The worldly Byrne as director and storyteller seems to be saying "No. You are fine the way you are and go at your own pace". Byrne is revealing that he gets his own intellectual high brow ideas from the least likely places like the fictional Virgil, Texas. All of the songs are written by David Byrne but mostly sung by characters in the film. Talking Heads only play 3 songs (1 during the closing credits) but they released an album covering all of the songs from the film as an unofficial soundtrack.
All of Virgil's residents are colorful, friendly but deeply flawed. Their believable humanity is one of the film's strengths. They are all so bizarre and bigger than life, but not so strange that we dismiss the notion of finding them in this world. They all are tied to the large computer corporation in town in different ways. Everyone but David Byrne's character is oblivious to the ways it is changing their lives. The film isn't necessarily opposed to corporatism or technology. It just makes startling discoveries about how it has changed the American landscape. There is one very jarring and powerful musical number about the reality of greed and the huge gap in social classes. Its very interesting because it foreshadows so many of today's hot issues like the "We are the One Percent" and the legacy of Steve Jobs, by a good 25 years.
The tagline fits perfectly: A completely cool, multi-purpose movie. You can take this film as a showcase of 1980s offbeat culture a'la Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Or you can view it as a surrealist piece on late 20th century America. Or if you are a Talking Heads fan, it works as a great companion piece. Its power is flexible and long-lasting. True Stories is, one hopes after watching it, true to life.
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