Tue, April 29, 2003

Dog Park

Bruce McCullough's directorial debuts were released simultaneously, and I banked on Dog Park as the better of the two. I am a great admirer of The Kids In The Hall, and I like to keep up with the "kids" and their projects since the end of that series. McCullough's writing on this film was really genuine and natural, and I enjoyed the simple relationship stories enormously. Working from a fairly small budget, the film is still filled with familiar faces and terrific performers. I simply can't get enough of Janeane Garofalo. Natasha Henstridge is another that I'm always delighted to see making good films with solid, fun characters – it would have been easy for her to disappear after Species and especially after Species II and whatever that thing was she did with Van Damme. This was a great little movie, and I think the sensibility of its entire direction is well stated in its penultimate shot, pulling back slowly from the dog park – the film sort of rocks back on its haunches and watches everything unfold with a wry smile and a twinkle in its eye.

Being John Malkovich

Wow. I knew I was going to love this film to death, but I was still amazed. It is just impossible to carry off such a bizarre, nonsensical, twisted narrative and still make it not only comprehensible but funny and interesting at the same time. The casting was magnificent, the sets were great, the direction was perfect. Malkovich was not only a genius in his performance but possibly the best sport ever. Allowing this project to happen in the first place shows a lot of courage on his part, and the things he participated in, being puppeteered by the other characters, were just hilarious. This is the kind of film people should be making.

Superstar

And so I was talked into attending Superstar. Delighted by McCullough's other directorial debut (Dog Park), I can't say I was totally opposed to the experience, but it definitely wasn't a film that had been on the top of my list for weeks. However, as a representative of the SNL-sketch-gone-feature-length genre, it excels without equal. The characters and direction are richly explored, perhaps because of Molly Shannon's previous experience with the Mary Katherine Gallagher character. Everything seems in place in this film, which is more than can be said for most dippy comedies. (Did anyone anticipate Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo?) Harland Williams (evidently a McCullough staple) does a great job of subjugating his wackiness to the morose and withdrawn Slater. Overall, it was a fun experience; as She's All That proved, any impromptu high school dance number scene will have me on my feet!

Boys Don't Cry

I was not aware that the film was based on a true story, although in hindsight I do remember this being in the news. So the realization, as the credits rolled, that this was all true and the original players had participated in the adaptation of the story for the screen just floored me. Suddenly everything onscreen was even more depressing. Hilary Swank turned in an overwhelmingly bold and textured performance. A friend described it as the kind of performance where you lose sight of the actress altogether, as she just melts into the character. I must agree. This film sparked a lot of conversation on the way home, which I think is an important measure of the gravity of the subject matter and the skill with which it was presented.

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