So I'm probably breaking SOME kind of composition rule here, but let me digress (yes, I'm starting this post with a digression, and a self-berating one at that. Surely, this must be "wrong". But, back to my digression…)
It's been weeks since I posted, and not for lack of topics. I started a post about the Richard Donner cut of Superman II that was recently released on DVD; a post that I have every confidence I will eventually return to and finish. But at this point, my recollections of what I was going to say are so vague I may have to watch the DVD again. Then there's 300, which I saw a couple of weeks ago and utterly enjoyed, and I've yet to say anything about that film. (My fear here is that I was suckered in by the incredible art direction and that, on revisiting, I'll find it empty and lifeless, as one of the reviews I read complained. I'm hoping this is not the case.) And don't even get me started on politics! Between the Attorney General debacle, the promise of the first ever GW Bush veto (at least, I believe the "exit date" Iraq War funding bill will be the first veto of his presidency) and bills attempting to address Habeas Corpus and paper-trail voting machines, there's got to be something I care enough to post about.
And yet, here I am, posting about School for Scoundrels, a mediocre movie that I can recommend to no one. And yet, until I get it out of my head, I doubt I'll get anything else down. So here goes…
First, let me acknowledge two things… I'm a big fan of Billy Bob Thornton, and not so much a fan of John Heder. I find Thornton continually amusing/entertaining/interesting in almost anything I've seen him in and this movie's no exception. (He's one of those actors that I enjoy watching even in movies I don't like… I have the same reaction to Angelina Jolie, which I find amusing.) On the other hand, I am not a huge fan of Heder's. I found Napoleon Dynamite too painfully self aware for my tastes and this movie doesn't do anything to bring me around. He's not a terrible actor, I just find him rather uninteresting. So take my bias going into the film for what it's worth.
The first thing I noticed was the utterly abysmal pacing of the first few scenes. Even potentially funny moments were hamstrung by bad timing, no energy and an overwhelming feeling of frustration and fatalism. Maybe that's intentional, but when I was studying acting, one of the things that was continually stressed to me is that you don't ever want to play depression, as it's just boring to watch. I'd argue that this movie manages to capture that feeling from the outset.
Frankly, it doesn't take off till the first scene with Billy Bob, when the losers learn what kind of class they've signed up for. From that point on, there's the expected progression/escalation of the story, with the occasional moment of, if not brilliance, at least honest entertainment. (The paintball scene alone may well be worth "the price of admission").
And then there's the ending. No, I'm not going to "spoil" it for anyone (as if that's possible), but suffice it to say the movie climaxes with a painfully absurd, nonsensical pseudo-confrontation that virtually screams out the film's producers calling up the director and telling him they don't care what he does, as long as he makes the ending "funny"! To their credit, the alternate ending on the DVD doesn't fare much better. It may be a more 'organic' ending, but it's certainly not anything to write home about. And while I dispute the writer/director's justification for the crap ending (they felt that Heder's character needed to "earn" the outcome) I have to acknowledge that the crap ending comes closer to that then their alternate ending.
So, my recommendation… skip it. Or, if you're doing the Netflix thing, go ahead and drop it in your queue. Skip to the paintball scene, and maybe the faux police scene (think mace and an elevator and you may not need to actually see that one, however), and you'll be done in fifteen minutes, tops.
Now, on to Torture Porn!
It's been weeks since I posted, and not for lack of topics. I started a post about the Richard Donner cut of Superman II that was recently released on DVD; a post that I have every confidence I will eventually return to and finish. But at this point, my recollections of what I was going to say are so vague I may have to watch the DVD again. Then there's 300, which I saw a couple of weeks ago and utterly enjoyed, and I've yet to say anything about that film. (My fear here is that I was suckered in by the incredible art direction and that, on revisiting, I'll find it empty and lifeless, as one of the reviews I read complained. I'm hoping this is not the case.) And don't even get me started on politics! Between the Attorney General debacle, the promise of the first ever GW Bush veto (at least, I believe the "exit date" Iraq War funding bill will be the first veto of his presidency) and bills attempting to address Habeas Corpus and paper-trail voting machines, there's got to be something I care enough to post about.
And yet, here I am, posting about School for Scoundrels, a mediocre movie that I can recommend to no one. And yet, until I get it out of my head, I doubt I'll get anything else down. So here goes…
First, let me acknowledge two things… I'm a big fan of Billy Bob Thornton, and not so much a fan of John Heder. I find Thornton continually amusing/entertaining/interesting in almost anything I've seen him in and this movie's no exception. (He's one of those actors that I enjoy watching even in movies I don't like… I have the same reaction to Angelina Jolie, which I find amusing.) On the other hand, I am not a huge fan of Heder's. I found Napoleon Dynamite too painfully self aware for my tastes and this movie doesn't do anything to bring me around. He's not a terrible actor, I just find him rather uninteresting. So take my bias going into the film for what it's worth.
The first thing I noticed was the utterly abysmal pacing of the first few scenes. Even potentially funny moments were hamstrung by bad timing, no energy and an overwhelming feeling of frustration and fatalism. Maybe that's intentional, but when I was studying acting, one of the things that was continually stressed to me is that you don't ever want to play depression, as it's just boring to watch. I'd argue that this movie manages to capture that feeling from the outset.
Frankly, it doesn't take off till the first scene with Billy Bob, when the losers learn what kind of class they've signed up for. From that point on, there's the expected progression/escalation of the story, with the occasional moment of, if not brilliance, at least honest entertainment. (The paintball scene alone may well be worth "the price of admission").
And then there's the ending. No, I'm not going to "spoil" it for anyone (as if that's possible), but suffice it to say the movie climaxes with a painfully absurd, nonsensical pseudo-confrontation that virtually screams out the film's producers calling up the director and telling him they don't care what he does, as long as he makes the ending "funny"! To their credit, the alternate ending on the DVD doesn't fare much better. It may be a more 'organic' ending, but it's certainly not anything to write home about. And while I dispute the writer/director's justification for the crap ending (they felt that Heder's character needed to "earn" the outcome) I have to acknowledge that the crap ending comes closer to that then their alternate ending.
So, my recommendation… skip it. Or, if you're doing the Netflix thing, go ahead and drop it in your queue. Skip to the paintball scene, and maybe the faux police scene (think mace and an elevator and you may not need to actually see that one, however), and you'll be done in fifteen minutes, tops.
Now, on to Torture Porn!
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