The drive out here almost killed me, and today has practically drained every ounce of stamina I thought I had, but we made it through. The rest of the week is gonna be rough, because then I get to drive back to Florida, and the closer we get, the less I want to make that drive.
The Ten
"Not everyone's cup of tea, but it was pretty good."
I have a lot of friends who are obsessed with The State and all the folks who made this, Wet Hot American Summer, and the tv show Stella. All of them are going to hate what I tell them and others about this movie. There are bits that made me die laughing, the Y tu mamá también-influenced Jesús/Lord's Name in Vain vignette comes immediately to mind, but there were parts that made me wish the pieces were incorporated into a revival of The State called The Prodigal State or something.
Everyone's funny, everyone's well-cast, and it was certainly better than the majority of what you find in the "Comedy" section of the video store Netflix made obsolete. It didn't set me on fire, but when it comes down to it, this one was definitely a thumbs up, especially when David Wain told us after the screening that he had to Google the commandments, not really knowing any of them off the top of his head when he began writing. This one doesn't hit until August, and in the name of non-tentpole, deserving comedies out there, I hope people go see it.
Manufacturing Dissent
Jon Pierson: "Show of hands: So how many of you like Michael Moore? How many don't like Michael Moore?"
My first doc of the festival is going to end up being one of my very favorites, I can tell. Pierson moderated a chat with R. Linklater earlier in the day and served as host for one of the more speculation-worthy flicks on my advance list of "I have to see" movies. Going in to the movie, I like many others, had my doubts about the absolute veracity and/or reliability of Michael Moore's movies and his research, even though I find myself agreeing with him a lot.
The doc follows a crew of Canadians who are avowed fans of Michael Moore's who just want a chance to speak with him and do a bio-documentary on him. As they start to sift through the research material available, they find a side of Michael Moore and his "manufactured" persona and history that will make even the most staunch Moore maniac pause.
With SiCKO coming out soon, I'm especially startled at the idea that he compares the US healthcare system to that of Cuba, where direct relatives of mine who are doctors work as bellhops to keep eating. Yes the drugs are cheaper and the care is cost-free, but Cuba is far from the model of much of anything in terms of policy or infrastructure.
After seeing this movie, my misgivings about referring to him as something of a liberal Karl Rove-type demagogue have disappeared. I admire the things he stands up for quite often, but I can't dig on his "man of the people" put-on anymore. I talked to a friend I used to work for afterward who ran the other way, not exactly digging on the "anti-Mike" message, finding the film potentially misleading and "not his kind of thing". I helped the the same friend plant the seeds and organize the Michael Moore anti-Bush rally in Tallahassee the day before Election Day 2004.
I stood there the night of, taking in Mike's over-wrought "gravelly motivation voice" and cheering the anti-Bush sentiment, but generally feeling kind of bored. It's one machine against another, and in the end, as the filmmakers find, Mike's present-day message is an alternate universe version of the Republicans and right-wingers I dislike so much, just with an opposite political bent.
My friend seemed pretty uncomfortable, wishing he had some means of defending a hero. It was like seeing an eight year old who moments before himself saw Captain America shoot up heroin and salute Hitler. Clearly confused and hurt, but not sure how to manage betrayed trust.
I expect Moore's influence and friends are going to make sure they do everything possible to make this one "untouchable" for general release by a major distributor, but I'd be fascinated to see what develops this summer.
Black Sheep
"Mutant sheep, I'm there."
Midnight rolled around and we squeezed in to the high-demand screening of Black Sheep, from New Zealand. I'm running out of steam as I started in typing this after getting in from this flick. Skipped Q&A and came straight to the hotel, as we're both beat.
The big misconception is that this is a zombie movie, an error I equate to people calling Brokeback Mountain a gay cowboy movie when it is so obviously a gay shepherd movie. Yes, the mindless antagonists are hungry for flesh...but they are genetically mutated....not zombified.
A corrupt businessman is selling the family business to the dark side by performing all manner of experiments on poor, defenseless sheep. The sheep exact their revenge on the unsuspecting, and it gets baaad.
It's too late to keep going, you get the picture. three for three worth admission, depending on particular taste. Each has their big plusses and a few minuses, but nothing so egregious to bestow on any of them a Complete Waste of Time declaration.
Tomorrow: more panels, flipping a coin in early afternoon, another New Zealand movie, and a Spurlock-produced anti-shopaholicism doc