Genre: Psychological Thriller
Writer and Director: Robert Parigi
Page at IMDb
One could almost classify this movie as a romance with a twisted love triangle: one between a young man, a lovely young coworker, and a sex doll designed to look like the lovely young coworker. Some might go so far as to call this a black comedy, which I could completely understand. I'm not entirely certain what to call it, so I listed the genre as "psychological thriller" in the hopes that such a title is at least a little agreeable. This movie is an off-beat independent film created by a first-time film maker (to date, Love Object is Parigi's only movie), and some significant lines are being crossed in terms of genre.
The action of the movie follows an uptight office worker named Kenneth Winslow (Desmond Harrington), who was recently given a major project by his stuffy boss Novak (the amazing Rip Torn). Kenneth writes instruction manuals for a living, and when handed this project, he is also assigned assistance in the form of a hot little temp, Lisa Bellmer (Melissa Sagemiller). The pairing awakens some sort of hopelessly repressed sexuality in Kenneth, and he starts obsessing over Lisa.
About the same time, a couple of Kenneth's slacker coworkers introduce him to an online company that will create a customized sex doll for ten thousand dollars. Despite the cost, as Kenneth's sexual needs slow him down at work, he decides, on a late-night whim, to order one of these sex dolls, customizing it to look like Lisa. He overdraws his account, but Kenneth is confident he'll be promoted at work very soon. When the sex doll arrives, he excitedly has his way with it, and immediately afterwards attempts to have it returned. Naturally, a sex doll company is not going to accept back a doll that's been deflowered.
Kenneth, because of his job, knows how to take the time to read any and all instructions that come with his purchases. So instead of wallowing in buyer's remorse, he starts reading up on how to get the full effect of a life-sized sex doll. This leads him to learning how to dance, buying the doll nice clothes, and basically "dating" it/her to fulfill the fantasy of owning one of these devices. The experience has its good points: Kenneth is better motivated at work, and finally starts working on his major project with success. Unfortunately, the instructions for the doll suggest that Kenneth treat the doll like someone he knows, and he decides to do this--with Lisa, his temporary assistant. To help fuel his fantasy, he starts taking things off of her desk and learning about her own likes and dislikes, all of which is intended to heighten his experience with his new sex doll, whom has been named Nikki.
Meanwhile, Mr. Novak has decided to fire Lisa for incompetence and being an emotional wreck. Fearing that his inspiration for his current man-on-doll relationship with Nikki may be in danger, Kenneth talks Mr. Novak out of firing Lisa. Following this, Kenneth decides to assist with Lisa's job training, and the project starts to flourish. Kenneth and Lisa start getting comfortable around each other and getting to know each other, and Kenneth's relationship with Nikki starts getting weirder.
A bondage element is added to Kenneth's relationship with Nikki, and he starts developing interests in the kinkier side of sex. While this goes on, Kenneth starts seeing an opportunity with Lisa to develop a real-life relationship, and he starts thinking about leaving his doll and pursuing his interest in a coworker. At this point, it becomes apparent that Kenneth views Nikki as a real personality, and his activities with this doll leaves the audience wondering whether Kenneth has lost his mind, or if Nikki has become a living thing.
The answer is, in this case, that Kenneth has gone insane. As expected, this isn't real-life insane, this is movie insane--and there is a big difference. Kenneth believes that Nikki is alive, and trying to dominate his life when he starts trying to pursue Lisa. Although he does get lucky with Lisa, it proves unsatisfying when he starts to notice that Lisa is, underneath what he could see, a very different person than he had fantasized through Nikki. He gets angry, and blames Nikki. After a fight (he has one-sided fights with the doll more than once), he chops up Nikki's body and disposes of the remains. When he does this, his nosy neighbor and apartment manager, Radley (the great Udo Kier) overhears the argument and the electric carving knife he uses to tear apart Nikki.
I've probably said more about this movie than I rightfully should, but I do rather like the way this movie ends. When I first watched this movie, it was a conclusion that I didn't see coming, although there are plenty of fourteen-year-old pseudo-intellectuals out there who will claim to have saw the ending fifteen minutes into the movie. But I digress....
What sold this movie for me was the overall tone and design, along with a really nice performance by Desmond Harrington. From what I've read from others who have seen Love Object, there is something exceptionally twisted about this movie, particularly the way it builds to a head and comes to an unexpected end.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Bone (1972)
Genre: Black Comedy (Exploitation/Grindhouse Flick)
Director and Writer: Larry Cohen
Page on IMDb
Bone (subtitled A Bad Day in Beverly Hills), to me, is a rare gem of a movie, one of those super-obscure titles that was almost completely forgotten and yet...and yet, virtually every review I've ever read of it can't stop talking about how wonderful it is. I bought this movie online, sight-unseen, based solely on the fact that it's Larry Cohen's directorial debut and its receipt of glowing online reviews, what few there were.
For those unfamiliar with Larry Cohen, he got his start as a film maker back in the early 70's with this movie, moving quickly along to directing "blaxploitation" movies with Black Caesar (1973) and Hell Up In Harlem (1973). After this, Cohen started creating horror movies, beginning with the very low-budget and bizarre killer baby flick It's Alive (1974) and its sequel, It Lives Again (1978). I knew him best for The Stuff (1985), one of those slime-covered, blood splattered, violence-heavy 80's horror flicks with less-than-subtle social commentary. While Cohen isn't the most skilled of film makers--his use of special effects are weak, even compared to those available at the time--his work is, nevertheless, interesting to watch.
I am a little reluctant to talk this movie up too much, as I'm afraid that if expectations are too high, potential viewers may not look past the flaws. There are plenty of flaws, too: particularly with some of the editing choices (for example, there's at least one blooper shot that made it into the final print). Fortunately, Bone doesn't really incorporate any special effects outside of the one scene that used a little Vaseline on the lens; the entire plot is very character-driven.
It should also be noted that this movie does have nudity, swearing, interracial sex, and a near-rape scene. I call it "near-rape" because none of the characters actually rape or get raped, but it gets close. Maybe I should just try to explain the plot:
Bill and Bernadette (Andrew Duggan and Joyce Van Patten, respectively) are a wealthy middle-aged couple living in Beverly Hills. Bill complains about how the world is falling apart because of foreigners and under-represented ethnic groups, and Bernadette spends her days just being a rich housewife. While lounging about their swimming pool one day, Bill dives in and finds himself eye-to-eye with a rat that has been sucked into one of the pool's filters. When told about the rat, Bernadette freaks out and demands Bill call an exterminator and a pool cleaning service. Just as he gets someone on the phone, Bill looks up and there stands Bone (Yaphet Kotto), a young, muscular black man whom they assume works for the pool service. Bone plays along for a brief period, even going so far as to pull the rat out of the pool filter and throw it into a neighbor's yard. It quickly becomes clear that Bone intends to rob the couple.
With Bill and Bernadette in hand, Bone trashes their house in search of money while Bernadette talks about the history of the house and its furnishings. Bone becomes frustrated when he discovers that no money is to be found, and it becomes apparent that Bill's financial situation is much worse than the audience was led to believe. Bone then discovers a secret bank account that Bernadette was unaware of, and sends Bill into town to close the account and bring back the money to him. Bill is given a short amount of time to complete this task, and Bone threatens to rape Bernadette and cut her throat if he fails to return with the cash.
When Bill gets into town, however, his banker talks him out of closing the account, and he decides to kill some time while considering his options. Unfortunately for Burnadette, he takes too much time and Bone decides to make good on his threat. After attempting to rape Bernadette, Bone has a change of heart. Soon Burnadette forces Bone to open up, the two begin talking, and a new friendship--and sexual relationship--develops from this unlikely scenario.
From there, the movie gets even more surreal and absolutely nothing goes as planned. While the movie is titled Bone, the story seems to be more about Bernadette than anyone (one of the early titles of this movie was The Housewife). Themes include racism and rape, and this movie handles those two volatile subjects with honesty, avoiding the modern tendencies of political correctness while not being blatantly offensive, either. There's also plenty about the Vietnam War, something mentioned in the movie's initial title plate, and at least one somewhat ironic mention about the legalization of marijuana is made. Events are so bizarre in some cases that one almost wonders just how much of the social commentary in this movie was deliberate.
Honestly, this is one of those movies that is interesting enough to safely recommend to others. Despite its age, there are a lot of timeless elements to Bone, and thus far, the handful of people I've shown this to have enjoyed it enough to sit through the whole thing, something I can't say for all of the movies in my collection. As far as I know, it is available on netflix and definitely worth checking out for lovers of obscure movies.
Director and Writer: Larry Cohen
Page on IMDb
Bone (subtitled A Bad Day in Beverly Hills), to me, is a rare gem of a movie, one of those super-obscure titles that was almost completely forgotten and yet...and yet, virtually every review I've ever read of it can't stop talking about how wonderful it is. I bought this movie online, sight-unseen, based solely on the fact that it's Larry Cohen's directorial debut and its receipt of glowing online reviews, what few there were.
For those unfamiliar with Larry Cohen, he got his start as a film maker back in the early 70's with this movie, moving quickly along to directing "blaxploitation" movies with Black Caesar (1973) and Hell Up In Harlem (1973). After this, Cohen started creating horror movies, beginning with the very low-budget and bizarre killer baby flick It's Alive (1974) and its sequel, It Lives Again (1978). I knew him best for The Stuff (1985), one of those slime-covered, blood splattered, violence-heavy 80's horror flicks with less-than-subtle social commentary. While Cohen isn't the most skilled of film makers--his use of special effects are weak, even compared to those available at the time--his work is, nevertheless, interesting to watch.
I am a little reluctant to talk this movie up too much, as I'm afraid that if expectations are too high, potential viewers may not look past the flaws. There are plenty of flaws, too: particularly with some of the editing choices (for example, there's at least one blooper shot that made it into the final print). Fortunately, Bone doesn't really incorporate any special effects outside of the one scene that used a little Vaseline on the lens; the entire plot is very character-driven.
It should also be noted that this movie does have nudity, swearing, interracial sex, and a near-rape scene. I call it "near-rape" because none of the characters actually rape or get raped, but it gets close. Maybe I should just try to explain the plot:
Bill and Bernadette (Andrew Duggan and Joyce Van Patten, respectively) are a wealthy middle-aged couple living in Beverly Hills. Bill complains about how the world is falling apart because of foreigners and under-represented ethnic groups, and Bernadette spends her days just being a rich housewife. While lounging about their swimming pool one day, Bill dives in and finds himself eye-to-eye with a rat that has been sucked into one of the pool's filters. When told about the rat, Bernadette freaks out and demands Bill call an exterminator and a pool cleaning service. Just as he gets someone on the phone, Bill looks up and there stands Bone (Yaphet Kotto), a young, muscular black man whom they assume works for the pool service. Bone plays along for a brief period, even going so far as to pull the rat out of the pool filter and throw it into a neighbor's yard. It quickly becomes clear that Bone intends to rob the couple.
With Bill and Bernadette in hand, Bone trashes their house in search of money while Bernadette talks about the history of the house and its furnishings. Bone becomes frustrated when he discovers that no money is to be found, and it becomes apparent that Bill's financial situation is much worse than the audience was led to believe. Bone then discovers a secret bank account that Bernadette was unaware of, and sends Bill into town to close the account and bring back the money to him. Bill is given a short amount of time to complete this task, and Bone threatens to rape Bernadette and cut her throat if he fails to return with the cash.
When Bill gets into town, however, his banker talks him out of closing the account, and he decides to kill some time while considering his options. Unfortunately for Burnadette, he takes too much time and Bone decides to make good on his threat. After attempting to rape Bernadette, Bone has a change of heart. Soon Burnadette forces Bone to open up, the two begin talking, and a new friendship--and sexual relationship--develops from this unlikely scenario.
From there, the movie gets even more surreal and absolutely nothing goes as planned. While the movie is titled Bone, the story seems to be more about Bernadette than anyone (one of the early titles of this movie was The Housewife). Themes include racism and rape, and this movie handles those two volatile subjects with honesty, avoiding the modern tendencies of political correctness while not being blatantly offensive, either. There's also plenty about the Vietnam War, something mentioned in the movie's initial title plate, and at least one somewhat ironic mention about the legalization of marijuana is made. Events are so bizarre in some cases that one almost wonders just how much of the social commentary in this movie was deliberate.
Honestly, this is one of those movies that is interesting enough to safely recommend to others. Despite its age, there are a lot of timeless elements to Bone, and thus far, the handful of people I've shown this to have enjoyed it enough to sit through the whole thing, something I can't say for all of the movies in my collection. As far as I know, it is available on netflix and definitely worth checking out for lovers of obscure movies.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Blood Simple. (1984)
Genre: Crime Drama
Director: Joel Coen
Writers: Joel and Ethan Coen
At this point in time, there are plenty of people familiar with the work of the Coen brothers. Recently, they've gained widespread popularity with No Country for Old Men (2007) and Burn After Reading (2008), and were best known in the 1990's for Fargo (1996) and, one of my personal favorites, The Big Lebowski (1998). The Coens have done some damned entertaining work in their time, having started as associates of several major names in the business, including the Raimi brothers (Sam, Ted and Ivan), Bruce Campbell, Holly Hunter, and Francis McDormand. Their first work, Blood Simple., apparently started as a teaser trailer featuring Bruce Campbell in the role that would eventually be performed by Dan Hedaya.
The plot of Blood Simple. is pretty strait forward, although the Coens' specific method of storytelling initially left me (and probably much of their audience) wondering what was going on for a period of time. As with most of their movies, most of us will have to watch them more than once just to figure out what's going on; it's not uncommon to watch the first half hour of a Coen brothers flick wondering when the plot is going to start. I remember feeling a little bewildered when I first saw No Country for Old Men, waiting a good twenty minutes before realizing that there was a story unfolding right in front of me. I guess the Coens are just that good at subtlety.
This movie begins with an affair between bartender Ray (John Getz) and the wife of the bar owner, Abby (Francis McDormand). Well, sort of. The movie actually begins with some Texas landscape shots and a voice-over (similar to the beginning of No Country for Old Men), followed up by Ray and Abby driving down the highway in the rain. The aforementioned bar owner, Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya), suspects something is going on, so he hires private investigator Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) to follow them and take pictures--Visser is actually trailing Ray and Abby in the opening scene while they drive down that dark highway. After discovering his wife's infidelity, Marty is angered to the point of embezzling money from his own business to pay Loren Visser to murder the young adulterous couple. Visser, however, has plans of his own, and instead decides to rip off Marty and try to get away scott-free. As is the way in a Coen brothers movie, nothing goes as planned.
For those unfamiliar with the other works of the Coen brothers, it should be known that their movies make heavy use of dramatic irony. Their characters suffer from tragic flaws that prompt them to do the kinds of idiotic things that make some movie watchers stand and scream at the screen. Items are shown not because their presence is significant, but because their absence is significant. The Coen brothers also tend leave entire plot threads unresolved, which is probably why the message boards at imdb.com are filled with threads reading "I don't get it" or "What's the point of this movie?", along with other varied inanities. Blood Simple. actually wraps everything up fairly well compared to some of the Coens' flicks, but like I said: it really needs to be watched more than once, if only to have a full understanding of the basic mechanics of the plot.
I listed the genre of Blood Simple. as "crime drama" because that is what is listed on imdb.com. The more pretentious film-goers would call this film noir or neo-noir. Film noir, if you are not familiar with the term, refers to a number of the crime dramas from the 1940's into the 1960's, in which the term "noir" (dark or black) is in reference to everything from the characters, the tone, and the lighting (think Humphrey Bogart). Really, it doesn't make a damn bit of difference when it comes down to whether or not a person can enjoy this movie. One need not be an arrogant film snot to understand that interesting choices were made in lighting, photography, plot development, and character motivation, just as one need not be a wine connoisseur to enjoy a good drunken buzz.
Director: Joel Coen
Writers: Joel and Ethan Coen
At this point in time, there are plenty of people familiar with the work of the Coen brothers. Recently, they've gained widespread popularity with No Country for Old Men (2007) and Burn After Reading (2008), and were best known in the 1990's for Fargo (1996) and, one of my personal favorites, The Big Lebowski (1998). The Coens have done some damned entertaining work in their time, having started as associates of several major names in the business, including the Raimi brothers (Sam, Ted and Ivan), Bruce Campbell, Holly Hunter, and Francis McDormand. Their first work, Blood Simple., apparently started as a teaser trailer featuring Bruce Campbell in the role that would eventually be performed by Dan Hedaya.
The plot of Blood Simple. is pretty strait forward, although the Coens' specific method of storytelling initially left me (and probably much of their audience) wondering what was going on for a period of time. As with most of their movies, most of us will have to watch them more than once just to figure out what's going on; it's not uncommon to watch the first half hour of a Coen brothers flick wondering when the plot is going to start. I remember feeling a little bewildered when I first saw No Country for Old Men, waiting a good twenty minutes before realizing that there was a story unfolding right in front of me. I guess the Coens are just that good at subtlety.
This movie begins with an affair between bartender Ray (John Getz) and the wife of the bar owner, Abby (Francis McDormand). Well, sort of. The movie actually begins with some Texas landscape shots and a voice-over (similar to the beginning of No Country for Old Men), followed up by Ray and Abby driving down the highway in the rain. The aforementioned bar owner, Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya), suspects something is going on, so he hires private investigator Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) to follow them and take pictures--Visser is actually trailing Ray and Abby in the opening scene while they drive down that dark highway. After discovering his wife's infidelity, Marty is angered to the point of embezzling money from his own business to pay Loren Visser to murder the young adulterous couple. Visser, however, has plans of his own, and instead decides to rip off Marty and try to get away scott-free. As is the way in a Coen brothers movie, nothing goes as planned.
For those unfamiliar with the other works of the Coen brothers, it should be known that their movies make heavy use of dramatic irony. Their characters suffer from tragic flaws that prompt them to do the kinds of idiotic things that make some movie watchers stand and scream at the screen. Items are shown not because their presence is significant, but because their absence is significant. The Coen brothers also tend leave entire plot threads unresolved, which is probably why the message boards at imdb.com are filled with threads reading "I don't get it" or "What's the point of this movie?", along with other varied inanities. Blood Simple. actually wraps everything up fairly well compared to some of the Coens' flicks, but like I said: it really needs to be watched more than once, if only to have a full understanding of the basic mechanics of the plot.
I listed the genre of Blood Simple. as "crime drama" because that is what is listed on imdb.com. The more pretentious film-goers would call this film noir or neo-noir. Film noir, if you are not familiar with the term, refers to a number of the crime dramas from the 1940's into the 1960's, in which the term "noir" (dark or black) is in reference to everything from the characters, the tone, and the lighting (think Humphrey Bogart). Really, it doesn't make a damn bit of difference when it comes down to whether or not a person can enjoy this movie. One need not be an arrogant film snot to understand that interesting choices were made in lighting, photography, plot development, and character motivation, just as one need not be a wine connoisseur to enjoy a good drunken buzz.
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