GLADD vs. Cock-Knocker

JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK (2001)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Viewed on September 7th, 2001

Warning: if you are not a fan of "Clerks" or "Chasing Amy," not to mention "Mallrats," then it is very likely that you will find little enjoyment in Kevin Smith's newest film. "Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back" is a delirious joyride for all View Askew fans, taking us from New Jersey to Hollywood and back with many belly laughs and a few lulls along the way. It is mandatory that you are educated in this universe or else, you'll have a joyless time.

To anyone not familiar with View Askew, it is the name of Kevin Smith's production company in Red Bank, N.J. and the universe in which all his characters from his first four films reside in. Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) are the two drug dealers who have appeared in all of Smith's films. Usually left on the sidelines, they take center stage this time as they continue selling drugs in front of the Quik Stop convenience store in Leonardo, N.J. Jay and Silent Bob get wind from their old friend, Brodie (Jason Lee), that the comic book based on them, Bluntman and Chronic, is getting made into a Hollywood movie by their other old friend, Banky (also played by Jason Lee). Huh? Okay, if you saw "Chasing Amy," you'll recall that Banky and Holden (Ben Affleck, who reprises his role here) were comic book artists who made their claim to fame with their "Bluntman and Chronic" comic book. In this movie, Banky sold the rights to Miramax studios to make the movie. Jay and Silent Bob are infuriated that they are not getting a piece of the collective pie so they embark on a journey to Hollywood that includes some hot babes dressed in slinky outfits, a wild orangutan, plenty of gay and fart jokes to make GLADD blush (which they reportedly have), Carrie Fisher as a nun, George Carlin as a hitchhiker, clumsy federal marshals, Internet bashing, and more in-jokes (many associated with "Star Wars") than almost any movie I have ever seen.

"Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" has quite a few good laughs but there are also far too many lulls. The scenario involving a federal wildlife marshal simply marks time (including an unfunny cameo by Judd Nelson). Plus, those slinky-outfitted babes (which includes a vivacious Shannon Hamilton) exude more groans than smiles, aping the recent remake of "Charlie's Angels." Best bits involve the Quik stop employees, Randal and Dante from "Clerks" (played by Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran), who call the police in to arrest the likable drug dealers. I also liked Ben Affleck as Holden and as himself, not to mention Matt Damon as himself, as they trade asides on each other's careers and mocking their joint effort, "Good Will Hunting." There is also Mark Hamill as Cock-Knocker, which has to be seen to be believed, Wes Craven making another "Scream" sequel, and Jason Biggs and James Van Der Beek as themselves portraying Bluntman and Chronic in the movie version. You can also count on several other cameos by other characters from Smith's View Askew universe.

The stars of this show are Jay and Silent Bob and they are often hysterical to watch. Jason Mewes in particular steals the show as Jay with his sexual body language and obscene comments having to do with one particular area of the female anatomy. Kevin Smith as Silent Bob merely makes disapproving looks and gestures and too much of this can go a long way. Still, they make a fitting pair, as always, and drive the movie forward with more scatalogical jokes than one can count in this jaded day and age of sexually promiscuous teen movies.

"Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" is fitfully funny and often clever enough for those not easily offended by gay and fart jokes (count me in the mix). It is not half as good as "Clerks" or as hackneyed as "Mallrats" or "Dogma," but it does fall somewhere in between.

Eat, Drink, Men, Women

CARNAGE (2011)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

A French play that takes place inside of an apartment for 80 minutes? Most film directors might be inclined to open up the proscenium of a play by introducing the outside world. Not Roman Polanski who has managed to make a brisk, funny, darkly comic movie out of something almost mundane on the surface.

Penelope and Michael Longstreet (Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly) are the parents of a child, Zachary, that was struck in the mouth with a stick by his friend. We see this event transpire in the opening sequence and are startled by the abrupt violence, but we also see how it is almost a childlike moment of two kids who just don't know better (the scene is silent with music layed in so that we don't know if Zachary provoked his friend or not). The Longstreets invite Zachary's friend's parents, the Cowans (played by Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet), to discuss the matter. What follows is their conversations that extend beyond the kids and more on their distinctive personalities. Mr. Cowan is an attorney who is beset by one cell phone call after another and cannot be bothered by this incident. Mrs. Cowan is upset by the incident, her husband's lack of manners and hopes for some sort of truce, but her true colors are revealed when she drinks alcohol. The Longstreets want to make nice with "pleasant serenity" by making cobbler with apples and pears (I'd like to try that), espresso and a vase of tulips. Michael sells kitchen items whereas Penelope is a writer, works part-time in a bookstore, and is very politically correct. What could go wrong?

Adapted from Yasmina Reza's comedy play of manners entitled "God of Carnage," "Carnage" is exceptionally well-made and perfectly crafted by Roman Polanski. He is the only director, as proven with his other adaptation of a play "Death of a Maiden" that was also confined to one setting, that can hold the tension inside a room for maximum impact. I do not know how Polanski does it but no shot ever looks the same, from the spacious living room to the bathroom which are the only two rooms where the action takes place (aside from two brief shots of the hallway to the elevator). His framing of the actors also changes brilliantly, particularly where one actor is in the foreground in contrast to someone else in the background. Into the fray of claustrophobia are some of our finest actors, including Jodie Foster whose Penelope character is more shrill and more human than anyone else. John C. Reilly once again proves he is a master of comic subtlety, particularly his shift from a caring, gentle man to a rough loudmouth. Christoph Waltz also excels in dialing it down, and the way he eats cobbler reminded me of the dramatic tension of his eating habits in "Inglorious Basterds." Kate Winslet is the only actor who feels a little off in the translation - too histrionic for my tastes which might have suited the play more than the film.

"Carnage" is lucidly written and directed with an appropriately abrupt finish. The whole film is timed and paced just right, but it is more of a lark for Polanski than the masterstroke of his grandly thrilling "The Ghost Writer." Still, a near-great Polanski film is miles better than no Polanski film.    

Zooey's wintry personality

WINTER PASSING (2005)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

If you are expecting the lively, charming Zooey Deschanel from "Almost Famous" or from her brief turn in "Failure to Launch," you are in for a disappointment. Though it will take a few more films before she becomes a really good actress, her solemn, methodical performance in "Winter Passing" is a future reminder of a fine talent indeed. The film and her performance will remind you of the great Ingmar Bergman, and that isn't faint praise.

Zooey is Reese Holden, a repressed young actress living in New York City. She works as a bartender and does anything she can to, well, feel something. She detaches herself from everything, including sex, drugs, smoking, her cat - everything. Feeling pain seems to be an afterthought - she violently slams her hand in a drawer and there is still no emotion. But things invariably change when a book publisher (Amy Madigan) tells Reese that she inherited some letters - the publisher wishes to publish them. It turns out that Renee is the daughter of a J.D. Salinger-type, Don Holden (Ed Harris) - her own mother had recently passed (Reese chose not to attend the funeral).

Taking the payment up front, Reese travels to Michigan to see her father. Most movies show writers in a sanitized manner. Not Don Holden - he is a stubborn drunk who practically lives in his garage with stacks and stacks of books and papers messily strewn about - he is working on his latest novel which has taken him more than twenty years to write. He is angry at Reese for not attending the funeral, and he is in his own self-imposed cocoon of misery. He does have roomates, though they do not reside in the garage. In the big house, there is Corbit (Will Ferrell), a wannabe musician and devout Christian who occasionally wears eyeliner (!), and Shelley (Amelia Warner), a former student of Holden's. They are the caretakers of the house.

Reese suspects there is an affair between her father and Shelley, who does everything for Holden. She questions Corbit for not coming on to her. Reese also senses she is not loved by her father and tries to pick up the pieces. Can Reese ever feel anything again, or will emotions rise to the surface and cause harm? Who can say because the film doesn't really go down such a familiar route. Reese goes for frequent drives and tries to find solace at a local bar. But will she find solace ever?

Zooey Deschanel as Reese makes us squirm and anxious, as we try to make peace with her. We hope she can find peace but we don't know if she will ever have closure and move on. Her performance is so good that it made me fidgety and uneasy - I really felt as if Reese jumped out of the screen and I was sharing her experiences. That is high praise indeed, so I will retract my original comment at the start and say that Zooey gives not just a good performance but a great one.

Ed Harris's Holden and Will Ferrell's Corbit could easily lend to ridicule or melodrama, but playwright and debuting director Adam Rapp takes their characters seriously enough. In fact, the whole second half of the film could've been a farce of absurd proportions. Thankfully, even Ferrell plays it straight, particularly when displaying karate moves.

"Winter Passing" is like reading a despairing novel during a winter storm. The setting and the performances remind one of Ingmar Bergman, perhaps "Through a Glass Darkly" without any of the religious discussions about the existence of God. There is one scene in "Winter Passing" that may be cringeworthy for animal lovers but it is an essential scene involving Reese, if you put it in the right context. The film is tough to sit through at first but its melancholy and melodic tones can be digested albeit slowly. "Winter Passing" doesn't wallow in despair, only Reese does and eventually we get the impression she'll get over it.

The fatal head shot

INTERVIEW WITH THE ASSASSIN (2002)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia 

(Written in 2003)

I first discovered the potential conspiracy in JFK's murder when I viewed (many years ago) "The Man Who Saw Tomorrow," a watchable pseudo-documentary of the prophecies of Nostradamus. They show one shot inside of a bush of what looked like the outline of an assassin. Of course, we know by now that any other assassins might have been behind the fence near the grassy knoll. Then there was Oliver Stone's highly controversial "J.F.K," which looked at all the conspiracy theories and made a tapestry of them as evidence. As of 2003, fastly approaching the 40th anniversary of Kennedy's assassination, we only have more theories and possibilities. I am convinced that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone, others argue that he did. "Interview With the Assassin" posits that a second gunman may have existed and is ready to convince the world he took out the President with the famous bloody head shot.

Journeyman actor Raymond J. Barry plays Walter Ohlinger, a lonely man who is slowly dying of cancer. He wants to tell the story of an extraordinary crime to Ron Kobeleski (Dylan Haggerty), an unemployed TV cameraman. Walter begins to tell the chilling tale that he is the second gunman behind the grassy knoll that shot Kennedy. Ron disbelieves him at first, but becomes convinced when Walter shows him the shell casing of the bullet. Ron is more convinced when Walter takes him on a plane trip to Dealey Plaza and shows him the exact location behind the fence of the grassy knoll. We also see an X marked on the road where the fatal head shot occurred. But is Walter truly the second gunman, or is he a man seeking attention? On the pursuit for a sickly Marine named John Seymour who will provide proof, we see John laying on the hospital bed unable to move. He calls Walter a sick man who was once institutionalized. Could Seymour be covering up the facts or is it the truth?

"Interview with the Assassin" makes you ponder if such a man would ever give himself up, claiming to be something that would gain a lot of notoriety after 40 years. On the other hand, so many witnesses have been killed or died under mysterious circumstances that there are probably few people alive who could back up such a story. Would Walter be seen as a loon or would he be taken seriously by the media? Who knows. Director Neil Burger (in his directorial debut) certainly holds our interest without ever revealing too much. Like most good films, we have to arrive at our own conclusions in determining Walter's sanity, and thus Ron's as well.

Shot on digital video, which brings verisimilitude to the proceedings (as intended), "Interview with the Assassin" is often realistic and tightly controlled. Even implausible sequences (such as Walter meeting with the current President of the U.S.) are unnerving and nail-biting. The whole film is the equivalent of a docu-thriller, exercising the video medium and exploiting for all it is worth. But what makes the film truly work is Raymond Barry's performance as the detached, hard-nosed Walter. His every move and imposing physicality make us believe that this man could be an assassin, even if he may not have killed Kennedy. He keeps us guessing right until the end. Intensely compelling at a swift 85 minute running time, "Interview with the Assassin" is often believable and frightening. For all JFK conspiracy theorists out there, this film will lend further credibility to their cause. And just who was that second gunman?

A pissin', poopin' punk rocker

HATED (1994)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

For sheer exploitation and uneven shock value, "Hated" is one shockumentary to end all shockumentaries. It is beyond shock value, it is a repellent, disgusting foray into the life of a man who remains as enigmatic as Oskar Schindler.

G.G. Allin, who died in 1993 of a drug overdose, was not just any punk rock musician - he took the limits of a live performance beyond what almost any musician would ever dare or attempt on stage. G.G. would relieve himself on stage, eat his own feces, pummel his forehead with a microphone, insert bananas in his ass, batter and provoke the audience members, and in general cause havoc and sometimes actual riots (he also managed to sing some of his own songs during his violent outbursts). He would often be arrested for his obscene behavior at every performance, thus allowing him to state that the country is trying to get rid of good old rock n'roll.

G.G. explains his reasons for such extreme behavior, albeit rather ambiguous reasons. G.G. claims he is trying to bring back the danger in rock and roll. But is this not punk rock music? And since when does bodily fluids and punching your fans in the face constitute as anything more than sheer stupidity? And you thought Sid Vicious went too far! Is it no wonder that G.G. was arrested?

"Hated" has a few interviews with the people in G.G.'s life, including G.G.'s brother (who seems saner and is a member of the Murder Junkies band), his pals from high school, schoolteachers, former band members repulsed by his behavior, and a major fan who read about G.G's high-wire antics in an ad and said, "Yeah, this is cool. That is punk rock."

"Hated" succeeds in being shocking but there is relatively scant insight into the man. As a band member states, "Society has no place for G.G." If that is so, then how does G.G. feel about himself? He hates everybody but does he hate himself? Does someone have to hate themselves to perform outrageous acts of indecency? And what exactly does G.G. think he is accomplishing on stage? Is his feeling of a sick society reflected in the fact that he can punch one of his fans in the face and they keep coming back for more by standing up and cheering him on? Perhaps, but what is so rebellious about taking a dump and then eating it? Divine got there first in 1972 on celluloid, but so what? That we are all animals? I would have liked to have seen G.G. talk about his performance strategy and what he is trying to convey, if anything, through his music. All I understood was that G.G. was the ultimate shock rebel and likes to roam from city to city with a paper bag and the same pair of clothes, but like all artists whose sole intent is to shock, what is G.G. rebelling against? His only intent seems to be to provoke people, angering them and turning them against themselves. There is a segment showing an early performance where he provokes a woman and ends up hitting her.

Directed by Todd Phillips (who went on to make gross-out comedies like "The Hangover"), "Hated" is often compelling but it succeeds more as pure shock value than as an insightful, illuminating portrait of a madman on and off the stage.

Kevin is a MeanFella

HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK (1992)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Home Alone 2" is something of an anomaly - a highly contrived, sickeningly (and cartoonishly) violent sequel that has little of the charm of the box-office original. That in and of itself isn't anomalous - but the fact is some things do work in this sequel. It does have some laughs (and repeats certain gags from the original) but it is so dour and overcooked that it leaves one with a bad taste. That's the anomaly.

There is nothing that separates "Home Alone 2" from the original, including the change of setting. The problem is he is not home alone anymore, he is just simply lost in New York. Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) is the little tyke who is separated from his parents (John Heard, Catherine O'Hara) at the airport. The family is headed to Florida for Christmas yet Kevin inadvertently ends up on a flight to New York (I suppose such a contrived idea wouldn't work in this post-9/11 environment). So, for even more contrived reasons, Kevin encounters the two bumbling crooks from the original again (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) and foils each of their attempts to snatch him with elaborate, Rube Goldberg contraptions that no eight-year-old kid could ever devise.

Kevin stays at the Plaza Hotel and meets Donald Trump; a kind toy shop owner; a homeless woman known as the Pigeon Lady (Brenda Fricker); and a suspicious hotel clerk (Tim Curry). And as for getting lost in New York, well, Kevin seems to know his way around the Plaza Hotel, Carnegie Hall and Rockefeller Center since those are the only major New York locations we see in the entire film.

I first saw this film in 1992, and thought it was mildly entertaining but something nagged me about it. I realized after the screening that I did not feel comfortable watching it. When I saw it again, I knew it was the heavy cartoonish violence that turned me off. For a movie that promotes the goodwill of mankind around the holiday season, there is an awful lot of violence that will make you cringe. Kevin gives advice to the Pigeon Lady about the meaning of life, and then he throws a brick from the top of an apartment building and hits Daniel Stern on the head. Not once, not twice, but at least a few times. The movie gets off on excessive violence that surpasses the original and tries to sell you a Christmas homily as a catharsis - it is a convenient way for families who see this movie to make them forget Kevin's sadistic side. I don't know about you but I don't want to know what Kevin will be like when he enters his teen years.

AHHHHHH!

HOME ALONE (1990)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia 

(Review originally written in 2001) 

I still don't get how "Home Alone" became one of the biggest moneymakers in box-office history. That
little tyke, Kevin (Macaulay Culkin), somehow touched a nerve with the American public and with his
less-than-frustrating attempts to booby trap two thieves while stuck home alone. The movie never
appealed to me but it is still a harmless kid's movie where the kids champion over the adults - a theme
that Culkin repeated too many times before escaping into oblivion.

As the movie opens, we are introduced to Kevin who is obnoxious and wishes his family would disappear. It is Christmas time and hardly the appropriate thing to say to your mother (played by Catherine O'Hara). She tells Kevin to go the attic and sleep there. Meanwhile, the whole family sleep away downstairs, ready for their plane trip the next day to Paris. The next morning, they leave in vans sans Kevin who has overslept. Kevin awakens, walks around the house looking for his family and then delights in that his wish came true. He eats junk food like there is no tomorrow, watches television all day, orders pizza, goes grocery shopping, and so on. But trouble threatens this paradise as he discovers that two burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) are ready to steal valuables from his house. So Kevin actually manages to outwit and outmaneuver the burglars using enough booby traps to make Indiana Jones sweat.

"Home Alone" is directed by Chris Columbus and written by John Hughes, and one senses that the movie is a curiously uneasy mixture of family homilies and cartoonish violence. The movie wants to sell the idea that families do matter and Kevin learns this lesson from a mysterious neighbor who is named the "Snow Shovel Murderer" by the neighborhood kids. All of this is as thematically rich as a Lifetime movie but Hughes spends the second half of the film glorifying in some heavy violence, including the use of flame retardants on people's heads, nails used as weapons, refrigerators flung like box cartons, people falling and landing with Dolby-ized thuds, and so many examples of torture that I began to wonder what children are supposed to feel when they watch all this. Should they cheer Kevin on or should they feel repulsed by his actions? Of course, in the real world, Kevin would likely call the cops or 911 as most kids are trained to when confronted with danger in their own home. The world of this movie is a cartoon where an 8-year-old is omnipotent and can perform improbable stunts that would make Wilie E. Coyote blush.

I am not snickering at the movie because it is enjoyable enough overall and Culkin does wonders with his character of the all-powerful Kevin who cannot be outwitted. I also enjoyed Catherine O'Hara as the worrisome mother who flies back to Chicago and encounters a polka band leader (played by the late John Candy). Pesci and Stern make a great comic team and have some frighteningly funny moments. I am just not sure about Hughes's intentions with "Home Alone" when selling the idea of a unified, picture postcard family crossed with over-the-top violence. Think about it.