Hey folks, Harry here with Finger Jones' first AICN report, and he introduces us to a new film that he saw up at Sundance which has me completely intrigued. NOON BLUE APPLES. First, the movie must be suppressed, because it touches upon a sacred bond of all media. We are all absolutely behind HAPPY DAYS. That may be ludicrous, but HAPPY DAYS is pure... there is no conspiracy surrounding HAPPY DAYS, that's absurd, ludicrous. Certainly I'm not overstating things when I say to you, that you should watch HAPPY DAYS each and everyday... it is simply a happy thing to do. Message? No no no, there are no messages, just a simple love of life and happiness. Be Happy, is that so much really, is that so hard. Damn it, ok ok, there really is a conspiracy... I'm gonna blow the lid off it right now. Yes, Right now... I'm tired of the silence. What all you fools, all you suckers don't know... No... No... Opie, stay away.... BANG! BANG! BANG! Aaaaaaaaackkkk!!!
Hey Harry,
First time caller; long time listener. Well I've had the opportunity to
take in some of the films at Sundance this year and because I have nothing
better to do and because you have nothing better to do I thought I'd give
you some of my impressions.
Noon Blue Apples
When director Jay Lee stood up before the premiere of his film Noon Blue Apples, he announced to the audience that they were about to be taken on a journey which would ultimately force everyone to question their most basic beliefs. Well, for me -- beliefs still intact. Yet, I admire the pomposity. Any director who makes such brazen claims is sure to create something interesting, even if it's only interesting in its grandiose failure. Remarkably, Lee doesn't completely fail. In Noon Blue Apples, Lee has created a film which devours certainties and regurgitates question after question. The film has a certain undeniable energy, but it's an energy of ideas rather than action.
Eris (Lauren Fox) is a Sociology student who has been assigned to write a paper on horror and its affects on society -- how it creates phobias -- how it creates crazy people. Quickly she focuses her attention on conspiracy theories. As research, Eris attends meetings of paranoid personalities and listens to them rant on about the world's unknowing subjugation to the will of a governing few. She sits with "lunatics" and listens to their beliefs in the evilness of Scott Baio and the Satanic message that is "Happy Days" (who doesn't believe in this?). More fruitful, however, are her visits to a small bookstore, hidden away in a nook of New York, where she is able to find a plethora of conspiracy materials and converse with the store's seemingly all-knowing staff. They give her research direction and point her to a cryptic passage of an ancient text which speaks of "Noon Blue Apples." What does this mean? What's its significance to a possible global conspiracy? Eris digs deeper and deeper and the bulk of the film details her slow voyage to discovery (and insanity?) as she learns about Egyptian pyramid building, little African villages knowing about binary star systems, the Holy Grail, templars, religious art, dollar bills, Illuminata, Jesus's children, and, of course, as previously stated, Chachi. There's charts, maps, lots of copying, geometry, overhead projectors, the sketching of isosceles triangles, connecting the dots on paintings, and a whole ton load of deep, deep reading. Becoming completely entwined with her project/obsession Eris begins to unravel. Her studies prove that there really is a conspiracy and people are after her . . . er . . . wait . . . maybe there really isn't a conspiracy and nobody's after her. What's real? Are her bookstore friends just playing an elaborate joke? Are they freedom fighters dedicated to destroying the current regime? Could it be that they are all actually fighting for the conspirators? Who knows? I do. Oh wait . . . no I don't. Or do I?
This film is complete fun for all the same reasons why conjectural chit-chat about global conspiracy is always so entertaining: it puts its audience in the intellectually lofty position of "I know something you don't know." It walks the viewer through biblical oddities, historical artifacts, and cultural knick-knacks and connects each into an elaborate web which ultimately culminates into something that is much more interesting than useful. Does it suggest a conspiracy? Maybe. But a negative response to that question doesn't make the film any less fascinating. It is not unreasonable to compare the film to Pi. Both deal with "fringe" science and both contain protagonists who unravel in a world that becomes more and more claustrophobic. Lee doesn't have the visual virtuosity of Aronofsky but like Aronofsky he does have a flare for disorientation and disintegration. His world is ambiguous and this ambiguity tears Eris and the film itself apart.
While all of the performances of the principles actors are good to very good, there are certain creeks in the screenplay. The film isn't nearly as funny as it tries to be. In fact, if you laugh twice you'll double my laugh output. A more serious problem though is the film's length. Two hours on the secrets of the Temple of Solomon does become exasperating. I know Lee wants to tell us about everything he's learned from his conspiracy books, and it is all interesting, but, come on . . . he's got to tighten this puppy up.
Ultimately, though the smarty-pants scholarship is what makes the film fun,
albeit long. Because of this, more so than most of the other films at
Sundance this year, Noon Blue Apples feels like a personal passion. It's
admirable in a labor-of-love sort of way.
American Standoff
CEOs act like S.O.B.s, workers strike, and friends of Barbara Kopple are
there. This time instead of coal or wiener dogs it's freight trucks, and
instead of intimate glimpses of political machinations it's broad and
undetailed glances of numerous strike fronts. This isn't a bad movie but
it's too unfocused. The filmmakers spread out the story too thin and left
the important details undeveloped. They leave seemingly important variables
dangling. Standoff begins as the story of Jimmy Hoffa's son who has risen
to be the president of the teamsters union. Then it narrows in on an
important trucking strike that is taking place in various cities and slowly
tells the personal stories of a few who are on the picket lines. But the
attachment to these people and those who are making the decision to strike
is vague. There's talk of someone buying and restructuring the trucking
company, there's talk of a lawsuit, and there's talk of factions wanting to
oust Hoffa from his position. Yet it's never very clear how these things
are specifically important. What do they specifically mean individually and
what do they specifically mean to the striking workers? Overall, this film
feels like an ugly step child to Barbara Kopple's other works Harlan County,
USA and American Dream.
Seniorita Extraviada
Seniorita Extraviada has similar problems. I don't know how they did it, but these filmmakers somehow made the story of the disappearance and death of over 200 woman in Mexico seem listless and boring. More than any other film that I've seen at Sundance and perhaps more than any other movie I've ever seen, this film should make its audience as mad as hell. This movie should make us want to create some sort of posse to solve this horrible problem in Mexico, but frankly, I don't know where to direct my anger. This movie is not The Thin Blue Line but it probably should be. The story is by its very nature a mystery but there is never any progress in the film. The story basically ends after the premise is explained -- women are dying, the cops (possible culprits?) can't (won't?) do anything about it. That's it. No intrepid probing. No intense investigation. Everything is superficial digging. There are many characters in the film -- the cops, the DA's office, drug traffickers -- but none of them are scrutinized enough to warrant outrage.
(And to add to the ad nauseam reviews of the Cross/Odenkirk/Miller film)
Run Ronnie Run
The problem with the Sundance Film Festival is that every showing is completely packed with people that want to have a good time. You'd think that this would be a good thing but sometimes it makes it difficult to know if a movie is really good or merely mediocre. There is a mob mentality that makes everyone laugh at what are mostly mediocre jokes. Because of this, there are so many movies that are celebrated at Sundance but never have a life outside of the festival. "Mr. Show" fans will be glad to hear that "Run Ronnie Run" is not one of these second- rate films that can only play in huge packed theaters to film goers who crave entertainment. The jokes really are funny. The film really is one of the best comedies I've seen in a long time (this may not be such a bold statement since most comedies these days are outright horrible). David Cross is Ronnie Dobbs, a white trash hooligan that gets arrested every week on a show called "Fuzz." Bob Odenkirk plays his English infomercial character from "Mr. Show" and elsewhere, but this time the character is completely unsuccessful with every gadget he devises. In order to make it big, Odenkirk has an idea to give Ronnie Dobbs his own show where he will be arrested in a different city every week. This show quickly becomes number one, blowing past the popular "Survivor"-like show entitled "Elimination." (This is a great parody of "Survivor" as it takes the reality show to a brutal next level.) Ronnie then basks in the life of a rich celebrity for a while but ultimately longs for his old life in the trailer parks. The story isn't very original but it doesn't really matter because the jokes are so good. Actually, I could give you more details about the story but I don't want to ruin the surprises that await. I'll just say that there are a lot, A LOT of celebrity cameos and I can't think of one that isn't hilarious. (I particularly liked Mandy Patinkin and Jack Black) There is also an appearance by "3 Times 1 Minus 1," who have a couple of music videos in the film, and another "Mr. Show" band, "Titannica," has a song on the soundtrack. Be prepared, there are many a good musical scene in the film. Most of the "Mr. Show" alumni make an appearance in the film (the two other lead actors from the series (I'm too much of a poser neophyte to remember their names but its the two that aren't Tom Kenny) don't appear, I don't think), and everyone has pretty funny stuff to do.
The biggest problems with the movie, though, will only come to those who are stalwart fans of "Mr Show." There are only two tangential scenes to the film (the "Elimination" television show scene and a scene about a gay conspiracy) so if you go in thinking that there will be "Mr. Show"-like segues then you may be disappointed. Also there are only one or two extra characters played by Bob and Dave. I was kind of hoping for an appearance by Senator Tankerbell or a reference to Famous Mortimer. I was kind of hoping that the comedic talents of Bob and Dave would be spread throughout the film. Perhaps, the biggest difference between this film and "Mr. Show" is the duration between jokes. "Mr. Show" always seems to have a breakneck pace. There's a laugh every couple seconds. "Run Ronnie Run," being a full length movie, has to spend time developing the story so the laugh-per-second average is understandably much lower (Isn't that one of the best parts of "Mr. Show," the fact that the sketches never linger or get boring?) Altogether, however, this is a great movie. I'll easily see it again when it comes out, if for no other reason than to see the crazy crimes that Ronnie commits, the creative ways in which he tries to avoid the police, and the hilarious justifications he makes to escape punishment.
I'll bother everyone again with more reviews of the worst Sundance film I've seen (Love the Hard Way) and the best (One Hour Photo) and everything in between later.
Bye-Bye Big Guy
Finger Jones
