A Mr. Stealth slipped the following test screening review out of the LA area and into the hands of Father Geek at great risk to his livelyhood. Not only do we have his detailed report on the flick, but he threw in a bonus at the end. A rare test screening form, a real treat for those of you who have never run across a true test screening.
Although I've lurked stealthily around the shadows of LA for many years now and been associated with the movie biz for a long while, I've yet to attend any of the fabled test screenings that have made your site so famous. While I've had the opportunity to go, I've chosen not to participate because I find the idea of a movie test screening laughable at best and repugnant at worst. But when I got the chance last week to see a new political thriller called Arlington Road last week, I caved in.
I'm a huge fan of movies like French Connection, Day of the Jackal and Capricorn One. Conspiracy and political intrigue are always of interest to me, and a friend of mine who was working on the trailer for Arlington Road told me it was in that genre and recommended I break my longstanding policy and attend this test screening. I wish I hadn't. But before my review, a word about the theater and the cattle-sorting process of the screening itself.
The screening was in Chatsworth, Calif., in the San Fernando Valley, at the Winnetka 20, a Pacific Theater Chain multi-plex boasting three (count 'em, three!) 70-foot screens, and all stadium seating. I generally despise multi-plex theaters because they killed the great old screens we all love (this one replaced the old Winnetka 6, a six-screen drive-in lot owned by Pacific). But if we must suffer these huge theaters, they should all be as nice as this newly constructed one. Huge seats with plenty of legroom, lift-up armrests, stadium seating, all the modern ammenities. Plus, it's easy to sneak into 19 other shows without paying!
Anyway, my co-conspirator and I got to the screening a little late and were among the last to be herded in by the National Research Group (NRG) goons. These folks take their jobs way too seriously -- they act like they're seating you for the last supper -- and they're generally pretty rude and condescending to the people who are spending several hours of their day to view and comment on in-progress movies. These NRG dorks cracked us up with their indecisive, uninformed milling about as they tried to cram as many "desirable demographics" as possible into the theater.
The movie in question, Arlington Road, stars Tim Robbins, Jeff Bridges and Joan Cusack in what is supposed to be a suspenseful thriller about domestic terrorism and political intrigue. Bridges plays a college professor who teaches a history course on political extremism whose wife, an FBI agent, is killed in a botched raid on a rural gun dealer's home. Robbins and Cusack play his suspicious acting neighbors in suburban D.C. who may not be the plain old folks they appear to be.
Ordinarily, I'd worry about giving away too much of the plot, but my friend who worked on the trailer has told me that like too many trailers today, it pretty much ruins the surprises in the movie anyway, so I'll continue with the caveat that I might spoil some plot points, although no astute viewer would be surprised by any of the alleged "twists" I might divulge.
The print I saw was close to finished, with only a few roughly edited scenes to be smoothed out and temporary music to be replaced, so I don't feel too guilty about critiquing a work-in-progress since it seemed mostly wrapped up.
This movie suffers from a number of problems. It's slow and dull for the first half, and is poorly paced although a bit more action-oriented through the second half. What passes for action sequences are tepid and uninspired (no French Connection style car chases, only a couple of weak driving sequences that don't even count as "chases"). What passes for suspense is ham-fisted and telegraphed long beforehand. The story lacks the kind of internal logic and credibility that its literate, high-brow audience is likely to demand, and the characters don't behave in any normal manner, considering their aften bizarre circumstances.
Much of the (alleged) suspense of the film centers around the relationship between the widowed professor played by Bridges and his nice-at-first-glance-but-increasingly-sinister neighbors played by Robbins and Cusack. In this respect, Arlington Road is a silly mix of Three Days of the Condor meets The Burbs, without the brainy drama of the former or the campy creepiness of the latter. Although we seem to be expected to seriously doubt whether Robbins and Cusack are the bad guys Bridges suspects them to be, it's obvious from the get-go they are, and Bridges' character and his brainy co-ed girlfriend come off as beyond stupid as they remain in the dark despite the obvious clues that any 12-year-old would pick up on. This may be to build suspense for the audience, but it has the opposite effect of making us see the characters as idiotic and the plot as annoyingly transparent relative to its clueless protaganists.
Only Cusack turns in a memorable performance, giving a delightfully daffy turn as the right-wing idealogue housewife from hell. Bridges is uninspired and Robbins plays his character without any sympathy or humanity except for one scene -- a silly, wordy, and preachy confrontation with Bridges -- that feels awkward, as if inserted as an afterthought to try and give the character some badly needed depth. I loved Robbins in Bob Roberts and thought he was great at skewering the Pat Robertson-type zealots of the political world, but as he sort of attempts to do the same with Arlington Road, albeit in a dramatic context, he's humorless and one-dimensional, and ultimately unsuccessful in his pitiless portrayal.
But perhaps of greatest interest, and the best part of the entire film, was its completely non-Hollywood ending. Again, I'm not looking to spoil it for folks who want to see this flick, but the ending is by no means the typical, wrapped-up-with-a-bow, served-on-a-platter, lame cliche that we see all too often. I give the folks behind Arlington Road credit for having the guts to end their movie the way they did, and will be anxious to see if the original climax and denouement survives the hell of focus group scrutiny. (No kidding, as the lights came up, I heard one woman mumble, "I don't like the ending at all.")
I did very much want to like Arlington Road, but ultimately can't recommend the test version I saw, as I feel it has several major strikes against it, most notably bad writing from the get-go, and I don't think any amount of pick-up shots, music-tweaking or last-minute editing are likely to solve that problem. The lesson I took away from this screening was that if you're going to make a political thirller -- the kind of film almost always aimed at a literate, discerning audience -- you need to have your script in tip-top shape before you start shooting, or the only thing you're shooting is your own foot.
Thanks for the chance to share my views, Harry, and bless you for being the pied piper of populist film geekery. As an added bonus, and something I haven't seen any of your spies do before, I'm including at the end of this dispatch the text of the NRG questionaire. It has no real value as far as insight into Arlington Road, but I do think it will be fun for your readers to see what kind of questions (and answers) shape the films they see, as these screenings affect everything from major re-shooting efforts to subtle marketing decisions.
That's all for now, as I must return to the faceless, nameless corridors of power from which I watch and rule.
-Mr. Stealth
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NRG Test Screening questions asked of the audience following Arlington Road. The questionnaire form was a single sheet of 8 1/2 by 11 card stock, printed on two sides, with a small "miniature golf" sized pencil attached.
Please take a moment to let us know how you feel about the movie you just saw.
1. What was your reaciton to the movie overall? [mark one with an "X"]
Excellent _
Very Good _
Good _
Fair _
Poor
2. Would you recommend this movie to your friends? _
Yes, definitely _
Yes, probably _
no, probably not _
no, definitely not
3. If you did not rate the movie "excellent" in question 1, what kept you from rating it excellent? [Two lines to write in answer]
4. If you indicated in question 2 that you would not recommend this movie to your friends, what is it about the movie that most makes you hesitate in recommending it to your friends? [Two lines to write in answer]
5. What would you tell your friends about this movie? Not just whether you liked it or not, but how would you describe it to them? (Please be as complete as possible.) [Two lines to write in answer]
6. Please list scenes you liked most and liked least, if any. (Please be as specific as possible.) [Four blanks each under "Scenes Liked Most" and "Scenes Liked Least" headings.]
7. How would you rate each of the following performances and elements of the movie? Please mark one answer for each performance and element.) [Blanks next to each element to rank as either Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair or Poor.] -
Michael Faraday, played by Jeff Bridges -
Oliver Lang, played by Tim Robbins -
Cheryl Lang, played by Joan Cusack -
Brooke Wolfe, played by Hope Davies -
the action -
the drama
-the ending -
the suspense -
the story -
the settings -
the pace -
the music
8. What are your feelings about the wayt he movie ended. (Please by as specific as possible.) [Three lines to write in answer.]
9. What, if anything, did you find confusing about the movie that was not cleared up by the end? (Please be as specific as possible.) [Three lines to write in answer.]
10. If you felt the movie moved too slowly, what parts of the movie felt slow to you? (Please be as specific as possible.) [Two lines to write in answer.]
11. Which of the following words or phrases best describe the movie? (Mark as many as apply)
_entertaining
_boring/dull
_action-packed
_too predictable
_has a good story
_different/original
12. Which of the following movies have you seen in a theater? (Mark as many as apply)
_Clear & Present Danger
_The Hunt for Red October
_In the Line of Fire
_Conspiracy Theory
_Patriot Games
_Air Force One
_The Pelican Brief
13. Please indicate your gender: _Male _Female
14. Please indicate your age:
15. Please indicate the last grade of school you completed:
16. What is your ethnic background?
17. How many times have you been to the movies at a theater or drive-in during the past two months?
Thank you. Please give the completed questionnaire to the people collecting them at the exist aisles and at the doors.
