all movies. no mercy.

all movies. no mercy.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

A Sorry "State"

     Last night I went to downtown Denver to see the unveiling of Kevin Smith's new film, Red State, which he is touring around the country until the film's wide release in October.  This isn't him at the Denver event yesterday (I didn't bring a camera), but trust me, he was dressed this exact same way.  A Jersey and Jorts.  That's how this guy rolls.

 
     I had been anticipating seeing this movie ever since I saw the teaser for it about 7 months ago.  It looked like a decent horror/suspense/drama.  So I was more than happy to pony up the dough to see it at a theater for the first time, even if it meant having to hear Kevin Smith talk about himself for and hour and a half afterward.  
     Red State is a movie about three boys that respond to a "casual sex" ad placed by an older woman, and after heading into the woods for a liaison, find a much more dangerous fate than catching a number of STDs from a stranger. They are trapped and held captive by a radical religious cult led by the infamous Cooper family, who directly mimic the real-life Phelps family of Topeka Kansas, leaders of the outrageous Westboro Baptist Church.  In the story, the Coopers, like the Phelps, are most known in the area for picketing the funerals of homosexuals, and speaking out against any Americans that defend them. This analogy of the Phelps family as the Coopers family in the story was not even attempted to be anything less than absolutely obvious.  That's where this film begins it's slow spiral into a movie that is great in the middle, but sucks at the beginning and the end.  
     I had heard over and over again that "this was not a Kevin Smith type movie".  That is actually what drew me to it, because, let's face it, Clerks has not aged well, and looking back, it can be appreciated, but is not the greatest movie ever made.  The problem is, this IS a Kevin Smith movie.  Kevin Smith is very blatantly against the real-life Phelps family (many American should be and are) but the way he writes the Coopers family in the film suffers for it.  You can stand on one side of the fence with a film and make a social commentary - but don't sit in the mud and completely saturate yourself with it.  It comes off poorly in a film, and Red State was no exception. 


     Despite the great story idea, terrific acting (special nod to Michael Parks), and eerie, superb sound editing, Kevin Smith directed and wrote this script apparently for an audience that thinks in black and white.  Everyone is either all good, or all bad.  That tends to piss me off.  Grey area and moral ambiguity are good in film, because it allows debate and discussion, which you would think Kevin Smith would enjoy.  This over-obvious writing of "telling", not "showing", is condescending to the audience, and doesn't allow them to think for themselves and make their own judgments on if they like or dislike a character; if they root for someone or hate them.  These kind of reactions are why films are made.  
     Despite the brown-nosing annoying audience of fan-boys at this event that apparently love Kevin Smith more than life itself, the movie, for me, was still worth the viewing.  It's just disappointing to see a couple one-liners dilute would could have been a very gritty, in-depth film.  Sorry Kevin, but it looks like the black and white of Clerks rubbed off on you a little too much.        

3 comments:

  1. Sorry you were kinda disappointed :-( I guess I won't be racing to the theater in October like I thought I was.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Are you glad you went? Sounds like an interesting movie that just falls a bit short.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, very glad I went. The Q and A panel afterwards fell a bit short too, but overall the experience was worth it. I would recommend renting it on DVD next year, just because of some great performances.

    ReplyDelete