Rumor has it that the Weinstein’s want to split the double feature up and re-release them independently. Would this save the Grindhouse box office performance? Or did Trouble Maker Studios just go a little too far off the reservation? With apologies for my lateness, this is my review.
Bamf here rematerializing from the void..
I can remember reading an article years ago in Rolling Stone about how the band R.E.M. had a clause in their contract that made it so a percentage of their albums had to be made in vinyl. I believe Pearl Jam had a similar deal. Now while the quality of the audio reproduced on vinyl records is inferior to a digital remastering that can be done today – there is a certain charm that comes with those needle drag pops and clicks. Sure records are dated, impractical, and all together cumbersome. But when it’s your turn to step to the plate, don’t you want to use Roy Hobbes bat from The Natural? I feel that when Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino started hashing out the idea of Grindhouse, this is what was in the back of their minds. QT is constantly reminding folks of his love for 70s exploitation flicks, and Rodriguez is shaking up Hollywood by not only doing things cheaper and faster, but Trouble Maker Studios is also nowhere near Hollywood. Did they succeed in accomplishing their vision? Certainly. But by working so independently what you end up with in this case are moments of brilliance stifled by scenes of boredom.
I have mixed opinions on Grindhouse: the double feature containing Planet Terror and Death Proof. I expected that I was going to enjoy Tarantino’s DP more than PT yet by the end my feelings were the exact opposite. Death Proof has some wicked car chase scenes underlined by the fact that there is no CGI to be found. That in its self is refreshing, but also is a mute point when the dialogue and general story pacing lacks a fire to keep it interesting. Now, my lack of familiarity with the Grindhouse mythos may be why I do not wholly understand what I’m missing. I just get the sense that not nearly as much time was spent on DP as there was with PT from page to screen. All throughout Grindhouse the print is well worn; there are scratch marks, sound skips, and missing reels that really bring home the ambiance of what they sought out to create. But by the time you get to the last half of DP, it seems the post department forgot what they had done in the entire first two hours of show. In fact the grainy picture goes away, the speaker pops are gone and suddenly it seems like you are watching a BMW short, sans Madonna. In the end, I’m willing to bet that Death Proof got the short end of the stick on this one. And it shows in not only the editing, but also the script. Kurt Russell doesn’t really get his John Travolta revival (Pulp Fiction) and basically plays Snake Plissken meets Jack Burton. But his cries of mercy are funny enough.
Planet Terror was good fun. Cameos from the Trouble Maker universe are to be found everywhere. And though the credits show Rodriguez as the sole writer – lines that spewed forth from Dr. Dakota Block (Marley Shelton) absolutely drip with Tarantinos signature. Getting to see Michael Biehn do another hard-ass role a la Terminator was well received by this reviewer. And anytime Nicky Katt steps on screen he steals the show: Dazed and Confused, Boiler Room, hell even Sin City. Godspeed Nicky Katt. The star of the show is without a doubt Rose McGowan as Cherry, the one legged Go-Go dancer with aspirations of doing Stand-up comedy. It’s not the role she was born to play, but certainly the role she was meant to play. In saying that, you have to put it all in perspective. Saying McGowan is great in this could be compared to saying a hammerhead shark is more mobile in the Pacific Ocean then the Mohabi desert. All jest aside, she really does well in this. Playing it straight and sexy, she is your star. Rose wears red lipstick better then anyone in the past 20 years of cinema. And I include Jessica Rabbit in that comparison.
Now with the two films out of the way, we can get to what really entertains. The fake trailers. Machete, with a line like “They just f*ed with the wrong Mexican!” You cannot go wrong. Werewolf Women of the S.S., how salaciously shocking! I loved it. I wish they had played with this idea just a little bit more, instead of giving two different features highlighted by fun no-movies. They could have stuck with the short content and given an amalgam of scenes from different stories that played true to the Grindhouse theme, with overtly sexualized scenes and deviantly bloody murders that would play right to the audience’s wants. What were the intentions of the filmmakers? Did they set out to prove that an interesting and engaging story can be told while still staying true to the model of the Grindhouse? Or rather, did they set out to recreate the visceral experience of sitting in a late night picture house with sticky floors and squeaky seats, creating an ambience that would send the audience back to an experience since forgotten? Grindhouses have an interesting story that the 20 something crowd is not that all familiar with. The GH would show “exploitation” films that catered to more sensationalistic aspects of a story like sex and violence in an effort to bring cash in off the masses for uncomfortable scenes rather then enriching dialogue. These films would tour the houses in regional markets since budgets did not include the latitude for such extravagancies as 3000 prints that the major films of today enjoy. Because of this, a GH film would become well worn over its tenure and even would have entire reels missing as projectionist would steal their favorite parts out of the movie, typically the sex scenes that were on the borderline of pornography in a day that did not enjoy the accessibility of the net. There are parts of this Grindhouse I really loved; with most other parts I struggled to stay awake. This is why the film will not be commercially successful, but I’m sure will find a welcome audience on DVD. That in its self is a shame because this really should be seen only with your close mates, and a rambunctious midnight crowd.
Side notes:
I was more entertained by the Pirates of the Caribbean 3 trailer then I was during the entirety of Pirates 2, so that’s positive.
While walking into the most regal of all theaters I have visited, the Irvine Spectrum, I approached a man holding a sign that read “Preview Screening”. After short introductions I received two tix to an advance screening of Camille, an action flick starring James Franco and Sienna Miller. As it turns out, the film had nothing to do with any sort of action, besides my bile duct, and I can liken the whole experience to having my brain sodomized. But more on that, when the film is finally released…if ever.