By my count, I've got a backlog of 14 entries that I have to get to, and that is not counting any Prick Tunes entries. I've been a busy boy and honestly have been a bit overwhelmed lately. I hope to put that in the past, as I'm coming down the home-stretch on a creative project that I hope to complete later today. I also intend to have the last of the Wordy Old Men on Downton Abbey pieces up on its scheduled Wednesday slot. In the meantime, here is the first of more than three weeks of material that I've got in store for y'all.
For those not aware, Klown is the feature-length filmic continuation of a six-season sitcom of the roughly same name, Klovn. Klovn (the 'v' spelling will be used for differentiating between the series and the movie, which will be spelled with the 'w') is, at the cost of being reductive to what may be a fault, the Danish Curb Your Enthusiasm. The concept is a show inspired by real situations, following two comedians, Frank Hvam and Casper Christensen, playing versions of themselves and featuring their friends, celebrities and otherwise. The score is also shockingly similar to that of the Larry David brainchild. That isn't to say that the show is or isn't good on its own merits--I haven't seen enough of it to evaluate it--but more to give you a frame of reference.
The easiest way to describe watching Klown would be to use the following analogy: Seeing Klown (for 95% of us) is like seeing Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day without having seen the series; it would be funny, you might feel the urge to seek out the series, but much of the character-driven humor would not carry the same punch it would if you had seen the film. The primary difference, of course, is that in the TPB analogy we're talking about a Canadian export; Klown is Danish, and the Danes are much more fucked up than our mild-mannered Neighbors to the North. Klown is accordingly more self-destructive, more politically incorrect foul, more drug-fueled, more sexualized, and more extreme while maintaining roughly the same pace. After all, what good is all of the social awkwardness without ample time given to squirm?
Given the other films that Drafthouse Films has distributed domestically (Four Lions, Bullhead, The FP), one can probably imagine roughly what this film would be like. Both Four Lions and Bullhead were not films with the typical viewpoint filmgoers are used to seeing. Klown is no different. It surely is not everybody's cup of tea, but I laughed heartily often and wasn't put-off completely by its indebtedness to one of my favorite shows ever, Curb Your Enthusiasm. Director Mikkel Nørgaard and writers/stars Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam certainly did enough with Klown that it made me want to go back and check out the series, and it certainly made me wonder what happened to Iben Hjejle's stateside film career.
Obviously, venturing away from the construct that made Brüno and Borat as successful as they were is a risky gambit for Sacha Baron Cohen, especially considering how poorly (as co-writer/star) his first foray into the realm of scripted comedy went in the form of Ali G Indahouse. While The Dictator is certainly uneven at times, it is certainly a more successful film than his first scripted flick. Some of the film's success could likely be owing to the extra creative talent that was brought in on this project. Larry Charles, director of Cohen's last two star-vehicles, uses his connections to Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld to enlist the talents of Alec Berg, David Mandel, and Jeff Schaffer, all of whose curricula vitae include writing and/or producer credits on both programs (Schaffer is also the co-creator of The League). While The Dictator is far from a tautly told story, the comedic chops of those writers--and obviously Cohen's as well--shine brightly.
Complaints of The Dictator's unevenness are certainly not without merit. Despite its brief 83-minute run time, there are plenty of plot points that hardly seem vital. There are many aspects of the story pertaining to Admiral General Hafiz Aladeen's relationship with activist and co-op manager Zoey (Anna Faris) that aren't especially effective. Obviously the element of the love interest needs to be present to give Aladeen cause to change, but it certainly isn't where the film thrives, despite the comedic talents of Mrs. Chris Pratt. If anything, the film is most successful when the wonderfully funny Jason Mantzoukas is on screen. As anyone who is familiar with his work is fully aware, Mantzoukas is a comic genius, and his presence as the sensible foil to Aladeen's pervasive idiocy is a large part of what makes the film work. Obviously, Sacha Baron Cohen is the star of the show, and as one would expect, he fully commits to the part of hateful ignoramus dictator, but Aladeen doesn't come off nearly as funny without Nadal. His Crocs rant alone is worth the price of admission, at least if you hate Crocs as much as I do.
More importantly, the film is quite funny. There is plenty of incisive satire to accompany the absurd and offensive (I mean this in a positive way) brand of humor on display. While the scenes at the co-op might not all work, the setting does certainly provide an environment rife with opportunities to poke fun at the over-sensitive and impractical left. Every time Aladeen crosses paths with any ethnic group, the offensive and ignorant comments that come out of his mouth are shocking and hilarious. And that is exactly what one with any familiarity with Cohen's past works should expect. The Dictator gives the viewer mostly what is expected. This is neither exceedingly good nor bad. It delivers what one would hope it would while never exactly surprising at any turn.
It is what it is, but at least The Dictator doesn't pull any punches.
My apologies for not quite getting around to the Shutter Island film review as I had intended. I was initially planning on seeing it Thursday night at an advance screening, but life got in the way. I didn't end up seeing it until Sunday, and I've been working on another gargantuan column for Sports Grumblings about the teams that ESPN forgot exists. I fully anticipate getting to that write-up as soon as Thursday night, after which I have a queue of things I need to cover ranging from another Tim O'Brien-related Reading Rainbow entry, the newest season of "Friday Night Lights," and my first foray into the works of Jonathan Lethem.
Since I've not got the time at present to complete those tasks and more (namely, more Munch My Benson content), I did feel I should stop in and drop some ka-nowledge on y'all. To longtime readers this will come as no surprise, but your faithful Inconsiderate Prick is what could mildly be called a "big fan" of Ben Affleck. In recent years, he has made good on my consistent defense of him through trying times by being fantastic in such films as Hollywoodland, State of Play, and Extract, while also stepping behind the lens (figuratively) to give us the superb Dennis Lehane adaptation, Gone Baby Gone.
Coming out later this year (tentative release date of September 10th), we will get to see Affleck's directorial follow-up to Gone Baby Gone: The Town, another crime drama which will feature Blake Lively, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Chris Cooper, and the inimitable Ben Affleck.
Now while nothing about the above (and it's adapted from a Chuck Hogan novel, 2004 Hammett Prize Winner Prince of Thieves) doesn't get my hopes up insanely, what is perhaps even better news is that the infamous wife-trading* story of former Yankees' teammates Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich, The Trade. More details on the film can be found here and here, but the script was written by former "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" scribe Dave Mandel.
*I hesitate to use the term wife-swap as theirs was a full-on trading of each others wives, on a permanent basis.
The first time I heard this story, which I think I first read about here, I thought, "Holy shit is that weird." When you think that about a true story, you can't help but think it would make a sweet-ass movie. Seriously, read that last link, and tell me you don't want a Red Sox fan making (and allegedly co-starring in it with friend, Matt Damon) that film?
Thank you, Benjamin Geza Affleck, for rewarding my loyalty with your greatness.
All right, this season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" has been absolutely outstanding. The play between Larry and Jerry Seinfeld has been great. All of the reunion stuff has been great.
But on the newest episode, "Officer Krupke," there was a special gift. I'm not going to give anything away, but--out of the blue--a special guest entered the "Curb" universe tonight. No, I'm not talking about former Duke of Hazzard and troubadour John Schneider. It's not the beautiful Elisabeth Shue, either.
No, in the first scene in Banana Republic, as the clientele are forced to evacuate the store, a certain bearded gentleman makes his way through the frame.
