Gummo (1997)
Tummler and Solomon supply dead cats to a grocer who then sells them to a local restaurant. When a rival poaches their cats, they break into his house, discover his catatonic grandmother, and turn off her life support.
This film about the people director Havey Korrine grew up with in Nashville is a series of short, aimless vignettes including a long bath in brown water, two skinheads discussing their philosophies, satanic rituals, a drunken man inexplicably wrestling a chair, and copious violence directed towards animals.
Despite its focus on the bizarre, there’s an air of authenticity to the movie which makes it difficult to ignore. Filmed on location, many of the homes used for filming were overrun with cockroaches, and most of the actors were locals cajoled by Korrine into joining his production. He discovered the star of the film, Nick Sutton (Tummler), while watching an episode of The Sally Jesse Raphael Show about children sniffing paint.
One of the film’s highlights is Almeda Riddle’s haunting version of the folk song “My Little Rooster.”
This is not a good movie, but it serves a purpose as a cautionary tale about the effects of poverty and cultural insulation and a reminder the world is a lot more disturbing than we allow ourselves to believe.
Clean, Shaven (1993)
Peter Winter is released from a mental institution and searches for his daughter. When a young girl is murdered, Peter is a convenient suspect because of his past institutionalization, so the police begin a massive manhunt to bring him to justice with tragic consequences, although the movie never makes it clear if he actually committed the crime.
It’s a noble attempt to bring the experiences of schizophrenia to the screen, but because we never identify with Peter we never invest in his story. The Three Faces of Eve (1957) and A Beautiful Mind (2001) are a few of the many better movies dealing with mental illness.
Party Central (2014)
The characters from Monsters University (2013) throw a frat party. The five minutes of silly sight gags is as entertaining as any portion of the film.
Muppets Most Wanted (2014)
Constantine, an evil dopleganger for Kermit the Frog, sends his lackey, Dominic Badguy (Rickey Gervais), to convince The Muppets to embark on a European tour as a cover to steal the Crown Jewels.
This film is not quite as fun as its 2011 predecessor. The plot seems like a retread of The Great Muppet Caper (1981), and some of the jokes are a little forced, but the songs are fantastic.
Bret McKenzie (half of Flight of the Conchords) returns to write the songs. I doubt he’ll win another Oscar because none of these songs are as good as “Man or Muppet,” but “We’re Doing a Sequel,” is a funny song about the pitfalls of sequels; “I’m Number One,” is a delightful duet between Ricky Gervais and Kermit; and Tina Fey’s big musical number, “The Big House” is a rising tribute to tribute to MGM musicals.
Ray Liotta is very funny playing against his popular image as a tough guy. “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, Henry Hill, and Big Papa, the dancing prisoner at Gulag 38B, is an impressive resume.
Jemaine Clement (the other half of Flight of the Conchords) is great as Prison King, an over zealous, wannabe cabaret singer in the gulag.
The only non-Muppet star I didn’t care for was Ty Burrell. His French accent was derivative, and the “French are lazy” jokes are a little lazy themselves.
In previous Muppet films, Gonzo would have played the role Walter played in this film, but otherwise the screenwriters tried to include as many of the old school Muppets as they could, including a healthy dose of Statler and Waldorf, which is always welcome.
It’s not sophisticated, but this isn’t a surprise. It’s a fun movie, thanks to several clever cameos and Bret McKenzie, the clear MVP of the current iteration of the Muppets. When they’re singing, the movie excels, when they’re not it’s an average Muppet film.