August 02, 2004

A Tale of Two Movies

When one goes to a movie they expect to be entertained or emotionally moved. A movie like Napoleon Dynamite is full of ironic even post-modern teen comedy cracks yet possess a level of intelligence missing from the failed "critically acclaimed" The Manchurian Candidate.

Napoleon Dynamite is about an Idaho high school student who's appearance and demeanor best visualize the Platonic ideal of geek more than any other movie I've ever seen. He's socially awkward, wears big goofy eyeglasses, and walks around in moon boots.

Despite being the most extreme dork in movie history he's more comfortable in his own skin than any other character in the movie. His older brother spends his days plugged into chatrooms yapping with his cyber-girlfriend. When she comes to Idaho to visit she transforms him into Eminem. Napoleon's uncle Rico can't get his mind away from high school football memories. Even Napoleon's grandmother tries to recapture her youth by motoring around sand dunes. Napoleon just chugs along asking a popular girl to the dance and helping his friend Pedro run for student body president. He doesn't try to live up to the expectations of others or relive a past that didn't exist. He's simply a good friend. In Napoleon Dynamite we have a movie that is touching, but not sentimental. Plus, it's incredibly funny.

The Manchurian Candidate had multiple purposes. One was to be an entertaining psychological thriller. Another was to make a political point: global corporations that profit on war are the greatest threat to the world today. It failed at both.

The general plot should be great for a movie: a candidate for Vice President is brainwashed by bad guys. The original had the candidate under the control of Communists. The new version has him under the control of a corporation with ties to government leaders across the globe. The psychological element comes in when Denzel Washington's character, also brainwashed, deals with the effects of the mental procedure. A couple of times director Jonathan Demme creates a surreal scene when dream collides with reality, but they're too sporadic. Only the great acting by Washington makes you believe that his character is losing his grip with reality. Washington's work makes up for Meryl Streep's over-the-top Hillary Clinton on steroids performance.

Then there's the whole ridiculous convoluted plot. For a few hours the audience is to believe a corporation has the power, ability, and to kidnap a U.S. army patrol in a war zone, brainwash them, then let them go all to get their man into the White House. Let's suppose Manchurian Global could do all this. Wouldn't it be easier to brainwash the current President rather than go through an elaborate plan that would take 13 years to complete? The problem with any conspiracy is the potential of someone talking. Thus the Shriners and Free Masons aren't behind the scenes controlling the world.

Which brings us to the political element of the movie. Demme actually believes war-profiting corporations are more of a threat than Islamist terrorists. I wonder if he believes Halliburton or the Carlyle Group were the ones actually behind the Sep. 11 attacks? He can disagree with President Bush all he wants on how to fight the Islamist War, but it seems he would rather focus smart bombs at Wall Street than on terrorist camps. Such misguidedness blatantly plastered all over a movie makes not just bad entertainment, but could get us killed.