CINEMA-L Digest - 7 Jul 1995 to 8 Jul 1995
Todd Levin
>I would just like to speak a brief moment on a film I saw not long ago on
>video, by reccomendation of one of my friends. SFW was the story of somebody
>becoming a celebrity, and not even knowing it.
>
Actually, SFW is the story of Steven Dorff becoming another Hollywood
tragedy, and not even knowing it.
>It was one of the best movies I had seen in quite a long time. It was, I'd
>guess you'd say the A Clockwork Orange meets Dave type thing,
Listen to yourself for a second, man. Clockwork Orange Meets Dave???? And
it was one of the best movies you have seen in a long time?? I cannot help
but wonder what the best movie you had seen was up until that point? Let me
guess: A cross between The Seventh Seal and Navy Seals??
>combining
>satire, surrealism, bad language (the title speaks for itself), media-basing
>and the notion of averge Joe becomes superstar overnight.
>
>The acting was superb, the soundtrack was, well, lets say, umm, one of the
>best ever and the idea behind the whole thing (Guy goes to store, gets
>kidnapped by terrorists, is filmed on prime time, becomes hero, says the
>world is going to the dogs, and runs from the law) is just creative.
>
Derek,
we've got some serious rethinking to do here, buddy. SFW was like someone in
a dumpster calling someone else trash. It was boring, packaged crap throwing
crap at crap. (or was it carp at crap?--you get the idea, possibly) Are we
supposed to think it's cool because of the superhero worship of this
supercool guy who swears at the Man and is totally unaffected by the crazy
shit going down around him? Honestly, this was probably (long before going
into porduction) meant to be a biting satire about media obsession with
violence and apathetic anti-heroics but it was such a pumped up stroke-fest
for Dorff and all the other pretty young things draped slackwise all over the
scenery. This movie was pure rot. I felt so insulted by it (far more than I
felt insulted by CLERKS, a movie which was far less malicious in its intents
but equally irritating), like a big long commercial for some kinds of blue
jeans which never reveal themselves.
Don't be fooled, Derek. Put down your Fruitopia. Turn your baseball hat
right around (unless it displays an advertisement for STRUCTURE or the GAP),
and run, don't walk, to your local video store and demand copies of RIVER's
EDGE, BADLANDS, ZABRIESKE POINT, SLACKER, CRUEL STORY OF YOUTH, 400 BLOWS,
FLIRTING, BIRDY, and a million other movies without Steven Dorff. Apply each
of these films to your wrinkly brain, and soon the healing will begin. And
if you want a killer soundtrack (yeehaw!), try MARRIED TO THE MOB, STRAIGHT
TO HELL, THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION (Volumes I and II), MENACE II
SOCIETY, or scores of other films without Steven Dorff in them (except
possibly BACKBEAT, because Steven doesn't do any of the singing).
>So go rent SFW tonight, watch it, love it, E-Mail me back on your outtakes
of
>it and have fun doing it!
Watch It! Love It! Isn't that what they said about Woodstock '94????
good luck,
todd