The Independent

THE INDEPENDENT (2001) ** Jerry Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Max Perlich (Cameos: Anne Meara, Ron Howard, Roger Corman, Peter Bogdanovich, John Lydon, Ben Stiller, Andy Dick, Fred Dryer, Jonathan Katz, Fred Williamson, Karen Black, Nick Cassavetes) (Dir: Stephen Kessler)

Jerry Stiller has made a fine career for himself as a top-notch character actor and the triumphs of his long-standing marriage with comedy partner Anne Meara. But perhaps it is the past decade particularly for his stint as the bellicose Frank Costanza, the brow-beating, bellowing paterfamilias of Jason Alexander's angry George on "Seinfeld" is what he'll be remembered for after all these years ago. Now he's the lead in this quasi-mockumentary a la "This Is Spinal Tap" meets "The Player" by way of "Ed Wood."

Morty Fineman (Stiller), a truly independent filmmaker of questionable taste and lack of skills and talent, is the focus of a documentary film crew shooting the downward spiral of his illustrious career of low, low budget exploitation films the likes of Roger Corman and John Waters but without the knowing wink at the audience. Fineman's downfall is his blind ambition as an artiste whose long-suffering daughter and wind beneath his winds Paloma (Garofalo) has to endure the latest brinks of bankruptcy that has his bank offering to buy out his filmography not for its artistic merit but literally by the pound of celluloid he's burned.

Along for the ride is his protégé and gopher Ivan (the gifted character actor Perlich) who desperately attempts a comeback for Morty by investigating every film festival to showcase his ouevre. Naturally not one is interested save for Chaparral, Nevada whose town's main point of business is prostitution. To add insult to injury Fineman winds up working his new offices of his trade outside a dingy motel.

Stiller acquits himself nicely as the clueless yet empassioned director of dreck whose specialty is message films of his own political bent via busty babes scantily clad with semi-automatic weaponary touted between their ample cleavage. What works for the film on the whole is the tongue-in-cheek sendup of the industry with its accurate depictions of what bad films look like from shoddy stock footage and badly acted scenes to its so-scary -they -seem -real take-offs of trailers to 1960s and 70s junk films. The use of real-life filmmakers like Howard and Bogdanovich tries to lend a hand to its wink-wink/nudge-nudge insider take/satire send-up by giving it an air of authenticity but by the last third the one-joke gimmick runs out of gas and feels flat.

For those who love awful movies and wonder who the heck makes this crap then they have a true hero in Morty Fineman, a man ahead of his times .whenever that was.

The only criticism I'd make about this film is that the documentary angle wasn't played up to its entirety. There're shots in the film that just don't gybe with documentary film making. An example are some of the lockdown shots, where edited footage of two people having a conversation (a conversation that is supposed captured by a single camera) is shown. It just doesn't wash. And the film suffers because of it. Documentary crews either setup interviews or follow their subjects around. The intercut sequences harken too much to traditional film making. Documentaries have long takes of jittery or mildly shaken hand held shots. Documentaries do not contain lockdown car shots, dolly shots, or other complicated camera moves. It just doesn't happen: It's not what documentary film making is all about. And yet "The Independent" has all of these things.

If the actors had just been allowed to act in front of the camera, possibly ad lib in a long master, then this film would've been much more than what it ultimately became, and would've achieved its goal with sterling aplomb. As it is now it's an attempt at making a mocumentary. Fairly succesful, good, funny, but ultimately a few points shy of a comic masterpiece.

Otherwise it's actually a funny film. Anybody who's worked on any kind of independent production will tell you that this film hits pretty close to home. Artistic license is taken with over the top situations and performances, but the film manages to capture the general feel of how the indy-film maker works, and does so in a comic vein. Stiller plays the exploitation film maker who denies his more base nature, stating that he's an artiste commenting on society, and not a director of hack T&A/slasher/blacksploitation/biker or whatever exploitation genre that he's actually known for.

If you enjoyed "This is Spinal Tap," "Jackie Brown," or "Drop Dead Gorgeous," then you'll warm to this film. Take note of the rating; it's not a comedy for kids.

A comedy that consistently amuses, to the point of being laugh-out loud funny - the hilarious inserts of Monty's oeuvre are some of the high-points: The Foxy Chocolate Robot, anyone? Or the Simplex Complex? Or, my fave, the Eco-Angels? Plus, everything comes together for a happy ending. Result! Stick around for the end credits; someone carried out a labour of love in creating 437 film titles for Monty's career.

I just came from the 27th Boston Science Fiction Movie Marathon, and this move closed the show. It was wonderful and a lot of fun! Excellent performances, and a large number of cameos, as well. The film clips were hysterical (and stay for the end credits!)

Tanya

This sleeper has been overlooked. It is frequently funny with many illustrations of real wit. If you're a fan of indie-flicks, then there's much to enjoy here, not least of which are unexpected cameos by industry names.

Plus, despite what others have said, there is a narrative based on the characters' familial relations. That, and quality acting from the leads (especially Jerry Stiller, who'll surprise you with his convincing portrayal) make this satire well-worth watching.

I found this on cable and learned it's not been released on DVD. Let's start lobbying for that!