Search and Destroy

Search And Destroy is an exceptionally weird, nearly impenetrable satire of Hollywood, produced by Martin Scorsese (he also cameos). It's essentially just a series of odd, puzzling vignettes vaguely based on business and movie archetypes we've all come to know, and love to make fun of. As far as coherent story or heartbeat, look elsewhere. You may however enjoy it's oddball characters, and you've got to do a double take when you see how many awesome actors are in the cast, in a film you've probably never heard of. Griffin Dunne, who started in Scorsese's excellent After Hours, plays Martin Mirkheim, a shameless moronic suck up desperately trying to get his awful script sold to some show business bigwigs. Along the way he meets a host of hives inducing freaks that one might expect to find in early 1990's film scene. Dennis Hopper lurks into the frame as Dr. Luther Waxling, a batty self help guru and author of a pretentious psychobabble book starring an allegorical man (Robert Knepper). John Turturro ramps up the mania past his Big Lebowski role (yes, it's possible) as a demented agent, Ethan Hawke plays adislikable assistant to Hooper. Roseanne Arquette is Dunne's hampered wife, Illeana Douglas is great as Hopper's oddball girlfriend who takes up with Mirkheim. Her schlocky horror movie pitch monologue up is a highlight. Stealing the show, however, and can we expect anything less from him, is Christopher Walken. He plays Kim Ulander, a wondrous Walken creation, a shady, pleasant mannered ad exec who goes absolutely postal at the drop of a hat, the funniest sociopath you could ever hope to meet. This film doesn't mean much. It's more of a subtle, deliberate perversion of the industry that forms it, biting the hand that feeds it while it's tongue is right in its cheek. Enjoy it for its abstract, absurd dialogue, weirdo fucknut characters, and darkly silly, nonsensical, self destructive aura. Those are probably the key reasons that this wasn't well received. They're all the reasons I got a nasty kick out of it.

This movie seemed to be a snowballing sequence of mishaps - similar to what happens in "After Hours" from 1985. Things keep getting worse for the main character, but it kept me intrigued. Dennis Hopper is an interesting character in this one. As usual, Chris Walken steals the show as a business man and somewhat "off-kilter" character who enjoys an evening of Karaoke. I would recommend it to people who enjoy strange movies. Personally, I enjoyed it.

Greetings to the rare few who have sought out this title on IMDb, and the rarer few who have chosen to read my little rant. Hope it sits well with you....

I have to say that this movie is one of the rare pieces of film that shows what can be accomplished with no money at all, or little money.

Scene to scene, moment to moment, it is the essence of what a "low budget movie" can accomplish, it does not wallow in what it cant do, and focuses on what it needs to do, to tell a story. There are moments in it, where you totally don't realize how little it took to create the scene, and its because your lost in the story, and thats what gives the film so much strength.

True enough, if you have the cast this film has, you can do little wrong. But its great to see that each member does their part, and keeps up with the story, and makes it all seamless.

The travel scene to NYC with Douglas and Dunn is a perfect example of what can be accomplished with creative thinking and attention to character. without a airport being shut down to accommodate a production schedule that is based more on ego than need.

There are moments of sheer perfection in this film that i, as a avid lover of film and movies have rarely seen. for over ten years now i have proudly listed this film in my top favorites, as its eccentricities grow more and more lovely upon each watching.

The arc is there, and so is the commitment to the ideas that it presents almost immediately as its thesis. Waxling is the truth sayer in this piece of fiction, and he lets you know right away what to expect.

i remember being up late, watching HBO, High, Bored, and finding this film. It was a huge factor in my interest in film school. The tone is unmatched in my opinion. As it is a complete work, not quirky for the sake of it, as so many other movies rely on... but quirky due to the fact that life is quirky, off, odd.

You can be what you want, you can do what you want, this movie sums that up in a rare way that i have not often seen, and i appreciate upon each watching...

Dr Waxlings comments are gold. All and all i am proud to be in the small group of people that promote this film to no advantage of self, as it addresses many of the same issues that other films like Fight Club go in to in a more serious, bigger budget way.

Check it out. Break out your VHS player, and be ready to want to rewind and see it again.

Really a gem in the wild.

Boo Ya!

This movie is incredible. It's got fantastic dialog and terrific performances from Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper. That it was originally for the stage is pretty obvious; it just has that feel to it. But so did Glengarry Glen Ross, and that too was a terrific movie.

I don't know if the film is really any sort of meaningful commentary on modern life. I think maybe it tries. The whole thing centers around an infomercial for an adventure story that's a metaphor for self-improvement/self-discovery a la Celestine Prophecy. Mostly it's just about weird characters in weird situations and excellent dialog.

I can't say enough good things about this movie. Anyone who has a taste for weird, black-comedy is going adore this film. 8.5 out of 10.

Great story, great cast. I think this is a very underrated movie, unfortunately i've noticed so few people seem to have really enjoyed it. It's a typical 90's indie movie, with odd characters and something to say, not the usual blockbuster automatic pilot. For me, it mainly shows the contrast of our childhood and teenage beliefs from the adultwood letdowns, when we have to deal with petty stuff like money and how to make a living. Our 60's rock stars, for instance, could be represented by the Dennis Hopper character, only interested nowadays with the movie producer's wallet and the money he can offer for his book's rights. And the bored grown up kid, leading a tedious life as an executive, trying to get rid of his yuppie routine by following the book's rules by every word, even if it means killing someone. For him, that's a breakthrough of some sort. Christopher Walken in one of his best maniac performances. I'd love to see another David Salle's incursion into moviemaking.