Where's Marlowe?

I rented this movie last night without any idea of what it was, but even though it might have been rated as a one star movie, strangely I enjoyed it. It really flip-flopped around a lot and it was hard to keep track of the characters at times, but it was really pretty funny as a satire of P.I. movies. I got to rent it for a dollar, and it was surely worth that price. Miguel Ferrer was great as always. Even if a movie is so so, his acting is always first class.

If you are at the video store, and nothing else looks good, try this one.

Channel surfing one night, saw Miguel Ferrer, stopped flicking and I'm so glad I did. How do movies like this not make more impact at the box office? Probably because there are no explosions or chase scenes and the audience was forced to think. Ahh, the horrors of having to think. Bullets don't fly around, but boy does the plot ever! I found myself thoroughly entertained throughout and even a bit confused sometimes, but I think that was the idea. Solid performances from everyone, including the script and direction. The camera work was excellent. Miguel Ferrer is a wonderful actor and more surprising than the standard top ten Hollywood throws at us nonstop. Miguel, this piece of work is rock solid. Keep it up.

The premise: Two young documentary filmmakers set out to make a film about a two-man detective agency in Los Angeles, led by Miguel Ferrer as John Boone. But things fall apart, and they get involved in the story, losing professional distance and objectivity, with hilarious results.

This is an absolutely marvelous film, and the mockumentary format lends an odd feel to it that's hard to explain. You'll just have to go see it.

This practically undistributed movie deconstructs the deeply hilarious American Private Dude archetype MUCH more sagely/gently/smartly/straightly than the also amusing, if brazenly campy/overcooked/dumbed-down, "The Big Lebowski". Commercial media wizards reject complexity, especially comic complexity (anything not BROADLY slapstick/satiric?) BEFORE it can come to market? Apparently. Wonderful stuff. Rent/buy it if you can find it. You might be charmed. You might even wonder WHY our professional masters consider us so uniform? Or plumb stupid? If we want ONLY movies that wash over us sensationally, WAVES of light/sound, we don't need ANY movies that ask for our attention, our thoughtful participation. Of course. If, on the other hand...

As Hollywood continues to dumb down in its relentless pursuit of the lowest common denominator, a film as funny and smart as "Where's Marlowe" is just too good to be true. I was lucky enough to catch it at the First Annual Worldfest-Flagstaff film festival, where it was a huge hit. Unfortunately, the film is such a clever 'reveal' that to describe it at all would be to take away from the pleasure of being caught in its web. So all I can suggest is that you do whatever you can to get this film seen. Bug the distributors! Demand it at festivals! You'll be glad you did.