Art School Confidential

I think that those who felt the movie started as an excellent parody of art schools but then failed by turning dark, you've missed the point. By turning dark, you start to fear for the main character only to be confronted by the fact that the art world is so ridiculous, it will laud anyone for the most insane reasons. Jerome's art was considered boring until he wasn't. It's not that the movie turned dark...it had to go in that direction to reach the ultimate parody.

As someone who is regularly disappointed by what passes for art today, it was refreshing to see this confronted in such an open arena. It's a disappointment that people without skills have succeeded-- and that art is the only discipline where professors are afraid to give out poor grades. I certainly experienced this in my art days. Students who put in the effort and failed to complete the requirements would still receive a good grade because they'd put in the effort.

This film is fantastic because it goes to the extreme to comment on art today.

What's fascinating about the films of Terry Zwigoff is the relativity contained within--for as shockingly vulgar, tasteless, and non-PC a punchline can be, it is made funny because we have seen the characters in some form in our own lives, and ultimately empathize with their plight (the self-loathing mall Santa of "Bad Santa"; the disaffected teenage girls of "Ghost World"; the hopeless introverted romantics of "Art School Confidential"); instead of pointing a mocking finger and getting a laugh at someone else's expense, Zwigoff's humor hits a note that insists "we've all been here before, and we can laugh about it." His films also possess an underlying sincerity (and humanity) that goes unseen in the over-confident Hollywood claptrap that stinks up theaters nowadays.

"Art School Confidential," Zwigoff's second collaboration with cartoonist/screenwriter Daniel Clowes ("Ghost World") is another modest coming-of-age film of subtle implication. The world of Strathmore College, an art school located in the inner city, is presented as a heavily-satirized den of losers, where Jerome (Max Minghella) is looking to become, in his words, "the greatest living American artist." He rooms with obnoxious film student Vince (Ethan Suplee), who is working on an amateur film about a rash of on-campus murders, naively romances pretty art model Audrey (Sophia Myles, "Underworld"), and is given tragic (yet hilarious) words of wisdom by Jimmy (Jim Broadbent), a burned-out alcoholic and former student. When met with disenchantment and disappointment over the pretentious students and the professors (including John Malkovich, who does a funny reprise of his "Shadow of the Vampire" persona) who ignore his work, Jerome hatches a self-destructive plot that eventually--through ridiculous circumstances we believe anyway--lands him in prison.

While "Art School Confidential" sometimes seems at the mercy of far too many subplots, the eclectic group of art students and wayward adults are so wonderfully depicted (even if more than a few are outright bastards) they make the film irresistible. Zwigoff's films often come off as pleasant anachronisms of cinematic technique--his lovers always bear more in common with the stars of early cinema than their magazine-friendly counterparts; yet at the same time, he can pull more hilarity out of a truly tasteless joke than any other director working today (the best go to Suplee and Joel More). Directors who attempt this kind of crude/sensitive balance usually fail--Zwigoff, however, is both in touch with his inner romantic and child. The end result of "Art School Confidential" is intelligent, bitingly satirical, magically romantic, and filled with irreverent hilarity.

I don't understand why this movie has attracted negative reviews. When I saw it the audience - including me - was laughing out loud. Sure, it isn't the cleverest film ever but it is unfailingly entertaining. The performances are great and the script is witty. The point is that Jerome can draw but is no great artist so from the beginning is never going to achieve his ambition to be Picasso. He is as much of a stereotype as everybody else. It is stated right from the start that everybody is a cliché - and ain't that the truth? We are all clichés. As Malkovich explains in the beginning art students are almost guaranteed disappointment. The audience isn't supposed to sympathise with Jerome - if you think you are then you have missed the point.

For the first 30 minutes, 'Art School Confidential' sets itself up as a coming of age movie. But instead of at that pivotal moment when one comes of age, Jerome the aspiring artist turns to the dark side and begins to show someone with genuine ambition and a worthy character descend into a turbulent test of artistic innovation. Whatever the hell that means. 'Art School' not only depicts the individual growth of Jerome, but also analyzes the definition of art, and in some respects, defines it quite well. Why does shitty art get so much acclaim? Why does quality art often go unnoticed? Why are artists such pretentious ass holes? The whole movie answers all these questions hilariously and beautifully.

I came into this film expecting a mean, rude comedy in the vein of Zwigoff's previous effort Bad Santa (a film which has more brains than it gets credit for). For the first 3/4 or so of the film, that's what I got, and I enjoyed every second. Towards the last bit, the film takes a turn darker than you would expect. This sudden twist, unexpected as it was, did not feel trite or convoluted. More fascinating.

Make no mistake this a dark comedy in the truest definition. There is something about the ending that is supremely haunting.

Ethan Suplee provides the hyper-actively aggressive role he has become beloved for. Malkovich does not disappoint as the burnt-out and oh-so-full-of-crap art professor. Jim Broadbent channels Chuck Bukowski here as he barks like a pit-bull and alternately purrs like a tabby as the disheveled failed artist/ nihilistic mentor of our boy Jerome, who just may be the only unpretentious and truly talented student at Strathmore University. Throw in Anjelica Huston and Steve Buscemi in delightfully understated roles, a string of murders courtesy of the mythical Strathmore Strangler, and the positively stunning Sophia Myles as the nude drawing class model Audrey who becomes both the object of Jerome's affection and the source of his disillusion, and you have got a dysfunctional masterpiece.