Art School Confidential

Yesterday I went to my local art theater to watch an art film about a future artist attending art school. Whew! I'm glad I got that out!

But lets chat about this art film, shall we? Here we go...

It's got a lot going for it. First and foremost is an impressive script. Obviously the screenwriter, director, producer (or all three) attended art school at some point. And making fun of the people and faculty at such a place is where the comedy in Art School Confidential takes wing. When Jerome (Max Minghella), the main character, begins attending his freshman year at Strathmore Art School, he's quickly introduced to the cliché-riddled cast (the cliché is purposeful and pulled off just as well as the movie GALAXY QUEST). He meets the burned-out art teacher Professor Sandiford (John Malkovich), the beautiful model that every male wants named Audrey (Sophia Myles), the angry lesbian, the teacher's pet/kiss-a$$, the drug addled film student, and a splash of others. There's also a strangler on the loose in the neighborhood which will play a vital role in how Jerome's artistic dreams play out.

The ridiculousness of art school is what really makes this movie work. Jerome is obviously very talented, but other artists whiz by him because art is what the artists say art is. It might be a picture of a car, or a man attaching jumper cables to his nipples and letting current run through him, or a mound of plastic chairs.

Jerome wants to be the next Picasso. He studies hard, tries to get noticed, but nothing seems to work. He's also a virgin and wants desperately to get laid but with the wacked out student body at Strathmore, he's got his work cut out for him.

As Jerome works and works, trying to become a successful artist, we get to watch him fall into despair; he starts smoking, drinking, and visits a washed up Strathmore graduate named Jimmy (Jim Broadbent) who gives him some dark and grotesquely sage advice: "Are you good at 'getting on your knees?'" (I've cleaned that up a bit, but you get the idea.) It becomes apparent to Jerome (and the movie watcher) that he has no chance of becoming a recognized artist ...unless something drastic happens. Which, of course, it does (Cliche? Oh yes!) Once this "something drastic" happens, Jerome learns the true nature of being an artist. It's an unfortunate and incredibly funny set of circumstances that finally thrusts Jerome into the limelight.

The level of casting in this indie film is surprisingly large and notable. In addition to John Malkovich (BEING JOHN MALKOVICH) we see Anjelica Huston (THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS), Jim Broadbent (MOULIN ROUGE!), Matt Keeslar (DUNE miniseries), Ethan Suplee (COLD MOUNTAIN), Steve Buscemi (THE BIG LEBOWSKI) and several others.

This impressive cast pulled off the overly-pretentious attitudes that flood many art schools. They were witty yet cynical which made laughing out loud a requirement during the viewing of this amazing little flick.

God I love these little independents when they're done right!

Terry Zwigoff presents you true art and the meaning of art, both Viusal and Film.It sure is pain in the ass and no one can better explain that to you than this film.

The film is about a young teenager trying to pursue a career in Art in an art school.But before he can do so, he must learn a few things about what art really is.His obsession to art school and his vision combine with the teachers minds who pretty much spend their whole time relating art with life.And in a art school where amateur art is more appreciated than professional,visionary art.But soon when he meets a women , his life takes a turn.Though,he has a nemesis to face to win the girls heart.Apparently,the nemesis' work,which is just plain childish according to our hero,is widely appreciated.So the competition begins.But as he desperately tries and loses,and gets advices from a drunken ,washed out,but talented artist,he drifts himself apart from art.But things take a big change for our depressed,lost hero,when he is gets involved in a murder mystery ,where he is the primary suspect.

Art school confidential has ideas.Lot's of intriguing offbeat ideas.And while it tries to be funny and offbeat but it fails in the end.Tries to make a successful satire out of art,but it fails to churn up even one great laugh.And it's boring at times,it just dangles around emphasizing what art really is, without actually telling us what it really is.It just mingles and experiments with the concept of art and tries to make something out of it ,pretty much throughout the film.It's characters slowly become pathetic and uninteresting.It's situations becomes absurd and pointless.It just disappoints.

But despite all that,it's fun.It sure is entertaining,but it could've been really big if any of the filmmakers even tried once.And when the plot shifts to its murder mystery,it gets even worse.It's something I didn't expect.It's got a few good moments,but it's not enough for a premise like this.The film daringly tries to make a point by shouting out loud that art schools suck.They're waste of time and just there to rip you off your cash.The students are taught by a bunch of old failures trying to make a living passing on their failures to the new generation.

It would've been better as a satire than an attached murder mystery.I mean,there's nothing wrong with the murder mystery drama thing,but I just wanted to see a proper satire here.Instead of some predictable resolution to the whole mystery.It's got some good twists and turns ,but in the end it's all too obvious.It's half baked as a love story ,and neither is it emotionally touching.Way too contrived and convoluted unintentionally.Too jumbled up.

With the exception of Broadbant,the rest of the cast is just fine.Minghella tries but can't be more than average,although he gets the character's depressing sadness.Malkovich is just a waste of talent and one would expect a lot from him.

As original as it tries to be,in the end it goes for the conventional ending.The writer,who is adapting his own book,just has no clue what he's doing and what he wants to convey most of the times.The writer focused more on the comic elements of the film rather than finding a way to solve the mysteries of the plot that can hardly fit the way it is written.It sometimes feels disconnected from the material, I mean at times you feel like watching different short movies in one film with same actors in different situations and hardly relate to the story.And the director seems to go along with it,giving us as much entertainment and fun out of it as he is able to.

This film at times becomes hard to watch as it mixes so many elements that if succeeded in mixing them well,it could have achieved remarkable result.But that is not the case in this satire. Mixing social satire, art school satire,a wicked love story, murder mystery ,and attempting to bring about a coming-of-age story.This doesn't work.

It can stand out to be a different approach, even if it's not fully successful ,it still succeeds on entertaining you.With a cop-out ending.

For all the true artists out there this film is your lesson.Perhaps.

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.

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 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.