CharlieHearse

I read so much about this legendary dark comedy that it may have gotten too built up expectation-wise for me. Well, as it turns out, I read too much about how "offensive" & black this film is. Frankly, it's a meandering story with no particular reason for much of what unfolds in the plot. Everyone delivers a fairly good performance with the exception of Jonathan Winters, who quite frankly, does quite have the chops for the material. What makes this particularly unfortunate is that he plays two characters, which is not only something he isn't too qualified for, but just adds to the stretches of seemingly pointless scenes. Terry Southern, who was a very good writer and contributed to "Dr. Strangelove," and worked closely with the also late and great Michael O'Donoghue on SNL, couldn't even bring anything more than a few subtle humorous character traits to the table. I won't hold Mr. Southern completely accountable for this, as he clearly didn't have too much creative control over the script. The same goes for "Dr. Strangelove," which is a far more darkly funny film, but didn't quite catch the boat on a lot of scenes that ultimately took a much sillier route after some rather astute set ups. A lot of filmgoers cry "blasphemy!" at such an observation, but trust me, I'm right. I hear a lot of things along the lines of "well, consider the time 'The Loved One' was made." To this, I say watch "Lolita"(1961.) That film is the sharpest dark comedy of that era. The topic of death is way too easy of a way into the black comedy genre. "The Loved One" milks this kind of darkly humorous ethic. In spite of all this, it is certainly worth a look, because it is quite smart in certain parts. I do admire it's attempts at subtle character quirks, but generally end up a little disappointed at the resolutions of many of the situations, which really don't have much of a resolution, making the film feel a lot longer than it is. If you can get past these lulls, it's an interesting piece in terms of going against the Hollywood grain, even taking a number of below-the-belt jabs at the studio system. 64% out of 100%.

This could have been an intense, brilliant study of the true story on which this is based. Unfortunately, the filmmakers were too in love with the idea of making a movie about Ed Gein, thinking that the facts themselves combined with a few embellishments would carry the movie. Everything here is pure by-the-books tv biopic formula. It opens with real news footage of the farm yocals saying what a gentle, quiet and friendly man Ed Gein was. When the movie kicks in, all the yocals are portrayed as people who feel he is rather odd. So right off the bat there is conflict between reality and this "guesstimate."(Did Geins' mother really call him a "booby-loving snake" while beating him after she caught him in the bathroom with a dirty magazine?) By the same token, you have to ask yourself why is it necessary to even make a movie about Ed Gein? It's already been done countless times, and very rarely done successfully. Although it is mildly humorous watching Steve Railsback portray Gein as he tries on different noses in front of a mirror.

The back of the box boasts how Gein's story inspired "Psycho" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," both of which are much much better films, "Chainsaw" being a near masterpiece. Stories of serial killers that salvage their victims' pieces parts for multiple uses around the house like Martha Stewart on mescaline seems old hat by now, and making a movie about Ed Gein appears to be a note from the old schoolers to "Chainsaw" fans saying "if it weren't for Ed Gein, there wouldn't have been a 'Psycho' or 'Chainsaw'." Maybe, but we already know that, and I don't think we care. There's no denying Gein's story is bizarre, but trivializing it into a one-dimensional, formulaic "Tales From The Crypt"-meets-Mayberry destroys any morbid curiosity one would have about this story. *1/2

I never fully realized the pressures of being an actress. The story obviously hit so close to home that Blaze Starr just plays herself. Anyone who feels exhausted and disenchanted with their job or life in general will relate to Blaze's circumstances. The attention paid to the details is astounding. Never has a film stretched the musical montage sequence and make it work so well with the theme. This movie is nearly perfect. The only flaw was that it was too short.