ispelunk

I was suckered into seeing this piece of dribble by some buddies that go in for the "Dumb & Dumber" style of physical humor. The trap that hooked me was the noteworthy supporting cast. With Kevin Kline, Chevy Chase, Katherine O'Hara and more (none lightweights of physical comedy), I expected something, anything more than the pathetic excuse that was presented. John Lithgow looked like he was physically in pain while delivering his lines. Some of it could be attributed to having a son like Lance, but I think he may have realized how bad this one was while he was performing it. The one bright spot may have been the surprise at seeing Ben Stiller as a LAFD uniform. A pretty small part, and definitely not enough to save this flop. No spoilers here: I left with about half an hour left and snuck across the hall to watch the ending of The Royal Tenenbaums (now THAT movie looks good). I can only imagine that the prep and the schlep realize that the brotherly bond is stronger than anything. I wouldn't be surprised if the Freak actually pulled off some outlandish and wholly unbelievable scheme to get his lil Geek bro into Stanford.

In my humble opinion, don't waste 2 hours of your life on this hokey garbage. If you're looking to find a piece of work that director Jake Kasdan could be proud of, try Zero Effect. And if you're looking to see a better display of our hero, Jack Black's, acting talents. Well, that's a lot harder, but you may try the scene in The Jackal right before Bruce Willis plugs him with a .50 Caliber Assault Cannon.

Though supposedly taking place somewhere in West Germany, I cannot imagine a world such as this, with the exceptions of perhaps a Mad Max movie, or maybe Waterworld. Water seems to be the dominant element in the film; the entire piece is saturated. In one early scene in police headquarters, our hero, Fisher, visits the archives by climbing a rope down to a flooded basement. He wades in waist high water, searching through damp and waterlogged files encased in plastic baggies. He searches for clues to the elusive Harry Gray. This world has definitely suffered some apocalypse, though details are sketchy.

Finding a long forgotten surveillance report, he tracks the movements of Mr. Gray through the muddy streets and towns. He tries to put himself into the shoes of his prey, perhaps too much so. Who is Harry Gray, anyway? Is there such a person? Will the hunter cross the line and identify too closely with the hunted?

Lars von Trier's directorial debut definitely foreshadows some of his later works. All of the lotto girls bear a striking resemblance to "The Kingdom's" poor Mary Jensen. And much of the camera work is reminiscent of "The Kingdom" and "Europa". Although the film is somewhat slow, especially if you've been bred on a diet of standard American cinema, it's dreamy, somber tone is nothing if not original. Shot entirely in shades of sepia, with startling blasts of blue color that remind you that this is not a black and white film of the Fritz Lang era, you wonder if the entire movie is but a dream, conjured in our protaganist's mind and surfaced under hypnosis. Why is he in Cairo being hypnotized, anyway? Was he the killer all along, murdering the lotto girls and mutilating them with broken bottles? Does he really not remember? And am I the only one who sees the similarity between Harry Gray and "The Usual Suspects'" Kaiser Soze. The classic red herring that leads you... where?

More than likely, you will only see this film if you purchase the Criterion Collection Edition (at least in the USA), or borrow it from someone who has. So, is it worth the fourty bucks to add to your collection? If you are a Michael Bay, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, shoot-em-up action guy, then probably not. But if you enjoy something completely different, then this may well be for you. By the way, the Criterion release includes a documentary about the life and work of von Trier, including some of his first adolescent films shot with his mom's 8mm camera. If you are a fan of "The Kingdom", as I am, or of any of von Trier's works, it may well be worth the asking price for this alone; and you can consider the feature a quirky bonus, showing his singular genius at such an early stage.