mrnaturalsez

Just finished watching "The Tenants" last night, and thought I'd make a couple of comments, as of this date, there really hasn't been much info or opinions given about it yet. In general, I thought it was a pretty decent movie, being similar to "Barton Fink," and it held my interest throughout the film. There wasn't a very involved plot, but the main characters were interesting, as was the character development.

One of the central themes of this film was racism. Both of the male leads were racist. "Mr. Dogg's" character was outwardly so, but, for Lessor, it took some time to see that, deep down, many of his views about blacks were based on "facts," or stereotypical ideas us white folk pick up when young, or somewhere along life's way. I had started to like Lessor, as he was a quirky character, who was living his life as he wanted, irregardless of whether it was along society's guidelines or not, but as these came out, along with my impression of him coming off as a know-it-all, I found myself, little by little, losing any affinity I had felt towards him, and by the last parts of the film, I was actually hoping for something nasty to happen to him. I must add that, although I am leaning on the side that this is what he wanted, I am not sure if these impressions of Lessor were, indeed, what the filmmaker was trying to have the audience see, or if these were just my own personal thoughts.

I saw some comments in the message boards on the question of whether Snoop Dogg could act in a serious role. For my two cents, I thought he did a pretty decent job. I'm not sure I'm ready to start comparing him to Marlon Brando or Dustin Hoffman just yet, but this type of role is kind of new for him, so he's still got time yet. In his previous roles, the films revolve around and utilize his skills as a rapper, a "player," and all-around slick guy, and he has been at, or near, the top of his profession for many years. I think it takes some courage on his part to risk failure, to try a different venue where he's trying something new, and where he isn't considered some kind of "God."

It makes me wonder though, how someone with the unbelievable life he appears to have, would still want more. I guess it just goes to show you that we can get accustom to, and even bored with, just about anything. Yeah, I suppose all that money, and the women, and the adoration from everyone you meet, can just get old after a while, huh?

MAY BE SPOILERS - I guess if I would have known more about this movie, I probably wouldn't have watched it. Even though I believe that, as adults, we should have the right, without fear of retribution, to experiment with, or get involved in, whatever lifestyles or sundry aspects of life we desire, even when others may regard this behavior as sordid, or however distasteful to them. Of course this is dependent on this behavior being by, and between, consenting adults of sound mind, and that no other persons, animals, etc. are harmed, burdened, or unduly subjected to it. Given this, it does not mean that I have to personally like it or want to view it (hence, the "I probably wouldn't have watched it" comment). This film would probably be characterized as a gay-themed film, although it was more than that, and touched on a variety of issues. Again, what consenting adults do is their own business, but this situation was quite a bit different. The main character is a very confused 16-year-old boy, who is preyed upon by a 30-year-old male teacher of an acting class the boy takes. The boy, whose parents are too self-absorbed in their own problems, is in desperate need of someone he can talk to and confide in about his awful home situation - and about life in general for someone evolving through, what are possibly, the most confusing, emotional, and important formative years in one's life. Unfortunately, the teacher is only concerned with his own agenda (as we see is the case of all the characters in this film), which is seducing the boy. Little by little, the teacher works on this seduction until it evolves into David (the youth) being a regular visitor at his apartment, where the minor is plied with plenty of alcohol and marijuana, and eventually he turns the boy, and Kenny (the teacher) and David are seen spending most of their time together getting loaded and engaging in sex. It gets progressively worse for David. The teacher is also a heavy cocaine user. One day, while snooping around in his bathroom, David finds a healthy bag of the powdered form of the drug, and steals it (Apparently Kenny must have had quite a stash, as he never even misses the 1-2 gram bag). With all of David's difficulties, the cocaine looks like something to alleviate his mental anguish. Unfortunately, it's just another "crutch," and what looks like a temporary solution, inevitably develops into just one more problem.

I won't go into the whole story here, but with all the problems and pressures in David's life - the very dysfunctional home life; his use of drugs and alcohol; his confusion over his sexual identity and unhealthy "relationship" with his teacher; and the fact that he's just a teenager in the first place, and sorely equipped to logically deal with his condition; his mental state gets worse.

Maybe I'm getting old, and more responsible, but I had a problem with this film, and that was that the filmmakers didn't really seem to see anything wrong with a 30-year-old sexual predator, in the role of a teacher, taking advantage of a very vulnerable and mixed up kid of 16. Nothing seems to ever have been done about Kenny, and even at the end of the film, they mentioned something on the order of "his whereabouts is unknown, may be teaching somewhere else." How many people out there would want this character as a teacher for their children? It doesn't take a genius to figure out how all but a very few would answer.

Whether I agree with all of them or not, this guy has broken a whole raft of serious laws, and he needs to spend a few years behind bars. I don't know how accurate this portrayal was, but, supposedly, this was an autobiographical film based on the life of this picture's writer/director, Rob Moretti (his first). As is the case with most of us, we might be able to come up with solutions, or otherwise advise and help others with their problems, but when it comes to stepping back and taking an objective assessment of our own difficulties, we quite often are unable to do a very good job. Perhaps this is what happened here with Mr. Moretti. Do society a favor, Mr. Moretti. If this guy is for real, find this monster and have him arrested - before he works his evil on more troubled and impressionable youths.