Greasy Lake

TC (Eric Stoltz) and his friends Digby (James Spader) and Jeff (Tegan West) are intelligent 19-year-olds who have, in TC's words, decided that "it's good to be bad". I wouldn't use the word "bad". Apart from drinking and driving, for which "bad" is an inadequate condemnation, they seem to be merely annoying.

One night, TC "borrows" his mother's car and the trio head off to Greasy Lake, in order to drink, smoke dope, look out for naked women and maybe cause a very small amount of trouble. They find themselves in hot water, or in over their heads, if we are using metaphors.

To be literal, TC finds himself waist-deep in very cold water ... and it seem that Greasy Lake really deserves its name.

The only confusing part of this story is that we do not learn how TC avoids hypothermia. Apart from that, this is a simple but well-acted tale.

The electronic music adds to the air of uncertainty. Despite the humour in the script, adapted by director Damian Harris from a short story by T Coraghesson Boyle, we are not sure whether things will work out alright for our anti-heroes or not.

Note: "Greasy Lake" is one of 4 short films released on a VHS tape called "The Discovery Program: Short Stories". I bought mine from amazon.com z-shops. Although it is American, it will play on a UK VCR that has NTSC Playback, if the VCR is linked to the TV via a SCART cable.

Damien Harris's "Greasy Lake" is based on T.C. Boyle's original short story written in 1982. Harris follows Boyle's story almost exactly in the film, with little additions here and there, like the opening scene in the bathroom. The film included direct quotes, and showed how the three boys' night on the town quickly turned into a living hell. However, although Harris closely follows the original story, I felt as though Boyle's intention of 1980's satire is lost in the film. It's as though you are supposed to take the film more seriously than you take the story. It seems much darker and grimmer than Boyle's original work. In the story, the narrator is telling his tale in retrospect, looking back to when he was 19—when he thought he was a "bad", tough character. In the film, the viewer looses the irony Boyle used in the original because what was told in retrospect, is now spoken through dialogue, and naturally is taken to be more truthful, as if they really are badasses who know everything and can do whatever they want. Still, Harris must be given credit for attempting to transform Boyle's work into a film. The movie itself is entertaining, but as in most cases the viewer loses the finer details and, in this case, the overall meaning of Boyle's short story.

The film "Greasy Lake," directed by Damian Harris, and the original short story by T.C. Boyle share all the elements that make both stories effective in their respective forms of media. While the original genius of the satire comes from T.C. Boyle, it is a credit to Damian Harris for recognizing the importance of each element of the story he retained for the film. Without lines such as "Digby wore a gold star in his let ear and allowed his father to pay for his tuition at Cornell." the story would lose it identity as a satire about "a time when it was good to be bad." The casting of the three main characters—three relatively small and skinny guys—also helps portray them as phonies posing as bad-ass dudes. Damian Harris's truth to the original story makes this film as good as the original short story. This film should serve as a model to those many filmmakers who find genius in literature and only manage to destroy it on its way to the big screen.

The most notable humour in T.C. Boyle's Greasy Lake is the assumed "badness" of the protagonist and his two friends. These nineteen year old Ivy League boys drive their parent's station wagons to various bars, drink as much as they like, and return with the morning light to their parents' homes. Yeah, these boys are bad.

Damien Harris makes a valiant attempt to recreate Boyle's ironic detachment on film, but overall it falls short. Greasy Lake the short story is told in retrospect as an adult looks back on his more wild years. Therefore, it is difficult for an actor to properly portray these thoughts in the correct way. Harris' use of voice-over helps bring in some of Boyle's intent but a movie with a constant voice over (which would be necessary to be entirely true to Boyle) would be a headache to watch. The scene that was the most disappointing to watch was when the protagonist found Al's body in the lake. Boyle's writing is deliciously frightened, and it is easy to be drawn into the terror. Recreated on film the scene becomes just a shadow of what Boyle wrote, the voice-over had no grasp on the stuttered thoughts of this nineteen year old boy.

At face value, yes this film is true to the short story. But it lacks several small nuances that has placed Greasy Lake in English classes across the United States. One reads the story and understands that it is a parody, a farce, laughter in the face of those who try to be something they are not. But it is difficult to get the same feeling when the film creates a more serious situation. A noble attempt Harris, but I'll read Boyle's Greasy Lake over watching yours any day.