Paraíso Selvagem

Wild Palms isn't just a movie, it's a commitment. A four and a half hour commitment. But it's well worth it. The story, set in 2007, has parts of it that are starting to come true, and others that very well may. The beautiful thing about it is this: Practically everything you see or hear in the movie has a double meaning. Every line, every plot point has been thought out to the point that you're almost watching two movies at once. I remember seeing this on TV, during the original miniseries broadcast, and thinking, 'TV isn't ready for this. The world isn't ready for this.' I was amazed, and you will be too. You won't miss the four-letter profanity that you'd get from a theater film. The only problem is that some of the actors aren't that great. Angie Dickinson seems to over-emote like she's in a soap opera, but that atually adds charm in my opinion. Ben Savage(who was pretty young then) seems to have trouble with strong emotions, and Aaron Metchik (another young actor) has trouble, period. But who can blame him? I can't figure out his character either. One minute he's strong, intelligent, witty, and calm, and the next he collapses into a simpering little boy. But what can you do? You only have 4.5 hours to develop all these characters, huh? My rating: Quite Good.

When this mini series was first broadcast, most people had never used a computer, the NSCA Mosaic browser (later to become Netscape Navigator) had just been coded. Thus allowing those with a data connection to graphically browse content at glacial speed. But just consider the list that follows which tallies their actual occurrence.

The Web = The web Tony Krietser =Donald Trump Chickee Levitt = Mark Zuckerberg Mimecom = Facebook Mimezine = Oxycontin The Florida Bomb = 9/11 The 90's Depression = The Great Recession The Fathers = Rebublicans with a capital "R" The Friends = Liberal Democrats Josie = Melania? Watch this excellent mini series with your politically astute frienew and you will have a BLAST finding current and near current tie-ins. Then you'll have one final question. "Where did Olivier Stone get a time machine?!"

WP has a rating of 7 here and that is what it merits. I saw some of the series back in 93, but have just re-watched it all. The quality of the cinematography is excellent and in that area the series holds up well. However, there are some major downsides to WP. One and the most important, some of the acting is incredibly bad, to start with, that of Belushi. The Trivia section says he had no idea what the story was about, so he simply recited his lines. One has the impression, most of the time, that he did just that. Loggia is Loggia, another Type A, overacted performance. Catrall starts off weak, but gets better. Angie is the real disappointment. She looks great and is perfect for the part, her clothes are fine, her scenes some of the most intense, but her acting is often wooden. I find Delany the best and most consistent, though other reviewers don't like her. The music is overblown and the one good piece, the background music to the most intense scene, the ending of Hungry Ghosts, is obviously influenced by P Glass's music. The series shows its influences clearly: 60's counter-culture, Scientology, and perhaps a little less obviously, Meet John Doe. In fact, for me, the latter is the main thrust of the series. However, the way the story is handled leaves something to be desired. It is too neat and clean, not open ended. However, the series obviously had some major influence itself. Those are easily seen in the Matrix series, in Caprica, and most obviously and essentially in Inception. Nolan would probably deny it, but half of Inception is lifted from WP. So, kudos for an idea that has had some mileage. Also, the series has been compared to Twin Peaks, but there is little to compare really. As said, the acting of WP is not esp thrilling whereas I find not a single character is weak in TP. The music for Badalamenti is far superior to that of Sakamoto. Both series look excellent. One area where WP beats TP is that WP is a closed story, a true miniseries. TP got out of control and thus lost some of its power. However, for me, TP is still a series I could re-watch without problem. So, finally, at the end of this long-winded review, WP is good, but not great. It would a great choice for some sort of re-imagined series à la Battlestar Galactica.

The story is a veiled attempt at going where the church of Scientology exists. Anton Kreutzer, played fairly well by Robert Loggia, is pretty much L. Ron Hubbard. There are even spot lines that go to the arena of Aleister Crowley, Hubbard's "very good friend". The Sea Org and the Commodore's Messengers are dressed to the nines, perfect in their affectation of the naval attire. Coty is a mock-up of the now ruler of the Darkstar, the honorable king David. You know the Star of David is two inner locking equilateral triangles encompassing three 60 degree angles. "and ye shall know them by their number":666; a number exulted upon by Ron's very good friend, Aleister Crowley. The acting is spotty, some actor's can't and some can. However great imagery, fantastic attire, and far ahead of its time in technology make this a must see for the clued-in sci-fi fan. Hubbard might have been twisted, but give him his due, a genius for manipulation of the truth. Scientology is still standing and Tom Cruise can't handle the truth, can't handle it because he knows not what he do.

The real credit for WILD PALMS should go to Bruce Wagner and his flowing, prosaic dialogue. It's like classic Film Noir crossed with cyber-speak, doused with a fifth of Single Malt Scotch and set on fire. There are so many clever, nimble phrases that are turned on their axis and spun into something entirely different.

Examples:

"Mystery loves company."

"Do you know how much it hurts to be SHOT IN THE CHEST??"

"You're no General! You're a pimp with the wings of a bat!"

"You've got quite a mouth on you! Take care someone doesn't take a needle and sew it up."

"Weak dog! You stillborn calf! YOU MAKE ME VOMIT!"

Granted the whole package is a little hard to take in all at once - it's one of those things that becomes more interesting the more you watch it. And for everyone who argues it ends with a whimper, not a bang, well, you may be right, but I posit that The Senator, Harry's real lineage, The Go Chip, and the Mimezine are all besides the point. Enjoy it for one of the campiest, cleverest, most intelligent scripts ever written for television.(Thank You Bruce Wagner) This is a project that is not only entertaining to watch, but a JOY to listen to. It's FUN.