Existo

I have yet to see this film. But the mere fact that Varney is in it is reason enough for me to get this movie. I'm familiar with Existo from the "Hey, Vern! It's Ernest" series and also Jackie Welch and Gailard Sartain. Yes, I'm going to buy this film. Not only do I need to add it to my Jim Varney collection but I want to see what all the fuss is about. Yes, I have lollipop written all over my face when it comes to anything Varney.;) It seems this movie is political and talks of the government and its problems? But I'm curious to see this film and I will not let any reviews I have read here affect my opinions. Of course, since Varney is in it, I might tend to be a bit biased where he is concerned.

The whole film appeared to be one big rant about how much the makers hate conservatives. As much as I may share their opinions, I honestly think there are other things you can put in your movie. The word 'plot' comes to mind.

I also wish to point out that nearly all the positive reviews here are from Nashville (where this was filmed) or in the surrounding Tennessee area. It makes me wonder if the people reviewing had anything to do with the actual production, and if they have anything better to do than write themselves positive reviews with temporary IMDb user names like "Scott Smith", who only ever wrote one review for this movie. I'm assuming that a certain someone has this page on bookmark, and make a point of visiting it at least once a week to read reviews. Yes, I mean you. I can only guess as to the ratings this review will get.

Read on, and consider the vehemence with which others have attacked EXISTO -- why, I wonder, are they so infuriated at this movie? They could have turned it off or walked out any time.

First off, for those nay-sayers already posting reviews here on IMDb, the initial concentration of Tennessee-based reviews isn't reflective of filmmakers stacking the deck -- this film has been without a distributor and has only been seen at film fests and regionally, like, in Tennessee. I've seen it thanks initially to a friend who was born down south and now lives up here in the Godless north, and since worked to book it at a local film festival here in VT back in the spring.

EXISTO exist-os in two versions: Coke Sams's original cut, which opens with Gailard Sartain's hilarious song "Do Me," and a later (2004?) film festival slight re-edit with a whole new beginning, which provides a succinct backstory for Existo as a character and political context for the film proper, stating it as a W. Bush-era satire, though the film itself (shot in '98) predates Bush's presidency. Thus, it's pretty clear Sams, Bruce Arnston (a musical genius and satirist extraordinaire) and crew could clearly see where this country was headed before the '90s were out, and EXISTO is as timely as ever -- hence, its production was prescient more than reactionary in terms of its dystopian theocracy setting. How times change: America has become Nashville.

The Nashville-based talent was indeed behind the entire ERNEST phenomenon, and in fact Existo (Arnston) was a fixture on the old Coke Sams/John Cherry produced/directed HEY VERN, IT'S ERNEST! TV series, in a less activist fetal form -- a maladroit stage illusionist, Existo the Magician (note Jackie Welch, terrific here as Maxine, was also a regular on the show, as were Sartain and others). Arnston also contributed clever musical spots to that program, as he did for at least one of the ERNEST films, and he and Welch worked again with Sams after EXISTO touring with a country-western musical comedy duo Bill & Coo, which hopefully will reach fruition in a form more folks can see.

The semi-claustrophobic nature of the film is due to its being set in the underground nightclub scene Existo and Maxine return to in the opening. It's essentially a theater film, and that primary-set aspect (which again seems to be fueling some reviewers here) is apropos; as in films as diverse as THE BLUE ANGEL, CABARET, CAFE FLESH and TOPSY-TURVY, the core set IS the stage Existo performs on. Thus, apart from some key set pieces (in the posh renovated restaurant supplanting a former underground performance space, the estate Existo and Penelope retreat to, and some exteriors), it all centers around the club, a conceit some obviously chafe at though it's not reflective of low-budget paucity of imagination, it's integral to the concept and characters itself. If that's a negative for you, too bad. Theater films are, by their nature, often prescribed in their settings; this is not per se indicative of cheapness.

Having spent time working theater in my college years, I can attest to the accuracy with which the film captures that insular universe, which is part of its appeal -- clearly, the filmmakers are also extrapolating from their own close-knit theatrical/video troupe. Again, despite the strong negative reviews here, there is a fine story at work -- the plot kicks in after the setup of the characters and world they live in. Every musical number (and this is a musical, as much as ROCKY HORROR, THE WICKER MAN, FORBIDDEN ZONE, etc.) is brilliantly executed, advancing characters and narrative with deft skill while being in and of themselves outstanding: brilliant, audacious, hilarious, akin to Trey Parker's abilities (though Arnston is, to my ear, by far the better musician and sharper talent; I've since snapped up the CD and love spinning it while working). To my mind, Arnston is an unsung musical genius, his entire body of work embracing (with seeming effortlessness) all idioms, genres and target audiences at one time or another, his wit quick and range astonishing. He's at the center of EXISTO, and it's his film.

Seen today, EXISTO is still a pointed, funny and pretty savage snapshot of the "Land of the Free" since the Reagan Administration, "Contract With (read:On) America" anti-NEA ReBiblican era of politics kicked into full swing. Though the film's antic flamboyance deliberately undercuts any sense of mortal danger, Existo and his band of guerrilla performance artists are fighting for their lives against crushing political repression, making the film a curious companion to V FOR VENDETTA; in fact, in some ways EXISTO is closer to aspects of the original Alan Moore/David Lloyd graphic novel (created in the 1980s, reflecting Moore & Lloyd's anxiety over Thatcher's reign), retaining and expanding the music hall/cabaret element of the original V that the film adaptation ditched. Existo and his cronies, though, are less lethal compatriots, aiming to blow minds instead of Parliament.

The venom leveled against this film by some of the IMDb reviewers is indicative of the reactions EXISTO elicits: viewers either love it or hate it. I've seen this at every showing; like a Guy Maddin film or offbeat musical oddities like FORBIDDEN ZONE or CANNIBAL! THE MUSICAL, EXISTO brooks no safe middle ground. Walkouts happen, but those who are caught in the film's glow find it intoxicating, and are cheering by the finale. Those of us who love it want to see EXISTO reach a much wider audience, and it hasn't lost its bite over the years. If anything, the teeth sink deeper, as the reality of US politics and society are closer to the fictional future EXISTO posited over seven years ago.

The impatience of some viewers to any non-traditional form of cinematic satire shouldn't keep those receptive to this gem away. Give it a shot -- it's a great film!

Quite profane, but an interesting idea is at work here. The exaggerated extremes of the Right and the Left leave the audience pretty disgusted with both sides, even with Existo and his artistic ensemble - but that's the point. There are holes and inconsistencies in the plot, but it's interesting nonetheless. The musical numbers are pretty interesting, as are the scenes with Existo's ensemble.

Probably one of the best moments in the movie is when The Artists are emerging from the sewers to inflict guerrilla "art" on the hapless, brainwashed suburbs - the integration of the Arts into a warlike situation is very funny, and quite well executed. The various Arts being performed are completely lacking in beauty or real meaning other than to outrage and startle, but then this movie is not meant to ever be perceived as a realistic depiction of the fight between Conservatism and the Arts. It's just meant to be outrageous.

The cast is a Who's Who list of the Nashville acting elite - a particularly good performance is Jenny Littleton as Penelope. Mark Cabus as the smarmy Roupen is a cariacature at first, but in the last scenes of the movie he suddenly becomes a real person.

First off, I'd just like to make it clear that I did not find this movie terrible for any political reason. I am neither left or nor right, and I am totally indifferent to politics.

Now, with that out of the way. This film is utterly awful. Aiming to be a low budget, cult classic that pokes fun at right-wing conservativeness, "Existo" crashes and burns with its trite political humor that completely fails at even garnering the slightest of smirks. Coke Sams (who, by the by, directed the Ernest films, which are some of the worst films of all time), is trying way too hard, and ends up with a "beat you over the head" style of attempted satire that completely misses the point of cult fandom.

The genius of cult classics is that the directors didn't know they were making a cult classic. They just wanted to make a quirky, original film and weren't sure if anyone would like it. But Coke Sams is actually trying to intentionally make a cult classic here. He's aware of himself too much, and that makes his work extremely pretentious. It's like someone dumped the entire Criterion Collection, every episode of Inside the Actor's Studio, some of Michael Moore's 5th grade liberal poems that he scribbled on the back of his notebook, and a gallon of feces into a melting vat, mixed up the putrid contents, and then, through some undoubtedly illegal process, converted the product into a film of monumentally horrible proportions.

The film opens with a voice-over that tells of a dystopian, ultra-conservative future. Yeah, really subtle. Existo, the main character of film, played by Bruce Arnston, is a member of a secret rebel movement poised to overthrow the right-wing government. Arnston does all sorts of Zaney things that you'd see on one of those live-action children's shows on PBS, like delivering all of his lines, both in dialog and song, in the fashion of a bad Jim Carrey imitation, and while this may amuse the everloving crap out a group of 8 year olds, it does naught for someone with an attention span wide enough to realize that there's about ten billion better ways they could be wasting their time, like setting all their cherished possessions on fire or phialing down grandma's bunions.

No doubt through some kind of agreement between Sams and Jim Varney via their Ernest-built relationship, Varney makes his very last appearance in this film as an old man caked in Cream of Wheat. It's very sad to think that this was the last "professional" thing Varney did before he died, and I can't help but to think that Varney's death is somehow related to this film.

I'll close by saying, don't be fooled by the positive user comments for this film. This film was made in Nashville, and you'll note that almost all of the positive user comments are from anonymous users from Tennessee, most likely friends of Sams or even members of the crew who produced this abomination, perhaps even Sams himself.