Existo

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.

When the U.S. government declares war on art, a group of guerrilla artists wage a counterattack with the verbose performer Existo at the helm. Attempts are made to undermine Existo's powerful hold on the artistic underground, including a plot that caters to his rampant libido, and his fellow insurgents strive to reawaken him to their cause.

Existo is the brainchild of Nashville's Coke Sams and Bruce Arnston, the creative team behind the Ernest P. Worrell movies; several of the actors from that series appear here, including Ernest himself, the late Jim Varney. However, beyond the talent involved, there is virtually NO connection to be made between EXISTO and, say, ERNEST GOES TO SCHOOL.

Like PEE-WEE'S PLAYHOUSE, the Ernest films can be somewhat disturbing to children who pick up on their vague, low-budget creepiness. In a kids' movie, this quality can undermine the filmmakers' intentions to provide "wholesome" family entertainment; EXISTO is definitely not a children's film, but the weirdness that lay dormant in the Ernest franchise bubbles to the surface here, and bargain-basement slapstick gives way to exceptionally clever dialogue and a fascinating lead performance.

While the film's preoccupation with conservatism's war on art makes it seem dated even for its time--the representation of televangelists as the ultimate money-grubbers had already been taken to its satirical extreme in eighties films like REPO MAN--EXISTO's saving grace lies within the portrayal of its titular character by Bruce Arnston. Arnston's dialogue can only be described as high-mimetic scatology; it grants Shakespearean eloquence to MAD Magazine- style prurience. His brilliant logorrhea is delivered with pseudo-intellectual exaggeration reminiscent of Frank Zappa or "Weird Al" Yankovic, and he is often backed by a soundtrack that recalls the Residents.

The Existo character first appeared on "Hey Vern! It's Ernest", a highly inventive TV series that, like the film EXISTO, is hurting for widespread DVD distribution. Unless that happens, one of the most unusual comic performances of the last decade will only be available through occasional screenings and "official bootlegs" (www.existo.com), so take advantage while you can.

Incorrectly described as a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" for the next millennium, this rampage of images and near-Shakespearean wordplay is a dagger through the heart that makes "Rocky Horror" look like a pin prick. This is an amazing example of what truly creative people can do (for an astoundingly small amount of money) when freed of the confines of the Hollywood machine. "Existo" skewers both the bizarr-o radical left and the oh-so-self-righteous right by presenting both as their all too accurate extremes. It's filled with musical numbers that simply will not leave your head and will have you annoying your local record store until a soundtrack is released. And I can't wait to see Bruce Arnston's face on t-shirts! Pray to all the gods you've heard of that someone will pick up this monuMENTAL work for wider distribution!

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.

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.