Cecil B. Demented

After the bloody awful "Pecker", John Waters made this hilarious satire about a radical independent director, Cecil B. DeMented (Stephen Dorff) and his wild crew (Maggie Gyllenhaal, Adrian Grenier and Alicia Witt, among others) who kidnap a spoiled Hollywood starlet (Melanie Griffith, self-parodying her career of once successful turned B-list name) and force her to star in an underground film. In a world where the spoofs are made for the teenage audience and with the only purpose of recreating blockbusters' popular scenes (the "Scary Movie" series and its lame imitators - even the work of "cult" names like Kevin Smith - "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" - jumped on the same bandwagon), it's refreshing to watch a satire that's really funny and kitsch, but also very witty. DeMented's crew worships directors like Sam Peckinpah, Kenneth Anger, Pedro Almodóvar, Samuel Fuller, David Lynch and Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and not everybody will realize the irony in the end, but for film buffs who like these tidbits, "Cecil B. DeMented" is an absolute riot. 9/10.

All you `movie lovers' out there who are the genuine article, prepare to laugh – HARD! In `Cecil B. Demented,' famed off-Hollywood filmmaker John Waters has turned his attention to a subject that is obviously near and dear to his heart, and, in fact, near and dear to the hearts of all true lovers of movies everywhere. In his latest wild comedy, he has tackled the seemingly irreconcilable conflict that exists between the worlds of big budget mainstream Hollywood moviemaking and low budget, renegade independent cinema - a conflict that the latter always seems unfairly and unfailingly to lose. Waters certainly knows whereof he speaks - he, himself of course, being one of the great pioneers and icons of the underground film movement. He launched his directorial career and made a name for himself in independent film circles way back in the 1970's with such crude landmark underground classics as `Pink Flamingoes' and `Female Trouble.' Since that time, he has himself received some heat from diehard indie film purists who have considered him something of a sellout for producing offbeat but decidedly more `commercial' works like `Hair Spray,' `Cry Baby' and `Serial Mom, ` often with big name actors and actresses in starring roles. Yet, even with this more polished sheen, Waters' films have always retained that quality of outrageousness and that willingness to push the envelope that distinguish his vision from that of more mainstream filmmakers.

`Cecil B. Demented' is a particularly funny film for those who share Waters' outrage at the mass audience's seeming preference for the bland unoriginality of much of the product churned out by the cinema factory known as Hollywood and its seeming dismissal of the cutting edge experimentation and originality that define so much of independent filmmaking. And he lambastes a money-hungry industry that is all too eager and willing to supply the public with the big budget, special effects-ridden pablum it seems to crave. Or is it – in classic chicken-or-egg fashion – really the STUDIOS that condition the audience into thinking that those are the films that they want to spend their hard earned money to see? At any rate, Waters' clever parody follows a Patty Hearst-type storyline (as usual, Patty Hearst herself appears in the film) in which a group of bizarre, renegade independent filmmakers kidnap a Hollywood starlet (Melanie Griffith at her most likable) then force her to star in their reality-based new film which involves them filming themselves as they storm, guns blazing, into theatres that are showing putrid mainstream films, all in a righteous effort to bring commercial cinema to its knees.

`Cecil B. Demented' provides a rapid-fire onslaught of clever inside jokes lampooning both mainstream and independent filmmaking. Although his heart obviously lies with the latter, Waters also can remain objective enough to skewer some of the self-righteous pretentiousness that occasionally creeps into that type of filmmaking as well (he even shows that, as a director, he is damn good at staging one of those slick car chases he professes to abhor). Yet, as this clever parody plays itself out, most of us watching the film can't help but nod our heads in amused agreement with much of what he is showing us. In addition to the jokes themselves, Waters provides amusement with his sharply delineated comic characters each of whom satirizes a different aspect of the renegade subculture. We have, for instance, the maniacal, fanatical, single-minded director (delightfully played by Stephen Dorff) who sees himself as nothing less than the messiah sent to destroy commercial filmmaking and erect a cinema based on iconoclasm and originality in its place. We have all his devoted followers who run the gamut from Satanists to porn stars to punk rockers to straight hairdressers to gay truck drivers etc. Without question, much of the zestful energy that propels this madcap film forward comes from the dead-on performances of the actors and actresses in these roles.

Energy and originality are in fact the hallmarks of this film from start to finish. `Cecil B. Demented' may not be Waters at his most outrageous, but it provides loads of pleasure for film lovers who have been thinking many of the same thoughts that only Waters, in his uniquely humorous way, could effectively get across. Real movie lovers of the world unite! Cecil B. Demented is here to save the day!

Many of you have probably never heard of this film, which stars Stephen Dorff as a rebel filmmaker who goes to some interesting extremes to get his movie made. The film is directed by noted underground director John Waters, and Waters tosses in scores of Hollywood in-jokes (check out the marquee during the opening credits!). The reason more people didn't see this in the theater is simply that it's so... so... different. It's highly unique, and therefore less likely to appeal to a mass audience.

But you do need to see it, really! Cecil B. Demented (Dorff) is the leader of a motley band of would-be film aficionados who kidnap a Hollywood actress (Melanie Griffith) at the premiere of her latest film. Demented's idea is to make a movie using guerrilla tactics, making the statement that studio films are Bad and independent films are Good. Waters' point is that the studio system is such that any movie coming out of it fits into a formula to make it more palatable to the masses - that is, that the movies you see in the multiplexes are dumbed down for your viewing pleasure.

Demented tries to achieve his vision by staging protests of a sort at movie houses, film screenings, speeches, and even a drive-in. His entourage includes a Satanist, a former porn star, and many other social and sexual deviants. There's hardly a taboo subject Waters doesn't cover here! And to be sure, the character of Demented himself never changes, which is in itself a welcome respite. Had this been a Hollywood film, you might have seen the nefarious filmmaker suddenly see the error of his ways in the final three minutes. I won't give anything away to you, folks, but rest assured that the characters remain true to themselves, except for Griffith's character. She changes, but it's a subtle, honest change.

There are surprises everywhere you turn, but let me warn you: this is absolutely not a film for everyone. There is plenty here to offend even the most open of minds. It is at once a unique, refreshing, and exciting film. It never even rests to catch its breath - it doesn't want the audience to fall back into its Hollywoodized lull.

Major kudos for screenwriting go to Waters and to his amazing cast. If you're into offbeat films, please watch this.

Any film with Alicia Witt and Maggie Gyllenhaal has very good things going for it visually. And although a little weird for mainstream audiences, "Cecil B. DeMented is a very entertaining film. Imagine a spoof about the American film industry and American movie audiences, packaged as a cross between "Dr. Strangelove" and "State and Main".

It is after all a John Waters film, and a film set in his hometown of Baltimore. Which means the jokes will be hit-and-miss, with many best appreciated by film industry insiders and Baltimore natives. But the obvious fun the cast has playing their out-there characters is infectious. Melanie Griffith (Tippi Hedren's daughter) has a ball tweaking her diva image as she plays an aging star gradually won over to the cause of her kidnappers (insert Patti Hearst here who actually has a small part in the picture). Alicia Witt gives her best ever performance as the delectable porn star turned revolutionary. The best scene is when she and her fellow film revolutionaries hide out at a porn theater showing "Rear Entry", an anal epic co-starring Witt and a randy gerbil.

Stephen Dorff, before he went insane and got involved with Pamela (slug) Anderson, does a good job as the title character. But watch closely for an absolutely glowing performance by Gyllenhaal. She is something special with lines like: "I haven't had this much fun since my last livestock mutilation!"

Worth watching if you have a sense of humor, even better if you are demented.

It's not for the average movie fan. Cecil B. Demented is full of hidden clichés and retro-references that appeals to the warped viewer. The viewer who only sees movies with their 'significant other' will not appreciate this artistic production. The characters are almost toonish, but yet they are real. They are people you may have known, or at least viewed on the internet..eh. The colors are vivid as is the imagination. Waters leaves you wondering what he can think of next! Honey Whitlock is seductive, mature and yet willing and submissive to the abductor's plot. This does bring up memories of the Patricia Hearst kidnapping which appropriately she is in the movie. Hearst plays the role of Fidget's mother. And most of us guys can relate to Fidget. If you are a fan of underground movies, you will love this one!! Be careful who you refer this movie to, or they may put you in their prayers! It could polarize your next family get-together!