Subject58

Pick up the DVD: listening to the director's commentary adds an overlay of seriousness that is-- on further reflection--a kind of simplification. It's all about where we were, how long the shot was, who added what, and how much it cost. "That's really Trisha Yearwood...those are her own clothes..." While the movie has its own sweet compelling (if minor) power (a sort of American Idol thang, as if you see it from the pov of the wanna be), there's something immensely tragic about having to face the fact that THIS is what the director of The Last Picture Show comes to... Then there's the tragedy of the loss of River Phoenix, this being the last film he completed; measured against the joy of seeing the young Sandra Bullock. Some of the advice Bogdanovich gives about cutting is really useful, and there's something tender about his obvious love for the actors...even if manifests itself in lines like "I thought...this kid is not just brilliant, he's also commercial." Alas...it turns out that the director was / is more commercial than brilliant.