Cecil B. Demented...very demented

Cecil B. Demented - John Waters - 2000 - 5/10

Summary:

Baltimore's native director Cecil B. Demented (Stephen Dorf) leads a band of radical movie revolutionaries bent on making a truly good movie. To do so, they kidnap the starlet Cecil's script has been written for - Honey Whitlock (Melanie Griffith). After an all out kidnapping that includes guns, grenades and carefully planted bombs, the gang drags Honey back to their studio-lair where they force her to begin learning lines and shooting the movie. Each crew member is a sort of over the top eccentric - from satanists to rappers. The movie is little more than live action reality, featuring the Hollywood star Honey, the nymphomaniac Cherish (Alicia Witt) and the drugged out Lyle (Adrian Grenier) raiding a multiplex, a Maryland Film Commission press conference, and the set of a "Forrest Gump" sequel (my favorite). Adding to the tension is Cecil's insistance that the crew be celibate so they focus on their work and channel their sexual energy into the production.

Critique:

The movie is really "too good" at what it does. Meaning it is simply too crazy. It took me awhile to really get into the feel and tempo of the movie and then I really enjoyed the middle of the movie. But then the end was even more, all over the place, and I began to get mildly annoyed again. The acting is over the top - its probably supposed to be. But the problem is, it's over the top to the point that the acting is BAD. I was especially annoyed by Maggie Gyllenhal's satanist character because the character was pretty flat - and her lines were stupid to the point that they caused me pain. I was hoping she'd be in the movie more - maybe be a little bit more like herself instead of some crazy devil worshipper. At the same time, when the movie was good, it was good - pretty funny, lots of good movie references, and other little things that I really like. But not enough to overcome all of the bad.

Verdict:

If you want to do something crazy, its an ok flick to watch

If you liked this movie, see...
...Death to Smoochy
...Celebrity
...Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas