culdesac flix - Episode 16 - Shaun Of The Dead & Hot Fuzz

In this episode, we look at a pair of Simon Pegg comedies from across the pond.

http://www.culdesacflix.com/Episodes/Episode0016.mp4

The Man From Earth

This is one of those movies that you have to be in the mood for. It's not an action movie, but it is science fiction. It has no car chases, no special effects, no movement (did I mention no action). It is essentially a thought exercise and conversation between a group of old friends - one of whom claims to be (no spoiler here as this is what the movie is about) a caveman who has lived to the present day.

Written by Jerome Bixby (of Star Trek the Original Series and Twilight Zone writing fame), this neat little picture follows an evening of revelation when Professor John Oldman (played by David Lee Smith) reveals at a going away party for himself that he is not, in fact, Professor John Oldman but rather a many thousands of years old caveman who has somehow survived into the present day. The group is unbelieving at first, but as there are fellow professors there, they run with the idea and explore the possibility that John is speaking the truth.

There's not much more to write about this, without getting into the particulars that are wonderfully developed in the movie itself. The cast is wonderful - John Billingsley, William Katt, Tony Todd, Ellen Crawford, Annika Peterson, Richard Riehle and little known Alexis Thorpe. The discourse through the movie is interesting and a bit heretical at times, but ultimately is thought provoking and extremely interesting.

This is one of those movies that is probably destined to gather dust in the annals of the Internet, occasionally viewed by accident on Netflix or some other movie service. But those that discover it that have a mind for the original and in depth style of movie that requires a certain level of intellectual involvement on the viewer's part should enjoy this and pass it along to others of the same bent. When you consider Jerome Bixby's other writing credits include Mirror, Mirror of Star Trek, and It's a Good Life of the Twilight Zone (and also character writing for the remake, It's Still a Good Life in the updated 2002 version of the TZ show) - it's easy to see why this story is so interesting and thought provoking.

Definitely check this one out if you get a chance.

Crazy on the Outside

Rating: Ignore

Just saw "Crazy on the Outside". Don't bother. Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Julie "Hot" Bowen.

Tries to be a crazy, off the cuff comedy about a guy who just got out of jail (Allen) and is trying to adjust to the world outside. He is beset upon by his former parter (Ray Liotta) who wants him back in the crime business, his parole officer (Tripplehorn) who he finds himself infatuated with, and a lying sister (Weaver) who is doing her best to protect him by...lying to everyone about where he was.

It loses it's focus early on. At first you think he is going to go crazy (plastic animals start winking at him, he sees brief flashes of himself taking his anger out on people around him, etc) but then it devolves into a plotless, tension free ride through nowhere. There are shades of a smart comedy a la Get Smarty or Big Trouble, but these shades never manifest in any substantial way. The craziness drops off, the relationships are bland and ultimately lacking in any sort of movement, and frankly Tim Allen doesn't come across as anything but a dope of a guy charming his shallow way through life. Not an ex-con who is slightly mad.

There are some really good scenes and acting (with a cast like that, how could you not have some good acting? JK Simmons plays Sigourney Weaver's lecherous husband, which is good for a couple of laughs) - but nothing ties the scenes together, and you see the relationship developments from a mile away. Not even the couple of scenes with Julie "Hot" Bowen can rescue this from being anything but a mediocre attempt at sophisticated comedic storytelling.

I give it a "meh" and would only recommend watching if it's a Sunday afternoon and you're still half asleep with a hangover. Because if you did pass out again, it wouldn't be a big loss.