art school confidential

Whew- busy day.

Ok, so in keeping with my commitment to see more films, I went to the Film Forum yesterday to watch the new Leonard Cohen film but it was, unfortunately, all sold out. Walking home, I stopped at the Angelika and decided to catch whatever was next playing next.
It was a 6:15 showing of Art School Confidential.

I'm going to preface the rest of this post by saying it was not a bad movie. It just wasn't a good movie.
The concept was certainly there and I get the impression that this was a fun film to work on but that it was almost overly ambitious in its aim, resulting in something that looked a bit cheap and haphazard.

I imagine Terry Zwigoff and Dan Clowes (the director and writer) excitedly hashing out the script together:
"We'll put this scene here and OH! This is great! What if we do a jump cut with a sound bridge to the scene where..." etc. etc.
It ultimately felt like a bunch of scenes in search of a movie, not a movie complete in and of itself. The pace was somewhat jarringly inconsistent through out and finally, the story was not rewarding enough for me to feel it worth my 102 minutes.

BUT, like I said, it wasn't so much that it was bad as it was unsatisfying, like non-fat frozen yogurt when you want ice cream.
If you wanted to see it, please don't let this be a deterrent.

I'm sure the films original incarnation was great; it was adapted from a comic book of the same name. It is the well-crafted characters from print that translates most effectively and entertainingly to the big screen. Add, to already strongly written characters, the talents of Jim Broadbent and John Malkovich, who were both excellent in their respective roles, and you have some great moments.
Just not enough of them.

As for the lead, twenty year old Max Minghella (son of writer/director Anthony [English Patient, Cold Mountain]), he was actually quite impressive. He may have coattails to ride on but based on this film, he doesn't seem to need them; he has enough talent to stand on his own.

The film I'm most excited to see next? The Road to Guantanamo.
I can barely contain myself...
It's out tomorrow.