Film: Double Bill, John Waters
John Waters, Director Of `Pecker', Currently On Release, On His Ideal Cinematic Pairing
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Hurlyburly(Anthony Drazen, 1998)
These Movies are supposedly at opposite ends of the spectrum, which is the real reason I go to the cinema. I love extremes, so they would show as a double bill at the John Waters Theatre, if there were one. I don't think they would be a commercial success.
The Faculty is a teen movie, almost. It's a big, new film about aliens invading teachers, and it's the best high-school concept I have heard in a long time: suppose teachers really were from another planet. The cast are snotty, sexy kids with good haircuts - what more could you ask for in a trashy movie?
Often when something is meant to be trash it tries too hard. I am thinking of films such as Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, also written by Kevin Williamson. The Faculty is his best teen-trash flick: it should win an Oscar for best haircuts. There is one for make-up, after all, and hair is so important in Hollywood.
Hurlyburly, another new film, shows the worst side of homosexuality. The acting is absolutely fabulous; it's torture to spend two hours with these misogynistic, coke-snorting Eighties monsters.
It's based on a very hip play by David Rabe. And it's one of the best of a genre that I adore: the love-to-hate-LA type. It's an art film in the best sense of the word, the way they used to be. It's well-acted and it's not MTV-paced. It's a real downer. I always get invigorated by depressing films.
These two movies are not mainstream. One is commercially intelligent, the other is intelligent in a very unpleasant way. Most movie-goers don't enjoy both qualities. You could be punched in the face for recommending either of these two movies. Even my friends probably wouldn't like both.
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