The Orkly Kid (1985) User Reviews

Good, atmospheric character piece.

[ungy357 · 7/10 · 13 January 2006]

"The Orkly Kid" is a high quality short film, establishing a strong sense of storytelling and characterization, and just barely avoiding becoming heavy-handed in revealing what it's protagonist REALLY wants. Crispin Glover gives a quirky, charming, and ultimately touching performance in the lead role.

While director Trant Harris' visual style is not especially slick, innovative or accomplished, he tells his story very well, and the lack of technical razzle-dazzle actually becomes more of a strength than a weakness. "The Orkly Kid" is not a perfect film. An mentioned before, it comes close to being heavy handed in it's subtext. But it is a memorable, creative and well told story that deserves to be seen.

A MUST SEE for Crispin Glover fans!!

[zep-3 · 9/10 · 11 February 1999]

Outstanding! This is Crispin Glover's favorite film of his. Never released because they can't get the rights to Olivia Newton John's song, which is absolutely essential to the film. Sean Penn was also up for the starring role, with the wise choice going to the amazing Crispin Glover.

Crispin Glover at his wonderfully wacky best

[Woodyanders · 10/10 · 10 May 2006]

The gloriously gaga opening scene expertly sets the tone for the incredible, jaw-dropping, incessant and often excruciatingly riotous eccentricity to come: A silhouetted nighttime profile shot of chronically kooky and uncompromising consummate flake thesp Crispin Glover, wearing a flowing blonde wig, wind whipping his hair about in undulating waves, stands astride a mountaintop lip-syncing to Olivia Newton-John's forlorn pop ballad "Please Don't Keep Me Waiting"! You see, Crispin's an awkward, ungainly, socially maladjusted jerkwater burg misfit with a secret hardcore infatuation with Olivia and her music, a closet fetish that's so extreme that Crispin actually dresses, acts, and -- oh gaa-wd! -- even sings just like Olivia. Worse yet, Glover even has a "Xanadu" poster on his bedroom wall! Crispin, after much fretting, decides to come out about his Olivia hang-up to the burg's stuffy, conservative, stubbornly set in their ways square citizens by impersonating Olivia -- he's got the wig on, plus bright red lipstick and black eyeliner! -- and belting out one of her tunes in a shrill, scratchy, piercing soprano wail at a local talent show that's going to be broadcast on television.

A very barbed and caustically funny 35 minute American Film Institute student movie project, "The Orkly Kid" doesn't pull any punches with its revealing exposure and mordant ridicule of the hidebound, close-minded, oppressively staid toe-the-line conformist mindset that's a rigid cornerstone of small town America ("This town's enough to drive a man nuts," Glover moans at one point), an uptight sensibility which leads to xenophobia and a gross inability to either tolerate or appreciate anyone courageous enough to break away from the restrictive conventional mold. Moreover, the film has the admirable guts to equate conformity with repressiveness, depicting Glover's amiable nonconformist oddball as the only person in the picture who's easygoing and enjoys life while the straight townies are sour, cranky and often down in the dumps unhappy frumps. Glover delivers a perfectly manic performance as the endearingly gonzo main character, with solid support from Stefan ("Fear No Evil") Arngrim as his sole friend (Crispin tries unsuccessfully to have Arngrim put on a gorilla suit and carry him off stage after he's done with his number!), the ever-adorable Elizabeth ("Valley Girl") Daily as a tarty diner waitress, and Courtney ("Children of the Corn") Gains as a local bullying hick. Glover and fellow marvelously idiosyncratic celluloid quirkmeister writer/director Trent Harris reteamed for the equally amusing and abrasive "Rubin and Ed."

3 films

[Blackavarbunny · 20 September 2004]

I just saw this the other night. To try to clarify, this is 3 short films. The first one is, I believe, actual video footage of the Beaver Kid, the subject of the 3 films. The second film, is Sean Penn, doing his impression, almost scene for scene, of the Beaver Kid. The third is the most movie-like of the three, starring Crispin Glover as the Beaver Kid (Orkly Kid?).

Hilarious. The first is a riot in itself.

Both that follow are great. There are a lot of laughs, and it's pretty dark comedy, so look out. Crispin Glover's performance in the 3rd is excellent. It's so talented, he has the Beaver boy down pat.

Excellent short film with great performance from Crispin Glover.

[d_m_s · 10/10 · 17 August 2014]

Just watched this short film after having had a bit of a Trent Harris weekend, which started with Rubin & Ed and was followed by The Beaver Trilogy then The Orkly Kid (thankfully, all available on youtube, otherwise I would never have been able to see them due to their lack of availability. However, I believe Trent Harris does sell his films via his own website but at high prices due to the cost of self- distribution).

Out of the three, this short is the best. There are actually two versions of this film; This one, from 1985, and the version that is contained within The Beaver Trilogy documentary, which was shot in 1981 and stars Sean Penn in the main role. The original, with Penn, is badly made, badly directed and has shockingly bad acting from Penn. Trent must have learnt a lot from that trial run because the subsequent version is infinitely better on every count and Crispin Glover's performance is spot on. Without a doubt this is my favourite performance of Glover's that I've seen.

Poignancy was probably added to this film for me since I watched The Beaver Trilogy first (which is the documentary about Dick Griffiths, the guy from Beaver whom this short film is based on). Seeing that made me understand the character better. This film is a comedy and it is good fun to watch, but there is an underlying sadness running through it since the main character, Dick (aka 'Larry' as he is called in this film), is such an outsider in this small American town that is hostile towards anything strange or different. Larry being the eccentric that he is, is often ridiculed by his peers and when he performs as Olivia Newton John at the talent show that he organises, it results in everyone turning their backs on him in shame.

In the film (as in real life), Larry contacts a TV director he met previously by chance to come and film the talent show. The director agrees, seeing it as good material for the TV channel he works for. The show is a bit of a disaster, with the small-minded audience not expecting Larry to perform as a woman and it does not go down well. A scene near the end has Larry considering suicide after he contacts the director to ask him not to screen the documentary on TV, due to the reaction he has had from the townsfolk. The director refuses. In the film, Larry does not go through with the suicide and it ends on a more positive note. Real life was a bit different though and Dick did shoot himself but luckily he survived. This resulted in Trent Harris burying the documentary for years, which is why The Beaver Trilogy did not see the light of day until 2000 (and probably only after Dick had died from a heart attack). For an interesting insight into this and Trent Harris, the youtube video of 'The Beaver Trilogy Q&A' with Harris at the Raindance festival is worth a viewing too.

This is a sublime short film, perfectly written, directed, shot and acted. I really can't fault it and it's one of my instant favourites.

A guy in small town Idaho channels Olivia

[lindyjan · 10/10 · 7 December 2005]

I was able to see this version in 1995 when Trent did a screening at the Utah Film and Video Center. It was so fun! Trent loved the story, and showed us the original footage of the actual guy from Beaver Utah.

So, one thing about the Orkin Kid that I noticed (although I could be remembering wrong since it's been since the Beaver Trilogy showed at Sundance in 2001 that I've seen the movie) is that they implied that the Orkin Kid had some homosexual tendencies, which wasn't in the original footage.

Growing up in Utah, seeing that footage hit close to home. I've been to (and in) a few funny talent shows, and have some old 8mm of my own.

-teehee

Thanks Trent and Crispin!

Interesting

[krillin_goku · 3 December 2002]

When I was quite young when my sister took me to the downtown art center where the director was showing this film. I think there were two versions of this. Both were pretty much the same but had a different scene here and there.

This short really shows how people in some small towns think and how they treat change. It really stuck in my mind afterwards. I dont know where you can find it or see it but its worth it.