AnnHolway360 Reviews

Whipped (2000)

Save Your Time...

[1/10 · 10 July 2007]

Every Sunday, a trio of buds get together at a NYC diner to boast about their sexual conquests of the night before. Sometimes they're joined by a newlywed ex-comrade and hoochie hunter who hangs on them like a puling barnacle. They're unabashed horn dogs/corn dogs and Mia, who witnesses them on the prowl, decides that they need to be taught a lesson, dammit. Ergo, she'll date and dump - why not? All three of them!

Gasp. What a wild idea. What a radical, naughty gal. Women now have the right to date and sleep around as much as they want to. As much as men do, even!

There is one solitary laughable element in "Whipped" - namely the fact that not once, during the amigo's detailed discussions of their bodily functions and the tantric talents of the bed partners they trash, do the other customers in the diner turn around and say, "Dude, we're trying to EAT here." Indeed, a heh-heh gag has an older lady eagerly weigh in on the useful sexual properties of certain beverages. A big fat Kermit the Frog "Sheesh" to that.

It's truly unfortunate that a buddy movie with a great setting, a smart, cute heroine and three possible pairings had to have such a cop-out ending.

P.S. - 30 "whip-oosh" sound effects to the screenwriter for use of the phrase "You go, girl". It was tired in 2000, and it's tired now.

Save your time and watch some "Sex and the City" reruns...

Fat Girl (2001)

Black and Bloodless at the Same Time...

[1/10 · 27 October 2006]

Is this art? Hey, you tell me. First of all, IMHO, a story/film doesn't need to qualify as "art" to be enjoyable. Second of all, like Bill Sampson says in my beloved "All About Eve", "What book of rules says that theatre exists only within some ugly buildings crowded into one square-mile of New York City? Or London, Paris, or Vienna? Wherever there's magic and make-believe and an audience, there's theatre." Even if it's not theatre to you, it's theatre to someone - somewhere. (paraphrase) Well, there sure as heck ain't magic here.

There is an excellent scene where 13-year old budding misanthrope Anais, full of the passion-bloom of early adolescence and the fairy-tale imagination of childhood, swims back and forth in the pool, picturing herself as the desired object of two dream lovers. I also liked the fact that Anais is already light years ahead of her 15-year old sister in the brains department. However, a good scene does not a good movie make.

The shame is – it might have made a very good story. What could have been a pitch-perfect, pitch-dark comedy/horror about sibling rivalry, middle-class ennui and the treachery of some young men somehow turned into a nihilistic mishmash of implausible dialogue and uneven tone.

It's interesting to me, a rampant film freak, that I have no blanket objection to the controversial subject matter/images of the film, but to the movie's tone and execution itself. Child rape? Hey, I found "B*****d out of Carolina" hard viewing, but an excellent film. Miserable adolescence? Dawn Weiner, we salute you. Men can be scum? Hello, and welcome to the "Company of Men". (Man, Aaron Eckhart scared me off dating for YEARS with that one.) Ultra-violence, ahoy? "A Clockwork Orange" – gorgeousness and gorgeosity! The depiction of twisted sex and the dark roads it can lead its characters – and us – down? Why not try "Don't Move" with Penelope Cruz? A film wants to be controversial? I'm all for it – I consider free speech one of my greatest privileges and I don't condone censorship.

But this – alas. Watching it, I couldn't help but remember a quote from the quirky NYC comedy "Jeffrey" – "Evil is one-note. It bores me." IMHO, this is darkness and mire without shading, dimension, satire, irony or much of anything original to say.

This is a movie that would probably like to believe it's as quirky, sharp and sardonic as Anais actually is. Unfortunately, it's as trite, pasty and insipid as her snarky older sister is. Anais deserves another – better – story, as do the viewers.

No matter how slim the selection of your local movie mart, there are so many more comedies, tragedies and romances that deserve your time. If you happen to see this on the shelf, why not give it a polite nod…and then keep walking? Your schedule – and your wallet – will thank you.

** Please also read Shinwa's insightful comments from 2002 – an excellent post!

Karla (2006)

Tough Viewing - Great Acting

[9/10 · 5 August 2006]

"Karla" asks – but does not answer - questions posed by at least 4 authors in their true-crime tomes about this case. Is Homolka a murderer? When Bernardo started bringing his kidnapped victims home, did her pleasure stem from relief at having other poor women to take his abuse – or was it of a more sinister nature?

Laura Prepon made a brave choice in this role and nails conflicting emotions of selfishness, remoteness and fear. Misha Collins is chilling and, in fairness, has an easier job in portraying Bernardo for what he was – a savage, nocturnal, misogynistic beast. Watch the scene where he goes berserk at his wife, screaming at her to get out of "his" house before turning on a dime and stopping her cold with a "Princess, wait," when he realizes she actually intends to do as he said and leave.

I would not wish a living nightmare like Bernardo on any woman, even his wife, but one has to wonder what Homolka THOUGHT would happen when she learned his true nature. When her fiancé admits that he "wants" her 15 year-old sister, her question is not "And how much of a running start do you want before I tell my father that?", but "Are you gonna marry me?" The movie finds its strength in the small details that drive home the heartlessness of these people – not that we needed reminding. Witness Bernardo whistling "Deck the Halls" while he fixes his future baby sister-in-law a drugged screwdriver and then stirs it with a candy cane. Witness the way he enters the house and blithely calls out "Hey, babe, I'm home," the night after her threw her down a set of stairs into the basement and beat the stuffing out of her.

Witness the way Karla reminds a victim to "smile for the camera" and taps her on the nose before retreating and letting Bernardo torment her. I concur with the analytic findings shown at the end of the movie that there is a "moral vacuity…an absence of empathy" to her.

Watching "Karla", I was also struck by the similarities between Bernardo and Ted Bundy – manipulative, apparently normal, avaricious, materialistic fiends. They both had a wife/girlfriend dangling on a string, and both started their life of crime as Peeping Toms with petty scams/theft before descending into violence. Both were also tormented by their own illegitimacy, which was kept secret from them by their mothers. "Karla" doesn't mention this implicitly, but watch for Bernardo's reaction when his 2nd victim calls him a b*****d.

Please be aware – the violence in this film is not (IMHO) exploitative but is very graphic and, as in "Heavenly Creatures", made more sickening by the fact that it actually happened. I got dizzy and had to close my eyes on a shot of cardboard boxes - those who have seen the film will understand why.

I don't pretend to have insight into the nature or depth of Homolka's guilt, but one thing is for sure - through their cruelty and depravity, this couple deprived the world of (at least) 3 very special girls. All my respect and sympathy goes out to the families and loved ones of all their victims, both those who are and are no longer with us.