..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Kim Voynar
..Michael Wilmington

Week Three 2008
The Summer Of
Wish Fulfillment

AHA!!!!

A theme for the summer has finally emerged from the back of my brain pan.

It's not the most original idea, but it's come together in the reflection of Iron Man's massive opening and the rising tide of expectation for Sex & The City, the male and female conduits. 

But even more so, it was about figuring out the problem with Speed Racer.  There was no character in that film that became the connective tissue to a wider audience.  Speed is, pretty much, a kid in a fast toy.  The emotional rooting interest was never offered in the advertising and the critics rarely noticed it, as they reached for vomit bags because too much movement tends to upset people over 30. 

Of course, as I said from the moment I saw the film, the film is primarily for children, who dream, like Speed, of going fast, winning races, and receiving perfect love from their parents.  But they didn't sell that.

It's Wish Fulfillment, Stupid. 

This summer, even more than usual, the films are really a specific reflection of the potential audience's wishes ... who and what they wish they could be.  As Manohla Dargis pointed out, it is particularly male this summer, though there is more female Wish Fulfillment than usual.

To wit:

Iron Man - A short, obnoxious drunk who is unconcerned with the murder of people using weapons that are for show, but with which he has no emotional connection, and who has a tall, blonde female near-slave who does all he wants without expecting anything other than a check in return (and not really caring much about the check) is transformed into a short, obnoxious not-so-drunk hero in a really cool suit who takes real concern about who he kills (though his only real emotional connection is rage against those who hurt him personally) and who has a tall, blonde female near-slave who does all he wants without expecting anything other than a check in return (and not really caring much about the check) and by the end, maybe a roll in the hay.

Prince Caspian - The success of the first film was widely attributed to the Christian audience, which is not inconsequential.  But I think an even bigger key was the spread of age and sexes in the four Pevensie children.  Two boys, two girls, two older, two younger.  There was someone for every kid to identify with ... to go through The Wardrobe with.  Even if you credit Christian ticket sales for a few hundred million dollars, the film was a big success simply on the kids audience.  Add a brave, cute, slightly older boy for girls to get excited by and boys to be challenged by ... but not too much ... and you are looking at another great success.

Indiana Jones - The mild-mannered professor turned adventurer with just enough f-up in him to make him feel like "one of us."  The lack of CG effects doesn't just keep the idea of the series pure, but it keeps the action within our grasp of Wish Fulfillment.  Indy might be cooler or stronger or aging better, but he's not THAT much beyond our basic human selves.

Sex & The City - The pleasure of female bonding and being able to "have it all" have always been the hallmark of this show ... made even more so by the failure of the series' central character Carrie to settle into love before 40, while two of her girlfriends struggle but succeed in finding stable romance, and the fourth doesn't want much more than lust and gets that ... repeatedly.  Like the Narnia series, something for every woman to identify with.

The Incredible Hulk - Little guy gets to unleash the power of his id while struggling to control it with his intellect.  Is there anyone who hasn't thought, "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry," which interestingly seems a reference to the TV show more than the comic?  And, of course, The Hulk gets to become a hero by unleashing his deepest, darkest emotions ... and to be impervious to pain while doing it, thus risking almost nothing.  Complete Wish Fulfillment.

Wanted - Another little guy turned powerful, in this case as an anti-hero, not a hero. 

Hancock - This one stands likely to be the most commercial of the new titles, not just because of Will Smith's massive popularity, but because this is the one film that really turns the corner on a character.  And Sony hasn't been shy about giving us the third act turn with Hancock becoming a responsible good guy (probably because the early marketing without it led to people feeling negatively as the Asshole Superhero, an issue that has also been featured in various media outlets, prematurely, already.)  The imposition of being a superhero has been a theme of most sequels to superhero movies, including Superman and Spider-Man.  This film flips the idea, starting with the guy who really doesn't want to be a hero, but who comes to understand the responsibility ... and, presumably, to like it.

The Dark Knight - Part of the attraction of this version of Batman, in my eyes, is that any of us - given a billion dollars - could do it.  A major life loss, anger, and then, a way of finding peace that simply requires hard work and determination ... and a billion dollars.   And that peace means becoming really, really cool ... and righteous ... and still mysterious.  This sequel takes the Wish Fulfillment even further by making Batman the target of a much more dangerous adversary. 

It strikes me that the reason that Batman Returns - a superior film to the first Burton Batman in so many ways - is not held in the same esteem as the first film because the adversaries actually get softer, not harder.  Catwoman is flirting with Batman and really in her own head space and The Penguin is just a sad freak seeking acceptance.  The point is that these films are never raised by the threat to the public ... it's the threat to the character who is our Wish Fulfillment focus. 

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - This series was always a knock off of the then shut-down Indiana Jones series.  The big twist was, first, CG, and then the additional of an active female sidekick who was almost as capable of handling herself as the male lead was.  But that also gave men the Wish Fulfillment of having something to do with the brainy, beautiful, buttoned-up girl other than talk which would lead to unbuttoning her corset in the end ... and for women, it offered the Wish Fulfillment of a strong, smart, beautiful woman who wanted to take off the corset as much as the man wanted it off, but who got the man to jump through all the hoops before she allowed him access.

Swing Vote - The least heroic of the films, the story of an entire election cycle coming down to one hard drinking, barely working, not-too-attentive, but loving guy in New Mexico, thus giving him the power to choose the next president all on his own offers the triple dip of Wish Fulfillment, in that first a poor, forgotten person is empowered greatly by the system being forced to bend to his will, then it's the negligent father becoming a focused parent in the process, and thirdly, it is the Wish Fulfillment that after a life of disinterest, given the chance, any of us could step up to the plate and find it in ourselves to do the right thing.

Certainly, every movie doesn't require Wish Fulfillment as a key theme.  But you might want to consider the idea in regards to some films that may or may not find audiences.  We already spoke about Speed Racer, but how about The Love Guru?  My question ... does The Love Guru get laid?  What was WFing about Austin Powers was that he was a loser who always managed to be a winner, allowing viewers to fanaticize that they took could do it all wrong and get a great result.  But what does The Love Guru, as a character, want?  I don't know from the ads. 

Get Smart - Again ... does Maxwell Smart get the girl?  "Laugh at the screw up" works a lot better on TV than it does at the movies ... unless the screw up ends up being the winner.  The Office will never make a good movie.  But by the end of 40 Year Old Virgin, the audience got the relief that the hero himself needed.  This has been true of all the Apatow hits.

Hellboy II - I love the first film and I'm sure I will love the second film, but getting potential ticket buyers to identify with Hellboy, who is not only non-human, but over 35 (to be kind), is not easy.  He's cool as hell, but can anyone really feel like him, aside from the outsider aspect?  Unlike The Hulk, he never gets to go back to his "real self." He IS his real self ... which to some of us, makes him cooler.  But he's not a natural Wish Fulfillment.

Mamma Mia! - On some level, this does seem to be a natural Wish Fulfillment for older women.  I haven't seen the show, but the impression I get is that an middle aged woman gets to reconsider three of her youthful relationships, one of whom is her daughter's father, as her daughter is about to get married.  But that's not what they are selling so much.  There is also a WF for the daughter, finally finding out who her father is.  But is that something many people can identify with?

Me?  My Wish Fulfillment is a movie I really, really like.  Wish us all luck. 

This Week's Box Office Chart

Season's First Box Office Chart - 4/21/08

- Email David Poland