MCN DVD Reviews: December 23, 2008

The Wrap Up ...

Towelhead

	..The MCN Reviews Vault
	..The MCN Critics Roundup

Towelhead

If provocation could be measured, Alan Ball's shocking coming-of-age drama would rate 10 on a scale of 10. Towelhead is, at once, deeply empathetic, unabashedly exploitative and impossible to ignore. At its best, it forces viewers to balance their visceral and intellectual responses to depictions of overt racism, ethnic stereotyping, statutory rape, pedophilia, pornography, synthetic patriotism and parental rights. At its worst, Towelhead exploits the extreme behavior of its characters to score easy points with people already ensconced in the choir. Ball's most controversial choice, though, was agreeing to stick with the title of the novel from which his film was adapted, instead of the fallback title, Nothing Is Private, or something less toxic than an ethnic slur.

As it was, the debate over the title among Arab, Sikh and Islamic advocacy groups -- already predisposed to mistrust Hollywood - served to overshadow the multifaceted story and make distribution difficult. Ball, the screenwriter of American Beauty and creator of Six Feet Under, is no amateur when it comes to make audiences cringe. Here, a sexually precocious Lebanese-American girl, Jasira (Summer Bishil), appears to be using her budding sensuality to entice grown men into crossing firmly established moral borders. After her self-centered American mother (Maria Bello) catches Jasira and boyfriend in a questionable position, the 13-year-old is sent to Texas to live with her determinately male-chauvinist dad (Peter Macdissi), a Lebanese Christian whose views on womanhood might have been shaped by the Taliban. While neither parent is completely heartless, they mistrust Jasira and, among other unreasonable demands, forbid her from dating black classmates. Their neighbor (Aaron Eckhart) is an army reservist who's likely to be called up any day for duty in the first Bush war on Saddam Hussein. His overt patriotism is mocked by Jasira's father, a NASA employee who can't seem to decide whether he loves or hates America. When Jasira begins babysitting the neighbors' obnoxious son, she discovers the reservist's stash of condoms and soft-core porn, which she finds to be highly stimulating. When her secret vice is revealed, the boy's dad takes it as a green light for illicit seduction. Another neighbor (Toni Collette) not only sniffs out the man's intentions, but she also worries that Jasira's father might be using her for a punching bag. That she's only working on her suspicions, instead of hard evidence, demands that we question her interference and acceptance of Jasira's vows of innocence. To his credit, Ball allows each of the characters moments of dignity, even if we occasionally are led to suspect the worst of all of them.

The bonus package includes panel discussions with Ball, the actors, novelist Alicia Erian and representatives of the Sikh and Arab-American community who aren't at all reluctant to voice their displeasure with the title and inflammatory language. Towelhead was accorded a perfunctory theatrical release last fall, but it failed to generate sparks at the box office. No surprise, there. It should be noted that Ball's drama is consistently engrossing and graced with excellent performances. Bishil may have been 19 when she worked on the film, but her portrayal of a 13-year-old virgin was extremely convincing. The Disney graduate has been nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, and she deserves serious consideration by Oscar voters. If Miley Cyrus had accepted the same role, the howl from gossip-mongers and child-protection agencies would have dwarfed the response to the news Dakota Fanning's was playing a rape victim in Hounddog. That controversy caused major distributors to avoid Hounddog like the plague. After a hit-and-run release, it will be released in DVD on Feb. 3. -- Gary Dretzka

Baghead

The Duplass Brothers' low-budget thriller, Baghead, in which a serial killer terrorizes a group of indie-filmmakers in a riverside cabin, has nothing in common with Towelhead, besides an extremely limited release. Otherwise, it is an intermittently scary genre-bender that feels more like an inside joke than a fully realized horror or relationship movie. The brothers, Mark and Jay, wrote Baghead after a crew member on the set of their Puffy Chair said the scariest thing he could think of was a guy with a bag on his head, staring into your window. Maybe a zombie with a bag on his head, or John Wayne Gacy, but it's difficult to imagine being frightened by someone who resembles the Unknown Comic. Too much, or not enough, of the movie is spent on the romantic hang-ups of the four neurotic young filmmakers, two of each gender, who have sequestered themselves in a cottage that practically screams, "Kill 'em." Baghead belongs to the subgenre of indie pix known as mumblecore. These films tend to be set in the living rooms and bedrooms of low-rent apartments, or in the woods. The twentysomething characters spend a lot time discussing their sex lives and inability to connect with the intangibles of life. Much of the dialogue feels improvised and the hand-held camera can induce nausea. In effect, it's an American offshoot of Dogma 95, but without the good scripts. Far better examples of the form can be found in Joe Swanberg's sexy urban chatfest, Hannah Takes the Stairs, and www.ifc.com, where his web serial Young American Bodies unspools. The common denominator in Baghead and Hannah is mumblecore regular, Greta Gerwig, who recalls a young .Ellen DeGeneres. The extras, which are more annoying than informative, include interviews with the sibling filmmakers and their infant children. -- Gary Dretzka

Surfer, Dude

S.R. Bindler, who made the engaging documentary Hands on a Hard Body, wrote and directed this stoner comedy, which can't seem to decide whether it's a comedy about surf culture or a beach-based sequel to Half Baked and Up in Smoke. Matthew McConaughey is entirely believable as a grown-up version of Jeff Spicoli, suffering a crisis in conscience when he's asked to accept big bucks for starring in a virtual-reality game about surfing. In real life, no extreme athlete under 40 would turn his back on such a sweet deal, but Steve Addington is a more contemplative soul. The more pressing matter at hand is a months-long dearth of waves suitable for big-time surfing. And, no, I couldn't care less, either. Most of the fun derives from the stoner humor contributed by Addington's posse and such celebrity dope fiends as Willie Nelson and Woody Harrelson. Otherwise, there's an abundance of topless party girls to keep the Beavis & Butt-head crowd from nodding off. If nothing else, the cast looked as if they were enjoying themselves. -- Gary Dretzka

Eagle Eye

It would require far too many words to describe adequately what happens in D.J. Caruso's frenetic digital-age thriller, Eagle Eye. That the story makes no logical is beside the point, however. At its core, it is a re-roasting of the old chestnut that requires innocents to heed the commands of a disembodied voice or something horrible will happen to their loved ones or unsuspecting civilians. Recently, in the 108-minute-long 88 Minutes, Al Pacino was required to jump through the same hoops as the characters in Eagle Eye, portrayed by Shia LaBeouf and Michell Monaghan. Here, their characters' increasingly outlandish actions are dictated by someone on the other end of a portable phone/computer/PDA. The contemporary twist here arrives in the form of technology that not only allows widely separated people to communicate with each other while on the run, but also to track their place in the world at any given moment. As the digital scavenger hunt transpires at a velocity only slightly slower than the speed of light, viewers capable of putting their brains on hold for two hours will fare better than those who require logic and comprehensive exposition. As is the case with most action-genre specimens, breakneck action is expected to fill the potholes in the screenplay. But, hey, Eagle Eye cracked the $100-million barrier, so all's good … right? (I suspect the producers anticipated a larger return on their investment.) That said, fans of such fare will enjoy the experience, even as it makes the transfer from traditional- and IMAX-sized screens, to standard TV sets and iPhones. The CG effects benefit, as well, from display on the Blu-ray format. The BR version and double-disc DVD add several entertaining extras, including Asymmetrical Warfare: The Making of Eagle Eye, Eagle Eye on Location: Washington, D.C., Is My Cell Phone Spying on Me?, Shall We Play A Game?, Road Trip and a gag reel. -- Gary Dretzka

The Duchess

Of Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire, French diplomat Louis Dutens, observed, "When she appears, every eye was turned towards her. When absent, she was the subject of universal conversation."

The line is repeated - by way of introduction, before a gathering of peers - in Paul Dibb's lavish biopic of the bright young woman indentured by her mother to bear sons for the second most powerful man in 18th Century England. Ralph Fiennes plays the emotionally frozen Duke, whose stately mansion became the gilded cage for Keira Knightley's beautiful bird. They lived in a world in which blue-blooded women knew their responsibilities were limited to delivering heirs, providing arm candy and looking the other way when their men schtupped the servants, or anyone else they chose. Otherwise, they were free to gossip, concoct ever-more-outlandish gowns and hairpieces, play games of chance and take their purebred dogs on walks around the exquisitely manicured estates. Unable to fulfill her primary function, Georgiana was forced to suffer such indignities as raising her husband's bastard daughter as her own, accept that he was faithless and bear the brunt of his futility. And, yet, she never looked less than mahvelous. The parallels to the future Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales - herself, a direct descendent of Georgiana Spencer -- are inescapable, right down to the sexual dalliances of both spouses. To his great credit, Dibbs avoids banging his audience over the head with the coincidences in the women's lives.

In Knightley's hands, Georgiana is an amiable 17-year-old beauty, perfectly willing to perform her child-bearing duty in exchange for the trappings of near royalty. As the Duke grows more distant and lascivious, the Duchess finds ways to keep herself from shriveling into a prune. These include inviting her best friend and subsequent bedroom rival, Bess Foster (Hayley Atwell), to move into the mansion, and embarking on a not-so-secret affair with the cutesy-pie populist, Lord Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper, familiar from Mamma Mia!). While Fiennes is extremely convincing as a world-class prick, Dibbs puts too much pressure on the design team to make Georgiana a multi-dimensional character. To that end, however, his intentions were fully realized. The costumes and hair designs are deserving of an Oscar nomination, at least. Even better, the production was given access to several of the same historic mansions originally populated by people portrayed in the movie. The making-of featurettes, included in the DVD package, expand on period history and attention to detail, and are well worth checking out. -- Gary Dretzka

Ghost Town

The critics were kind to David Koepp's supernatural rom-com, Ghost Town, primarily because Ricky Gervais is wonderfully dyspeptic as a dentist who's allowed to remain among mortals, even after dying momentarily on an operating table. The other reason, I suspect, is that the adult characters aren't portrayed as slackers, ditzy blonds or sex addicts. They wear regular clothes, don't use profanities in conversation and can go days without hitting a bong. In his short time on the other side, the dentist is given the dubious gift of being able to interact with ghosts of the dearly departed. After learning of the dentist's return to New York, the restless spirits descend on him like a pack of wolves, begging him to grant a final wish or prevent a disaster from happening in the absence. Although the dentist would prefer to be left alone, the ghost of a tuxedo-clad cad (Greg Kinnear) convinces him to intercide in his archeologist wife's (Téa Leoni) post-mortem romance. Employing information gleaned from the ghost, the dentist is able to ingratiate himself into her life. This, of course, goes against some paranormal code of ethics, but his pursuit of Leoni (a neighbor, conveniently) is justifiable because, well, she's Téa Leoni. The making-of extras explain how the objects-through-bodies trick is done, as well as other things about the production. -- Gary Dretzka

Savage Grace

In this truly nasty piece of reality-based work, the always-game Julianne Moore plays Barbara Daly, the beautiful, if unbalanced wife of the heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune. Brooks Baekeland (Stephen Dillane) is as unpleasant a character as one is likely to encounter in the movies … even by the standards of upper-class pervs in indie pix. Together, they make George and Martha, the combatants of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, look like the Huxtables. Naturally, their male spawn inherited the worst tendencies of his parents, and an already weird situation grows even more twisted. Later, mom and dad will insert themselves into the sex lives of Junior and his friends. The same people who enjoyed such psycho-sexual dramas as White Mischief are the intended audience for Tom Kalin's Savage Grace. You know who you are. -- Gary Dretzka

The Secret Life of the American Teenager: Season 1
Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget: Uncensored
Glenn O'Brien's TV Party

The ABC Family original series, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, became an overnight sensation when it debuted last summer. At the center of the story was Amy Juergens, a 15-year-old high school freshman, who became pregnant after losing her virginity a fellow marching band member at, get this, band camp. It sounds as if Brenda Hampton, creator of this series and 7th Heaven, not only owes a debt of gratitude to American Pie, but Juno, as well. It's worth noting, however, that Hampton had been shopping the series around Hollywood for a decade before it was picked up by ABC Family. In each episode, Hampton faces new challenges presented by her pregnancy, parents, friends and a boyfriend who isn't the child's father. The show received a Teen Choice Award for its inaugural season. The bonus features include a set visit with the cast. ABC Family also is represented on DVD by Kyle XY: The Complete Second Season and Greek: Chapter Two, series that treat teenage viewers as if they were adults, not merely mall rats, cheerleaders, quarterbacks and aspiring alcoholics.

Ever since his tenure on Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos, it seems as if Bob Saget has devoted himself to making people forget he ever was the single dad of the Olson twins. In fact, in such projects as The Aristocrats and Entourage, he made a convincing case for his being inducted into the Blue Comedy Hall of Fame. If any doubt remains, Comedy Central's Roast of Bob Saget: Uncensored will dispel it. Among the irreverent roasters are John Stamos, Greg Giraldo, Jeff Garlin and Jeffrey Ross.

Glenn O'Brien's TV Party reminded me of the period in the late-1970s and early '80s when adventurous amateur broadcasters found an outlet for their creativity on cable-access channels. In most cities and towns, the shows resembled skits on Saturday Night Live, minus the humor. In New York, however, cable access was known for its adventurous programming and porno talk and variety shows. TV Party catered to Manhattan's terminally hip and punk-rock crowd. The latest additions to the series are The Sublimely Intolerable Show and The Everything for Sale Show, both of which defined O'Brien's concept of sub-realism. Among the guests here are Chris Stein and Deborah Harry, from Blondie, artist Jean-Michael Basquiat and musicians David Byrne and Arto Lindsay. The call-in segments are especially rowdy.

Other new TV-to-DVD titles include, Showtime's Dexter: The First Season (Blu-ray) and The Tudors: The Complete Second Season; Mannix: The Second Season and Duckman: Seasons Three & Four. - Gary Dretzka