I’m guessing a lot of you have never heard of this one. It was written and directed by Jonathan Caouette. He was slotted to be in Shortbus, but had to bow out. John Cameron Mitchell, director of Shortbus, agreed to help out Caouette make this documentary about his mother. That’s how I found out about it. It was mentioned in some of the extras of Shortbus.
This documentary is about Cauoette’s life and his mother. It’s definitely a sad story. Renee, Jonathan’s mother, started receiving electroshock therapy as a child and eventually became just a shell of her former self. This film actually reminded me a lot of The Devil and Daniel Johnston because of all the mixed media involved. In both films, many home recordings, both audio and video, were used along with modern footage to tell the story of someone’s life. Also, the subjects of both documentaries were a bit crazy.
Jonathan’s mother is suffering from schizophrenia and several other things. She also has a questionable past with her parents, who also raised Jonathan as a child. Caouette really went out on a limb here showing a lot of very unflattering footage of himself both as an adult and as a child. I’m not exactly sure what all to believe with things his mother was saying. Either way, it’s a sad story.
I really don’t know how many would really enjoy this. It took me a little bit to even get into the film. It starts off by jumping in headfirst and I really had no idea what was going on at first. Maybe if you were a fan of The Devil and Daniel Johnston, you’ll like this one too.
Liz and I just saw Juno. We did something a little different and recorded our review. Hope you enjoy.
Juno Audio Review
The first time I was ever made aware of the Broadway play, I was sitting in a theater in Marion, IN, with my good friend Toll, watching Kevin Smith’s latest creation - Jersey Girl. In that movie a little girl is given the assignment to re-enact a play for the school talent show. Everybody chose Cats….except for this one particular girl. So all I knew was that there was this barber that killed people, the barber chair flipped down to allow the deceased to slide down, and there was a restaurant down below that cooked the victims and sold them in meat pies.
I was immediately interested in Sweeney Todd because Johnny Depp was on-board and Tim Burton was directing. Also acting was Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, and the ever-funny Sacha Baron Cohen. I can’t really think of a single performance from Depp where I’ve been disappointed. He always finds new roles to push himself as an actor and do something new. I think it’s fair to say he’s never phoned-in a performance.
I was reading somewhere that this is one of the best Broadway plays adapted to the silver screen. I was pretty impressed with it. In some ways I think it resembled Edward Scissorhands, only darker and more menacing. Oh yeah, and lots of people were killed. Personally, I wasn’t bothered by any of it, but I’m sure the graphic nature of the throats being slit and bodies being dumped down a chute will bother some.
Afterwards we were all discussing parts of the movie and I said I thought Cohen’s pants were “interesting,” kind of like Bowie’s in Labyrinth. Rajeev, my brother-in-law, quickly stated anyone who’s seen Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan should know if that was fake or not.
I really enjoyed this movie and would suggest checking it out. Definitely not for kids though, or for people who can’t handle the content.
I have to admit that I kind of wrote this movie off at first. I don’t even know why. I think it’s because I have an aversion to hip hop music and its culture. I would like to say in my defense though that Dave Chappelle has helped to open my eyes to worthwhile things in this area of my life. I’ve also made some buddies on the web like Reel Fanatic who have assured me this movie was worth checking out. So I put it on my Netflix list.
I just finished watching this film and I was most definitely surprised. This was a good movie about the struggle of trying to work your way up in life. Written and directed by Craig Brewer, who also wrote and directed Black Snake Moan, Hustle & Flow tries to give us a peak into the life of someone who’s not privileged; someone who has a dream. Terrence Howard, who has done an amazing job in everything I’ve seen him in, really sells the character of DJay, a pimp who has a dream to rap. Here’s a man having a mid-life crisis that decides he needs to do something with his life.
Rounding out the cast are DJ Qualls (Road Trip), Anthony Anderson (Romeo Must Die, and The Departed), Taraji P. Henson (Smokin Aces) and Taryn Manning (Cold Mountain). Ludacris played “Skinny Black”, the rapper that has already made it big, and Isaac Hayes plays a club owner.
I’ve been gaining more and more respect for Qualls and Anderson. At one point in the movie Qualls comments on a chain worn by the character DJay. I thought it was kind of funny since they pretty much have the same name. I don’t know if I’ll ever see Delta Farce, but he’s definitely not been typecast after his role in Road Trip. Anderson has also proved himself not to be just a loud, bumbling fool that I saw in Romeo Must Die. I’m also starting to like Ludacris. Can’t say I like his movie, but after Crash and this role, I’d say he has something going.
The music is also not that bad. I wouldn’t say I was disappointed when this won an Oscar for Original Song, I was just surprised. I think mostly because of my aforementioned general distaste for the genre, however, none of that ever really occurred to me while watching.
So I say give this movie a chance film lovers. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. I know I was.
Not many people I know would enjoy Shortbus, but I did. It was an interesting story with fascinating, memorable characters. The backstory behind the movie is also really interesting. I’ve been a fan of John Cameron Mitchell’s since I saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch in a Sevilla movie theater in 2002. Shortbus was his next directorial project, and I am impressed by his honesty as a filmmaker.
I loved the music and the heart of this movie. It’s the story of several men and women who are trying to figure out life, love, and sex. One woman, a sex therapist, has never had an orgasm. She befriends a couple of her patients, who lead her to Shortbus, a club for the “gifted and challenged.” There she begins a journey towards self-discovery, not just sexually, but emotionally, too. The people she befriends are also trying to make it through their lives.
Most people I know aren’t going to enjoy this movie because it’s absolutely full of sex. Not your average movie sex, either. The actors for this film were picked because they were willing to have sex on camera.
I would’ve found it a bit over-the-top if I didn’t know about John Cameron Mitchell’s intention of creating an American movie that features sex in a positive way, instead of in the European tradition of showing it as a negative thing. He also wanted to distinguish between sex in film as art and pornography.
It’s not for everyone, but I certainly think highly of the characters, the story, and Mitchell’s directing.
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