Post by StevePulaski on Sept 2, 2011 21:57:13 GMT -5
Michael Parks in Red State.
Rating: ★★½
In 2006, Kevin Smith announced his next film would take a different direction, feature no toilet humor, and would be a straight forward horror film. Five years later, we get the mixed bag that is Red State. This isn't necessarily a bad film as much as it a confused, mural of things thrown together into one. Though it lacks the toilet humor that Smith is known for, it replaces much of it with tired religious dialog, but it still manages to keep some very vague representations of Kevin Smith's wit.
First things first; the dialog. When analyzing any Kevin Smith, I bring up dialog. Red State has twice as much dialog as his last film Cop Out, which he didn't write. But the fact that this film is overloaded with dialog is a surprising problem. When making a horror film, you don't want to focus so much on groundbreaking writing as much as pacing, shots, suspense, believability amongst characters, and so forth. There's times when you need dialog, like in Kevin Smith comedies, and there's times when you should focus on what matters, like a horror movie. And dialog isn't one of them. The conversations the friends had were good, and every character says their lines realistically. It's just the preachy, over-written, fifteen minute monologue about homosexuality that turns me off. It's bloated and unnecessary, and draws away from the film itself.
The plot: Three friends (Gallner, Angarano, and Braun) accept an ad offering group sex, but upon their arrival they drink two beers, pass out, and one wakes up in a cage and the two others tied in a dungeon. The church they are in is called Five Points, and is run by the hate-filled, Bible gripping, Christian madman Abin Cooper (Parks). Cooper hates homosexuals, and murders one right before the boys' eyes. Cooper is supposed to mirror crazed Pastor Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church. He does this quite well, and definitely stands as the films highest point.
The FBI gets involved, with Agent Keenan (Goodman) running their operation, and suddenly, the whole film becomes less about horror and more about action, shooting, and screaming. Not to mention, the sound is one of the most annoying things about this film. One film we get dialog and speeches in whispers, when the next we get screaming, shouting, and rapid gunfire.
Not everything brought to the table is sour. John Goodman gives arguably one of the most respected performances of his career, along with Melissa Leo next to her work in The Fighter. But ultimately, even though Kevin Smith's name is tatooed and branded all over this film, I couldn't help but feel I was watching someone else's film. But in reality I wasn't. I was watching Kevin Smith's writing and directing on the screen. The same person who was behind one of my favorite films, Clerks, and worked on three other films I gave perfect ratings to.
This isn't the first time Smith has colored outside the lines either. He took a detour when he did Jersey Girl in 2004, a rather unsung romantic comedy. He then did Zack and Miri Make a Porno, a fair comedy, and then directed a standard fare, buddy cop film Cop Out. No one can blame Smith for trying something new. But aside from Jersey Girl, he hasn't had much luck outside of his roots. When you're good at one type of film, in this case silly comedies with well written characters, amazing dialog, and satisfying plot events, you want to stick with it rather than making a series of just so-so films. Even though Smith announced his retirement after his next film Hit Somebody, I hope we see at least one more film with the iconic characters we've grown to love.
Red State isn't unwatchable, and I wouldn't advise against seeing it, but unfortunately, things go wrong. The fact that writing was focused on a bit too much and that this is a mediocre hybrid of the action, horror, and religion genre don't work in the film's favor. The performances, the plot, and some scenes of violence and dialog save this film. The fact the hype surrounding this is more interesting than the film itself leads me to believe in future Q&A sessions with Kevin Smith, we'll get some information on Red State that may in fact be better than the film we all saw.
Starring: John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Michael Parks, Kyle Gallner, Michael Angarano, and Nicholas Braun. Directed by: Kevin Smith.