Fargo

Fargo (1996, Joel Coen)

I'll cut the crap and start by stating my opinion on the film. After viewing it recently on IFC, it's in my top ten of all time. This was the first time I'd seen it in at least two years. That was before I was really into film. I had liked it, but didn't think it was great and kind of pushed it to the back of my mind. Now, it's right at the very Everything about it is perfect. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a dark comedy, but I would say it is a very funny dark drama. In particular, the dialog is very subtly hilarious.

The acting is amazing, particularly that of the truly gifted Frances McDormand (wife of writer Ethan Coen), the outstanding character actor William H. Macy, the also outstanding character actor and frequent Coen cast member Steve Buscemi, and Harve Presnell. The direction is also superb. Joel Coen's film is truly beautiful to look at.

The wood chipper scene is one of the absolute most disturbing things I've ever seen in a film. I instantly became nauseated by seeing it. That's truly about as gruesome as I can imagine a murder possibly being.

Is Fargo a masterpiece? As the film's spunky female cop protaganist Marge Gunderson (McDormand) would say, "you betcha!"

An Evening with Tom Lehrer

I've just discovered Tom Lehrer. This guy is absolutely hilarious. I'd heard "The Elements" before, but I've begun listening to this playlist on YouTube, and he's so funny. The standouts are "Poisioning Pigeons in the Park", "So Long Mom (A Song for World War III)", and "The Masochism Tango".

http://http//www.youtube.com/user/6funswede#play/user/1C68974C982CBA68

Bruno

Ever since I saw the first trailer for Bruno, I fully expected to despise it. It just seemed so juvenile and homophobic. It didn't seem like it would have any of the charm and smart satire of Borat. I figured it would be awful, but my curiosity got the best of me and I had to see it. For most of the first 66 minutes of this 76 minute film, despite getting an occasional chuckle (a priceless scene involving Bruno at a anti-gay hate rally comes to mind), I thought I was right. However, those final ten minutes were better than anything in Borat. In particular, the closing "music video", featuring many special musical guests, is the hardest I have laughed at a film this year.

It's worth noting right now that this is NOT one for the kiddies. There is actual sex in this film. It's covered up with black boxes, but it's still there. It's probably the single most sexually explicit mainstream film I have ever come across, and is borderline pornographic at times. Those scenes are not funny, but just kind of disturbing. The fact that this did not receive an NC-17 is mind-boggling. I, despite my hatred for those bastards at the MPAA and for restricting films based on ages, believe that, under the MPAA's current (very flawed) standards, this film deserves the NC-17 rating.

I was afraid, based on the trailers and promotional material, that the film would be basically 80 minutes of gay jokes. There are indeed penis jokes galore, and there is plenty of very stupid humor, most of which I did not find funny. However, the film's main target is homophobia. Much like Borat mocked anti-Semites, rednecks, and ignorance, Bruno takes most of it's shots at homophobes. Bruno, despite engaging in some truly ridiculous and exaggerated behaviors, is a likable enough protagonist. He comes across more as a real, very flamboyant person than as a two-dimensional gay stereotype. Sure, he's pretty stereotypical, but he seems like a real person. He's just a lovable goof.

As I said, the first hour or so of the film is very inconsistent, with a few good bits but mostly mediocre or bad, but the "grand finale" makes up for those inconsistencies. Sacha Baron Cohen does a good enough job of playing Bruno. He's not Oscar-worthy, but not bad. The same can be said for the film as a whole. 7/10