Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 3, 1991 TAG: 9104030493
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
A fairly large part of the home video industry is devoted to films that can be loosely described as "guilty pleasures"; movies that deal with strange characters who resort to questionable methods in pursuit of dubious goals, and, as often as not, become entangled in lurid subplots.
These low-budget wonders are usually made with grainy color, garish sets and a rapid-fire pace. With only a nodding acquaintance with logic and a blatant contempt for good taste, they're meant to provide nothing more than 80 or 90 minutes of cheesy fun.
But this week, David Lynch's "Wild at Heart" arrives on cassette and the serious critics (not to mention the jury at the Cannes Film Festival, which gave it the top prize last year) are saying, "No, no, this isn't a guilty pleasure. This is Art!"
Say what? "Wild At Heart" is your basic drive-in road movie, complete with hubba-hubba love scenes in cheap motels and graphic violence including, but not limited to, voodoo murder and decapitation by shotgun.
The level of overacting is indescribable - Nicolas Cage does an extended Elvis impersonation; Laura Dern wins the Fay Wray Award (can that girl ever scream); Diane Ladd, as the nutty mother, outdoes both. She got an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Go figure.
Admittedly, "Wild at Heart" does have references to "The Wizard of Oz" which have absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the story. But in terms of content, execution, character development and style, there is no real difference between "Wild at Heart" and any of the rest of the video originals presented here.
So, art or sleaze? The Supreme Court can't figure it out. I can't figure it out. You be the judge.
Andy Sidaris - the Ingmar Bergman of low-budget, high-quality home video - has come up with another winner in\ "Guns." It's a fast-paced James Bondish adventure set in Hawaii and Las Vegas. The action has most of the elements of a well-made plot, but not enough to get in the way.
As usual, Sidaris tosses in lots of sexy women and imaginative grown-up toys; sort of like Victoria's Secret meets the Sharper Image. "Guns" has more humor than some of his work, particularly some really good bawdy one-liners. On the other hand, this could be a subtle allegory on free will and fate in a postmodern society.
\ "Shock 'Em Dead" is a rock 'n roll horror flick that presents perhaps the most impressive lack of talent ever collected on one tape. It's a terrific unintentional comedy. When a geeky guy (Stephen Quadros) sells his soul to the devil, he is immediately transformed into a rock star, complete with long black wig, leather britches, excessive jewelry, mascara, mansion and groupie (Karen Russell). He falls for a band manager (Traci Lords). The downside is that he's a vampire.
Admittedly, only some of the jokes are intentional, but the movie doesn't cry out for liberal use of the fast-forward button. If you give in to that temptation, though, you might miss the philosophical subtext on the conflict between humanism and traditional religious values.
\ "Last Call," with William Katt and Shannon Tweed, is a little more polished but still amateurish. It's an overcomplicated caper picture involving land swindles, performance art and secrets buried deep in the past. The script is poorly written and illogical. Some of the voice dubbing is so bad the film sounds like an Italian gladiator flick.
But, no, surely that was intentional. The auteur must have been juxtaposing sound and image to challenge viewers' preconceptions about the very nature of performance art.
Finally, for those with a truly unquenchable thirst for alternative video that tests the limits of artistic expression, the good folks at Rhino present \ "Sleazemania," a compilation of lurid previews for some of the artiest art movies ever made. Something called "Jailbait" is presented as "the shocking story of boy-crazy girls and gun-crazy guys."
Bold capital letters splash across the screen telling us that one jungle flick is "WEIRED." The classics are represented by trailers for "Marijuana - The Weed With Roots in Hell" and "Orgy of the Dead." And, judging by the clips, such unknowns as "Strange Rampage," "Young Seducers" and "Prison Ship" might even be worth watching. But, on second thought . . . nah . . . none of the full-length versions could be as much fun as these shorties.
The Essentials:
[Guilty Pleasures, by definition, contain strong language, sex, violence, nudity, etc., and so they are rated on the 1-10 Guilty Pleasure Index (GPI) in place of the usual star system. In general terms, anything above an 8.5 is so salacious and scandalous that you should never admit that you've seen it, much less enjoyed it; anything below a 3.5 is tame enough to show to your grandmother.]
\ Wild At Heart GPI: 7.3. Media. Rated R. 125 min.\ Guns GPI: 8.0. RCA/Columbia. Rated R. 95 min.\ Shock 'Em Dead GPI: 6.0. Academy. Rated R. 94 min.\ Last Call GPI: 9.0. Republic. Unrated and R-rated. 90 min.\ Sleazemania GPI: 9.5. Rhino. Unrated. 60 min.
by CNB