" Malkovich. Malkovich Malkovich."So there were only a few movies on our On Demand feature that I showed a slight interest in during the time I was sick, which just shows how finicky I am, because I have 5 On Demands that each holds about 100 movies. I watched "For Your Consideration" again (INSANELY underrated, needs a second viewing) and the beginning of the new "Dawn of the Dead", which I regard as the best opening to any horror film ever. At one point, I was trying to decide between "Babe" and "Final Destination" when I stumbled upon the title "Art School Confidential". Even though I usually prefer to watch old chestnuts when I'm sick, and even though "Confidential" got some seriously shitty reviews when released, I immediately selected and watched it.
Let's make one thing clear: "Ghost World" is probably one of the smartest movies made in the past decade, and it could easily be argued to be a modern classic. For a story as idiosyncratic as Enid's journey, director Terry Zwigoff and writer Daniel Clowes seem to navigate through each and every one of the trappings of the "quirky indie movie", almost impossibly. The characters are broad but never ridiculous caricatures, a la Tim Burton; Enid's awkwardness is thoroughly explored but never exploited as if she was a Todd Solondz character; and as much as I love Wes Anderson, his dialogue is always a bit too romanticized, to a point where a character's speech has no place in reality (see Klaus in "Life Aquatic"). "Ghost World", on the other hand, is very, very real. It feels vital, maybe because the direction is so crisp and the "dum! dum! dum!" score so urgent, or maybe just because I can personally relate to Enid's attitude of post-high school cynicism toward everything and everyone. No, "Ghost World" is so good because, more than any other movie in recent memory, you completely lose yourself in Enid's point of view; you see the world exactly as she does. God, Enid's dad's girlfriend Maxine does nothing particularly offensive throughout the film, but because Enid just fucking hates her, you find yourself wincing whenever she's on screen! I could mention the graphic novel, or Zwigoff and Clowe's past collaboration "Crumb", but I know very little about either, so I will say this: "Ghost World" rulez 4ever.
Well, "Art School Confidential" is Zwigoff and Clowe's follow-up, and although I wasn't expecting "Ghost World 2", I thought there was definite possibility for this to be an overlooked gem. It's not as bad as critics would want you to believe; there's a handful of funny situations, and you can see that the narrative had some real sparkle before something went wrong and we received the final product. I wouldn't even call it 'misguided', because it accomplishes its task of deconstructing the pretentious world of the art school campus and makes a point, through the awkward journey of main character Jerome (Max Minghella), of showing that the world of art can and will break down any sense of idealism an aspiring young lad may have. Yeah, but so what? This is all unmarked fodder, but it's neither pleasant nor interesting, at least in the way Zwigoff has constructed this film. You just don't care about anything on screen, and even if you think this is a smart film, it's not exactly fun to watch.
Take the two father figures of the story. Jerome's a teenager who wants to be the best artist in the world, and upon first entering art school, he seeks guidance on how to accomplish this. One of his buddies tells him about Jimmy, a middle-aged former artist who has been broken down by the system and now takes drinks between telling various people to fuck off. Jerome also tries to enlist the help of Professor Sandiford, who clearly hides his contempt for being passed over in the art world and relegated to the realms of teaching under a thin coat of insincere cheer. Jimmy tells Jerome to fuck off; Sandiford tells him to keep trying to find himself, which leads to a sort of obtuse frustration for the young lad. Jim Broadbent and John Malkovich play these roles well enough, and the audience understands that Jerome is terrified of being doomed to either one of their fates. The problem is that Jimmy is so balls-out awful that he's hard to watch, and Sandiford is too bland to feel sympathy for. Jerome just sort of drifts through his conversations with them without any reaction, and the audience does the same for the most part.
It's difficult to not compare Jerome to Enid, because they are Zwigoff's unconstituted protagonists and polar opposites. The whole point of "Ghost World" was to depict the way post-high school uncertainty can end up crippling many teenagers, even (perhaps especially) the most self-assured of us, but it never once spells this out. "Confidential" wants to poke fun at art schools, and it offers us Jerome, who's wide-eyed enough to believe that he can change the world through art, or at least get tons of ass because of it. But that's about it to him. I don't really remember anything else distinguishing about him, besides his defined eyebrows, and even those aren't too defined. He's in some pretty amusing situations, and interacts with some pretty amusing characters (Ethan Suplee's hack director is an inspired character), but nothing seems to make an impact on him, or us. Maybe "Art Sch0ol Confidential" is realistic, but unlike "Ghost World", it never congeals as anything too engrossing. It's a one-sided analysis of a concept that could have been fleshed out into something really mesmerizing. In short, it's a disappointment.
"Art School Confidential" takes a late-inning twist that doesn't really do much to salvage the narrative, but it's worth noting because it's completely insane; not exactly ridiculous, but it requires one of those "WHOA, what the hell just happened?" moments. I won't give anything away, but it involves a serial killer plotline that's totally out of place, and ends the note on a valuable statement that's jammed down our throats. That's sort of the movie though. Definitely worth watching because of what Zwigoff and Clowes have to offer, but it might be better viewed before seeing "Ghost World", just so hopes aren't too dashed.
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