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TrishaYuki
I formerly posted on IMDb using the username TifRo.
My most recent DVD purchases were:
Criterion Dreyer box set
Rififi
Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Withnail & I
The Gleaners and I
Plan 9 from Outer Space
Reviews
The Doom Generation (1995)
Peerlessly Awful
Three pinheads ride around in a car, stop, kill some people, get back in the car and drive some more, stop, kill more people, get back in the car, repeat ad infinitum. With so much sex and violence, you would expect to find something enjoyable in this piece of cinematic flotsam. But the egregious Gregg Araki has succeeded in making a film about sex and death that is excruciatingly boring.
Two of the aforementioned pinheads, played by James Duval and Rose McGowan, pick up a third pinhead on the side of the road. He is a hitchhiker named Xavier and the film makes it very clear that he is supposed to be cool and sexy. However, he is really just the same brand-name subculture bad-boy that you can purchase at any Stock-Characters-R-Us Superstore.
Anyway, with their trio of stooges complete, our heroes go on a killing spree. They also stop at a hotel between murders to have sex, breaking up the monotony of the monumentally monotonous story. They are entangled in a bisexual love triangle, and the film makes it very clear to us that it is all supposed to be very risque and exciting. Er, yeah...
I will admit that I didn't finish watching this film. After the third killing, I realized I had seen all there was to see. The plot plays very much like a broken record. First, they stop in a convenience store. They kill the Asian man that works there. His severed head lands in the fresh produce, but continues to talk. How droll. This scene is supposed to be funny, or shocking, or campy, or something like that. Actually, it is silly and amateurish, and the talking head is laughable. They then move on to a variety of other locales to kill a variety of other people. There is no plot, simply the same scenario repeated. The violence fails to every really shock the audience, which is a shame, since they could probably use a good jolt to keep them from nodding off.
I can forgive a film for having no plot. The problem is that The Doom Generation fails in all other aspects, as well. The characters are unbelievable and poorly conceived. The acting is overwrought. The cinematography and special effects are of the cable access variety. The dialogue is positively atrocious. The script tries to be funny and shocking, but it will induce more groans than chuckles or gasps.
It is difficult for me to fully capture in words my contempt for this excremental train-wreck of a film. It is so transparent about what it wants to be: shocking, sexy, and funny, yet witty and satirical at the same time. How far The Doom Generation fell from its lofty goals.
Is it sharp social satire? No. Is it acerbic dark comedy? It's not funny. Is it avant garde pulp drama? I don't think so. Is it crap? Bang on!
It is very rarely that I fail to finish watching a film. But watching The Doom Generation is actually painful. It is my pick for the worst film of the 90's, and a strong contender for worst film of all time. If you last long enough to see the end credits, I commend you on your iron resolve. Either that, or you cheated and used the fast forward button.
King of the Hill (1997)
Intelligent, but unfunny comedy
When I saw the first few episodes of King of the Hill, I enjoyed them. The characters were likeable and amusing, and it obviously had a lot of potential. But I dislike the direction the series ultimately took. The show quickly became saccharine and bland, not so much funny as it was cute. Excessive sermonizing and attempts at drama seemed to replace the comedy, and the quirky characters quirks soon became old hat. The sappy plots are contrived and overwrought. King is now so excessively PC and moralistic that each episode could be wrapped up with a scene featuring Hank Hill addressing the audience, "And the lesson that we learned this week is blah blah blah."
It is obvious, especially compared to The Simpsons, that the writers of King of the Hill like to play it safe. They will avoid causing offense at the expense of comedy. You can watch King without worry of being challenged or provoked, but that isn't the kind of television I find interesting.
I wanted to like King of the Hill. I like Mike Judge. But if I want preaching, I will go to a preacher. The writers of this show forgot what was on the first page of "How to Write Comedy": Be funny.