twodoebs
Random Thoughts From Our Random MindsSunday, January 22, 2006
"Brokeback Mountain": Pudding, anyone?
By: doebtownWendy: No they’re not. Independent films are produced outside the Hollywood system. They’re movies without all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.
Cartman: Well, you show me one independent film that isn’t about gay cowboys eating pudding.
* * *
Trouble with "Brokeback Mountain" was that it was EXACTLY what Cartman was talking about. There wasn't any pudding eating in this one (it would have been the movie's one redeeming virtue . . . ) and I KNOW *everyone* else in the online world is SO sick of the "gay cowboys eating pudding" jokes, but that--I'm sure--is 'cause they enjoyed this movie.
Hollywood can't figure out why box office sales are so sluggish. They blame their problems on DVDs, MP3s, and PSPs. Then year after year, they center the cinema culture on these esoteric, BORING movies by giving them all the Academy Awards and Golden Globes (Exhibit A: "Million Dollar Baby" beating "Ray," "Sideways," AND "The Aviator" for best picture last year . . . Exhibit B: "Born Into Brothels" beating "Super Size Me" for best Documentary last year). PUH-lease, Judge!--gimme a movie I can get *excited* about AND make it monumental enough that it's worthy of an Academy Award (I'm thinkin' along the lines of "Forrest Gump" here, NOT "King Kong")--THEN the box office'll respond.
1- this is not just gay cowboys for the sake of gay cowboys.
2- it is also not an independent movie
3- it's not as good as everyone is making it out to be
What this movie IS however is a well acted, beautifully shot, poorly written, poorly edited movie. This movie is based on a short story. It seems to me that to make this into a full-length movie a lot of mini-plot lines were born, many of which seemed to only distract from the plot.
There was also the annoying feature that while the film spans 20 years the main character didn't visibly age. I think it was ok- but I just didn't "feel it".
It seems in a year when there were a lot of high quality films this one wouldn't have made that much noise, but in a relatively silent year at the movies this is the one making noise.
: 6:39 PM**********
Alberta Filmworks Inc.
Focus Features
(among a few others).
Alberta Filmworks' OWN website describes them as " . . . an INDEPENDENT Canadian film and television production company . . . " (emphasis added).
Wikipedia describes Focus Features as " . . . the ART HOUSE films division of Universal Pictures" and "a producer and distributor of LOW-BUDGET action/horror films" (emphasis added).
So this was, in fact, an "independent movie."
And--say whatever you will--but it was ALSO gay cowboys for the sake of gay cowboys (I didn't want to say it, but since YOU said it, I'm forced to defend my position).
I WILL agree with you on one point, though--"it's NOT as good as everyone is making it out to be" (emphasis added, once again)!
**********
Having been to some small film fests, I think you can see the difference between independent movies like "Blur" and "Up For Grabs" and "Brokeback Mountain". I think production companies want to confuse the terms 'small movie' and 'independent movie' for the cache in the marketplace.
And like you've heard me say before...had the joke from South Park been about gay auto mechanics eating pudding, I doubt you would have gone into this movie with the same mind set!
: 11:22 PM**********
: 11:46 PM**********
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