| |
Christopher
Dante Romano's latest installment in the surrealistic Dreamboy
series debuted October 15, 2000, on
I-films.
I had
heard conflicting opinions on the series, so I decided to check
it out for myself. I realized two things right off the bat. Number
one, there is some truly inspired digital animation in this film.
Number two, the average viewer is simply not going to get it.
Dreamboy and the Clam plays out as an art film, the expression
of an artist in a bouncing, talking medium. Dreamboy is the
artist himself, bouncing through an insecure world in which he wrestles
with the burden of being the small-penised nice guy, always dumped
for the asshole. Picture 'Woody Allen meets South Park.' We are
quickly taken through a series of roughly disjointed, time slipping
vignettes, à la Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, bouncing
between characters and neuroses. There's Lenny, the penultimate
masochist, egging on Kraus, the mopey, unfulfilled demon. Ivan,
the self-loathing stand-up, prepares for another night of public
flagellation for the benefit of others. Through it all, Dreamboy
bemoans the fate of mediocrity.
Romano's
message may be lost, however, in the packaging. Some of the interaction
of Klaus and Brimstone played straight out of the Hussein/Satan
love affair from South Park. The character stereotyping casts women
as so much bouncing breasts and blow-up doll heads. Ivan's clown
boss is a '70s pimp, straight out of I'm Gonna Get You, Sucka.
The alien crew consists of a Cheech and Chong sound-alike and a
Hindu. Those offended by generalizations may find Dreamboy
a slap in the face.
What
the film lacks in general viewer friendliness, however, it more
than makes up for in moments of sheer genius. There were several
times that Romano made a razor sharp observation about human interaction
in a way that really had me thinking. Combine that with hilarious
surreal shorts (the toilet dialogue had me rolling on the floor),
and some truly inspired digital art (the gunfight scene, underwater,
and Satan pooping . . . 'nuff said), and you end up with a film
worth the effort to watch. The subtle Star Trek tribute was
well done, and was one of many moments that made me think this film
worth the watch.
Romano's
Dreamboy and the Clam is not for everyone. Like many Woody
Allen movies, sometime the character's self-bemoaning just comes
off as whining. But if the message of the last scene of the movie
is accurate, perhaps we all feel better when we have a scapegoat,
someone to look down on to make ourselves feel better. I think Dreamboy
may just fill that role.
Copyright
© 2000 Chris Jenkins. All Rights Reserved.
Chris
Jenkins is just another opinionated movie watcher, and probably
didn't like that other movie you liked either. Express your disgust
in the Media section of the Discussion Board.
comment?
discuss this article on our discussion
board
|
