review: dreamboy and the clam >> by chris jenkins >> *spark-online issue fifteen

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 media. 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.

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.