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I wish that The Fountain were longer than its 95 minutes: A troubled production history doubtless contributed to its short length, choppy structure and thin characterizations -- or it simply could be that Aronofsky's reach exceeded his grasp. Either way, it's easy to see why some viewers will despise this while others will adore it -- although in the middle, I lean toward the latter group, and further believe this will benefit from repeat viewings. One thing's for sure, though: I was wrong when, just last month, I wrote that Marie Antoinette would be 2006's premiere love-it-or-leave-it title. That throne has already been usurped.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
Christopher Guest's so-called "mockumentaries" have been blessed with a generosity of spirit, a willingness on the part of their creator to allow a different member of the tight-knit ensemble to break out in each production. In 1996's Waiting for Guffman, it was Guest himself who shined brightest, as the sweet-natured theatrical director Corky St. Clair. In 2000's Best In Show, Fred Willard was a comic marvel as the lewd play-by-play announcer Buck Laughlin. And Eugene Levy's work in 2003's A Mighty Wind, as the fragile folk singer Mitch, was so memorable that he deservedly earned the Best Supporting Actor award from the New York Film Critics Circle.
In For Your Consideration, the spotlight belongs to Catherine O'Hara, though it must be noted that Parker Posey trails by only a couple of steps. The film is Guest and company's swipe at all the hoopla surrounding Oscar season, with O'Hara, Posey, Harry Shearer and Christopher Moynihan cast as actors whose latest film, an indie project called Home For Purim, is being touted as a possible Academy Award nominee. As Marilyn Hack, the cast member deemed most likely to earn an Oscar nod, O'Hara delivers a tour de force performance, channeling all the hopefulness, rage and despair that will doubtless strike a chord with aging, frequently unemployed and quickly forgotten thespians all across Los Angeles. Posey also benefits from landing one of her best screen roles to date, as the eccentric young actress whose defenses against future career disillusionment slide as she similarly gets caught up in the prospect of landing a coveted nomination.
The knowing screenplay by Guest (who also plays the Purim director) and Levy (cast as an obnoxious agent) yields plenty of laughs until the last act, at which point the resolution of the Oscar nom race becomes obvious to predict and the subsequent grilling of the non-nominees comes across as both cruel and unlikely. Clearly, out of these four Guest titles, For Your Consideration will have to settle for fourth place. But when one looks at the stellar competition, that's hardly meant as a dig.
TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny gets off to a fast and furious start. We see the portly kid JB (Troy Gentile) enduring a verbal trashing from his uptight father (Meat Loaf) before receiving words of encouragement and advice from the Ronnie James Dio poster hanging on his bedroom door. Dio's advice: Get thee to Hollywood.
And so it's off to La La Land, and by the time he arrives, JB is now a grown man played by Jack Black. He hooks up with a struggling musician called KG (Kyle Gass), and after a smidgen of soul-searching and a lot of bong hits, the two elect to become the band known as Tenacious D.
And there we have the origin story of Tenacious D, already a cult band thanks to their music videos and brief TV series. The rest of the story concerns the duo's efforts to obtain a magical guitar pick made from the tooth of Satan, but continuity isn't this meandering movie's strong suit. This is basically a series of comic riffs designed to entertain viewers under the influence, with a barrage of hot-and-cold jokes, a pair of extended -- and shockingly unfunny -- cameos by Ben Stiller and Tim Robbins, and the usual assortment of bodily function gags (it's perhaps no coincidence that one of the actors is called Gass and one of the music composers is named Gross).
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