Hissy fit over the South Pacific.
Carlos from Venezuela raises some intriguing questions in his comments about "Snakes on a Plane" below. Some excerpts from what he wrote:
This leads me to the big question, how in hell is ... New Line Cinema planning to market the movie in territories where the concept of "so bad that is good" is not as widespread as in some other countries, like the US or the UK?For perspective, it may help to remember that among films not originally released as "spoofs" in the United Sates are: "Mommie Dearest," "Showgirls," "Red Dawn," "Rambo: First Blood Part 2," "The Jazz Singer" (Neil Diamond/Laurence Olivier version), "Mystic River" and "Crash" (2005). All of these movies were instantly considered camp classics by a significant minority, even if they weren't received that way by mainstream audiences when they first appeared in theaters.To me the newspaper ads printed in Venezuelan newspapers ... seemed like they were for any of the usual Straight to DVD (pirated or not) movies that open commonly in my country in mainstream Cinemas (like Van Damme flicks, forgettable sequels of classic Disney films and the like)....
They (the printed ads) were trying to appeal the horror factor of the movie/concept, without any indication of the non-existent local hype about the movie, that for most Venezuelans stars the "guy from Blade/XXX: State of the Union/Lethal Weapon/Training Day/Boat Trip/Pulp Fiction" I stress this not because Im trying to make a cheap unPC remark. It is because for most of the audiences in Venezuela, there's no extra "OH the B*das* Motha*c*a Sam Jackson is saying mothaf*c*ing snakes" factor, its basically any familiar African Amercian actor saying subtitled profanites and I have the feeling that it might not be THAT different in Thailand or Ecuador, but I could be wrong.
So what you have left is a plain bad planned plane movie. The movie is totally stripped off its toungue in cheek (aspired) value, and I dont think that we're going to get the explanaiton of its campy factor from Hugo Chávez' Sunday tv show either.
BTW: Im planning to see it. And I will see it in the one cinema closest to the Caraca’s downtown, where I could be almost certain that no one would be polluted by the E! Latinamerica globalized hype machine.
I made a boo-boo in one of my earlier posts. The poster image isn't based on the worm ouroboros at all, but is a reference to the Caduceus, the staff belonging to the Greek god Hermes. I'm an idiot. But I've been thinking about this film and why it didn't really capatalize on the internet hype it had going for it. Mainly because it lacked a real sense of vision from a viscerally creative filmmaker. Ronny Yu the original director would have been the perfect choice for the subject matter. He turned Freddy vs. Jason into a mean-spirited, yet fun, ultraviolent-wrestling romp. His hand would have given this film the touch it needed I think, much like Raimi gave to "Evil Dead", Peter Jackson to "Dead Alive", and even Kevin Smith with "Clerks". Even with it's "rated-R" scenes, the film plays it pretty safe and conventional. Which for a film looking for cult statys, was the wrong way to go.
For me, I'm hoping "Feast" will take that spot this year. John Gulager has that edge that a film like Snakes needed.
Mystic River? Please explain.
JE: Had to throw in my little personal dig. I think Sean Penn's performance (and Laura Linney's godawful Lady Macbeth scene at the end) rank alongside Faye Dunaway's work in "Mommie Dearest" -- although, to be honest, I found Dunaway more authentic, convincing and committed. "Mystic River" isn't just a bad, overblown movie -- it's campy as all get-out. I can't wait for somebody to do the puppet show version, like they did with "Carrie."
I'm glad someone else thinks Crash is a campy hoot.
The Afterschool Special plotline, the high-and-mighty tone of the picture, the high-strung histrionics of almost every character in the film, and the rampant racial epithets spoken by the cast were enough to send me into fits of laughter throughout the movie.
The crowning camp moment was when, as my friend (the "glib", "smug", and "insular" Dave White) said, "Racism pushed Sandy down the stairs."
A commentor on the Pajiba boards wondered:
"Can Sandra Bullock make it through this movie without falling down and snorting? Not quite."
Brokeback Mountain had some good camp moments, too. Michelle Williams at the top of the stairs, anyone?
I’m glad to see other people agree with how laughably bad Crash is, also. With dialogue that sounds like an all-racist version of Walker Texas Ranger to the “white bread� DA couple that drives an Escalade with huge chrome rims that looks like it was just used in a rap video, I can’t believe it was so well received.
I don't see what the big deal is: Humor has always been the most difficult thing to translate across cultural and regional boundaries, so if something like this doesn't translate, that's no real surprise.