I bought Body Double in some 6-VHS-for-$1 deal at the local thrift store. I had heard of it before, meaning I had likely heard the title and knew little else. I am not super familiar with Brian DePalma as a director either. I don't actually know if I have seen Scarface, I probably have, but it's been a super long time and I don't remember it. I have seen Carrie, again years ago, and I have seen Mission Impossible and some of his recent works. That said, he is well known and well regarded and an award winning director.
Body Double stars Craig Wasson as Jake, a regular dude and somewhat successful actor living in LA having a normal life. In the beginning of the film, he finds his wife cheating on him, which puts him in the place of finding somewhere else to stay. He bumps into Sam, a genial man who puts Jake into a house he's watching, and shows Jake the neighbr next door, a sexy girl who strips nude every night. Jake watches this girl and become tansfixed with her, soon enough spotting another man that is watching her, a bizarre looking "Indian" guy who seems to want to cause harm to the woman...
It's a weird plot, it's a weird movie. I was listening to a podcast again today and they described DePalma as "weird" and all the sudden I realized, maybe this is how others see him too? The plot is very strange, and the movie is outworldly. It's such a cross-genre weird piece, with weird stars and a weird atmosphere I'd almost call it experimental if it didn't also feel so Hollywood.
What is weird? Well first of all, the movie is a mystery, a thriller, and a drama. Those elements are all present, and you'll be in it for the mystery aspect. But then there's this MTV 80's feel that goes beyond just the "timeliness" of the piece. There is a porn subplot, a music video part, there is frankly racist dialogue and makeup that exist, and later when there is kills, there's a 80's-slasher inspired extremity and vulgarity which feels completely out of nowhere. There is also so much nudity and straight up sexist views at times that again, one cannot dismiss it simply as a "Product of it's time". No, there is drive there. They are trying to do something with that.
All this said, those aspects and others make it extremely entertaining. It's so popcorn that the VHS or DVD should come coated in butter. This is a movie for the 20-somethings who were stoned in the theater, and it's proud to be there. But it's clandestine in that it is dressed up as an adult film and must've been regarded as such in certain circles. You know what it is? It's a mid 20's dude with a successful career but he's still secretly going to college parties and smoking dope on the side.
Massively unsuccessful, divisive, this film dabbled in excess and experimentation to be sure, and shows exactly how strange a big studio film can be at the right time in the right place with the right lightning strike. Who knows. This is one I would rewatch and define as the modern view of a "cult film" and I'd highly recommend it.
No comments:
Post a Comment