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BAGHEAD |
Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics |
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Forget Dogma 95. Forget Mumblecore. The Duplass brothers have moved into the realm of Camp in their latest film. Camp? Yes, Camp. The John Waters’ style of filmmaking in which a movie’s appeal derives from “its bad taste or ironic value.”[1] In Baghead, Mark and Jay Duplass mock not only every B horror film ever made, they also mock the very industry to which they belong.
Baghead opens with a hilarious mockery of the film festival circuit where we meet a group of D-list actors screening the movie, We are Naked. Tired of waiting for their big acting break to magically fall from the sky, Matt (Ross Partridge), Chad (Steve Zissis), Michelle (Greta Gerwig), and Catherine (Elise Muller) decide to take matters into their own hands. So, they head off to a remote cabin in the woods where they can brainstorm ideas and write a movie script to kick-start their careers.
At that point, Baghead switches gears from art imitating life to life imitating art imitating comedy imitating a B horror film. The group is alone in the woods, the moon is full, the phone is dead, someone disables their car, they go for a swim in the lake, and there’s a gratuitous shot of Michelle’s breasts. The Duplass’ even added some good old fashioned sexual tension with a dash of homosexual undertones thrown in for good measure. Oh yeah, there’s also a guy running around with a paper bag on his head.
Baghead isn’t a film for everyone. Most audiences will probably enjoy the first act spoofing the film festivals more than the rest of the movie thanks to a hilarious scene involving a new model of wallet/cell phones. Once the second act kicks in and the group enters the woods, the overt B horror parody seems a little overplayed because it’s something we’ve all seen a hundred times before.
Overall, Baghead seems like it’s trying to emulate The Blair Witch Project by focusing on suspense over torture porn; and, for the most part, it does. But, that’s where camp element comes in. As soon as Baghead finds the true horror within the film, it stares at it, shrugs its shoulders in confusion, then turns around and walks off with a complete sense of indifference. The movie never really scares you. Yet, it never really amuses you either.
Most of that lies in the film’s denouement where everything is wrapped up in a wad of illogical nonsense. But, that’s Camp humor for you. It’s all about being pretentious and contentious. Camp tricks you into thinking that mixing logic and bullshit is for oxymorons right before you realize it’s only making a joke out itself to make a point. Unfortunately, it takes an understanding of what Camp really is to appreciate it as an art form.
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© Kelly Bartley 2008 |
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Release Date: |
July 25, 2008 (NY/LA); August 8, 2008 (limited) |
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Running Time: |
1 hour 28 minutes |
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MPAA Rating: |
R (some sexual content and nudity) |
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Distributor: |
Sony Pictures Classics |
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