Classic Movie Review: Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996)

I was always a bigger fan of Beavis and Butt-Head's spin-off series Daria than the show this movie was based on. That is until I saw the movie that Mike Judge put them in when I was a teenager. Now I know what you're thinking, that this is a movie only teenagers will like, but that's not so. After revisiting it for the twentieth anniversary of it's release, Beavis and Butt-Head Do America is just as funny as it was then and it's still funny now that I am an adult.

Beavis and Butt-Head (Mike Judge) wake up one afternoon to find that their TV has been stolen. After looking around town for it, or a new one, they stumble across Muddy (Bruce Willis), a drunken thief who mistakes them for hitmen sent by an associate. Muddy wants them to travel to Las Vegas to murder his wife and retrieve a package from her. But the horny teenagers get confused and think he wants them to have sex with her instead. When they get there, however, Dallas (Demi Moore) decides to use them to her own end and have them transport a biological weapon to Washington DC. Of course this is unknown to the two boys and they are oblivious to the fact that ATF Agent Flemming (Robert Stack) has placed them on a most wanted list.

I'll admit that the jokes may seem juvenile, but they are still pretty funny. Agent Flemming's obsession with cavity searches for anyone and everyone regardless of their innocence ("Don't stop till you reach the back of their teeth") is hilarious. Especially since each order is given with the utmost seriousness. Beavis' poor reaction to sugar resulting in him turning into The Great Cornholio still works every time, despite the inherent silliness of the gag. And of course, who cannot like the pseudo-music video of The Red Hot Chili Peppers being turned into Las Vegas lounge singers doing their version of 'Love Rollercoaster'.

The main attraction of this movie for me is the amount of celebrity voices that the movie contains. Bruce Willis and Demi Moore do a fantastic job as the backstabbing husband and wife thief duo and Cloris Leachman) is hilarious as the old lady who thinks that Beavis and Butt-Head are just the sweetest things she has ever met. Greg Kinnear is fantastic as Flemming's offsider Agent Bork who is always to please his boss with the correct grammar. Cameos from Boyhood director Richard Linklater as a tour bus driver and David Letterman as Butt-Head's dad are small but perfect.

Right from the outset you know this movie is going to be different from other stoner comedies. Whether it's the two main characters destroying a city in their dreams or the opening titles being a homage to 70s cop shows, you never know what this one is going to throw at you, but whatever it is, you know you'll have a good time.

Everybody Wants Some!!

Richard Linklater appears again with the spiritual sequel to his 1993 classic Dazed and Confused, but unlike previous follow-ons to his other movies, he fails to deliver as poignant or relatable experience this time round. That's not to say Everybody Wants Some!! isn't an enjoyable movie, especially if you're in the mood for a trip down nostalgia lane (or you really just love 80's music).

In true Linklater style, the movie takes place over a finite amount of time; the three days at the end of summer before the start of a new semester at a Texas university. Jake (Blake Jenner) is a hotshot pitcher with a scholarship to play baseball and gets set up in one of the houses for the team. He is soon taken under the wing of older player Finnegan (Glen Powell) who shows him the ropes and introduces him to the other players. He also has eyes for Beverly (Zoey Duetch), a theatre major who complimented him early on the first day.

Everybody Wants Some!! has a bit more of a fluid plot than most people would come to expect, but then again that's something that we have come to expect from Linklater. But with his other films, there is a built up tension that we know is going to release at the end of the film; in Dazed and Confused it's the last day of school before summer, something that every kid is looking forward to immensely; in Boyhood it happens on a much larger scale, the end of being a child and becoming an adult. And while this follows on with the themes of growing up, the build up in this one seems a little lacklustre.

The novelty and nostalgia present in the movie is fantastic though, and there is special care to look at every social aspect of the early 80s. The love of disco, country and punk cultures are all explored and shown at what point on the social ladder they were on at the time. The soundtrack features a great number of tracks that reflect these different genres and makes the movie quite immersive. However, the focus on baseball does drag on a bit, but even the characters in the movie comment on this singular focus.

Like with Dazed and Confused, Linklater has used a relatively unknown cast. The only difference is that we know all the stars to come out of Dazed and Confused (Matthew McConaughey and Ben Affleck at the top of that list), so don't be surprised if the same happens here. Standouts are Blake Jenner whose leading presence is already apparent, Glen Powell (who plays a similar enough character to McConaughey's Wooderson) and Wyatt Russell, whose loveable stoner Willoughby should be everyone's favourite character. Also giving good performances are Deutch, Quenton Johnson and Juston Street.

Everybody Wants Some!! manages to capture the excitement of the early 80s, but fails to capitalise on some of the the things that have made Linklater's other films relatable. The young cast play their wacky characters with a lot of enthusiasm.

Classic Movie Review: Bernie (2011)

Director Richard Linklater is known for making films whose production and style have pushed the boundary in terms of the filmmaking process. His first film Slacker was the day in the life of a city, choosing not to focus on any story or characters. His latest film Boyhood was a triumph that took twelve years to make. However, this gem from 2011 is undoubtedly his best film.

Bernie Tiede (Jack Black) is the local assistant funeral director in the town of Carthage, Texas. He is extremely well liked by the whole community and tries his best to please everyone. After the death of her husband, Bernie meets Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), who is despised by everyone in the town for her horrible demeanour. But Bernie takes a liking to Majrorie, although she begins to get under his skin too, and he murders her. After a while District Attorney Danny Buck Davidson (Matthew McConaughey) begins to suspect foul play and looks into Marjorie's disappearance.

What makes this movie so striking is the style in which it is delivered. The film is set up as mockumentary with interviews from the townfolk about the relationship between Bernie and Marjorie. This makes the movie fun and lighthearted as they each give their two cents. That is until you learn that this movie is not at all a fictional story, but is indeed based on the true muder of Nugent in 1996 at the hands of Tiede. And some of the townsfolk being interviewed in the film are actual townsfolk who knew the couple. This then turns the film into quite a black tragicomedy, as these people aren't talking about the Jack Black/Shirley MacLaine versions of the characters but the actual people who existed.

The reason that this movie is so funny instead of being an extremely sad and sobering film is due to Jack Black's extremely understated performance. This isn't his stereotypical stoner that we've seen throughout the majority of his career (High Fidelity, School of Rock, Tenacious D), but a rather downplayed, incredibly effeminate man. The laughs come more from Black's incredibly different performance than what we are used to.

Shirley MacLaine's Nugent is a truly horrible person, but somehow I couldn't help liking her at some parts of this film, but maybe that's just because I am a fan of her regardless. Matthew McConaughey is hilarious as the cowboy DA and I feel like it is his character Wooderson from Dazed & Confused grew up and sorted out his life (this would actually really work as a fan theory because the timelines and locations match up perfectly). The supporting cast of Brady Coleman, Richard Robichaux and Rick Dial give the film authenticity. Also McConaughey's mum Kay has a splendid little role and you surely won't miss her.

This movie is a tight little package that is quite fun and refreshing and I'm sure would have been a fun little project for Linklater in between his bigger ones. The closing video of Jack Black talking to and being enthralled by the real Tiede is a fantastic little touch.

Boyhood

Never before has a narrative film felt as real as Richard Linklater's latest experimental masterpiece Boyhood.

Mason Evans Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) is a six year-old boy who lives with his older sister, Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) and his single mother, Olivia (Patricia Arquette). Olivia isn't earning enough to keep the family afloat, so she wants the family to move so that she can study at the University of Houston and earn a higher living. Mason is concerned that their dad, Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawke) won't be able to find them in their new location. What follows is an epic 12 year tale that documents the difficulty and the beauty of growing up.

Linklater took a creative risk with this film, shooting the cast over a 12 year period, but boy, did it ever pay off. The progression between the years is marked by subtle physical changes in the characters, the evolving landscape of their lives and recognisable elements of each year implanted into the story. The plot feels very free-form, which is what makes it so authentic. It's as if Linklater just set the characters free to live their lives whilst he sat watching with a pen and paper...only not in a creepy way. One of the things that makes it such a relatable film for me, is that I was actually 6 in 2002. I recognised points throughout that felt very familiar, that really put me in the shoes of Mason, and that was a truely amazing experience. Watching this film was like a trip down sentimental lane for me. 

Every member of the cast is fantastic. Ellar Coltrane as Mason really grows on you. You don't feel as if he's an actor on the screen but rather a kid who's just trying to figure things out, following his heart and trying to craft his own life philosophies. I feel like there's probably a bit of Linklater in him. Lorelei Linklater is also great as Samantha, and Patricia Arquette is painfully moving as Olivia, as she struggles to keep up whilst her life keeps taking nose-dives. Though Ethan Hawke as Mason Sr. was in many ways the heart of the film for me, managing to be hugely charismatic and compassionate despite his failings. 

Boyhood has been beautifully shot in 35mm by Lee Daniel and Shane F. Kelly, bringing both the unique visual look of film back to the cinema and allowing all the years worth of footage to line up in perfect continuity. In many ways, it's like a moving family picture album, providing a window into the lives of these people.

This film isn't just an experiment. It isn't just a milestone in cinema history. It's one of the most beautiful, touching stories that you will ever experience hands-down, keeping you engaged from beginning to end. You simply have to see this film. If this doesn't get nominated for Best Picture, I will riot. Can an individual technically riot?