DAY 3: WRONG IS ALL RIGHT

Asides from the endless slew of instant celebrities that Reality TV tries to force upon us, there is now an onslaught from the Internet when videos go viral.  The first documentary we are seeing today is about one such star, and trust me I use the word 'star' very reluctantly.  Chris Crocker was an outrageously gay teenager living in the backwoods of Tennessee where his flamboyant behavior meant that he had to skip going to High School to avoid  an inevitable outpouring of violence against him. Abandoned by his mother (who gave birth to him at 14) he was raised by his paternal grandmother who, whilst never understanding her highly strung grandson's many odd penchants like wearing  girls clothes, indulged him nevertheless particularly in his fixation with Brittany Spears.

It was this obsession that made Chris infamous.  He had been making videos of himself either dancing in his bedroom or simply screaming at the camera on any lightweight topic that was on his somewhat twisted mind ever since he got his first computer.  Initially his postings on YouTube got very few hits, but over time he built up a small coterie of fans who loved to either worship him. or mock him with their imitations. At the same time he attracted a great deal of vicious hate mail too. And then it all changed when Brittany was evidently pilloried in the media for an excruciatingly piss-poor performance on TV when it seemed obvious that they had released her from Rehab way too early.  Chris's high pitched rant 'Leave Brittany Alone!' soon had several million hits and as a result the media turned their attention on Chris himself.

This Doc. follows how he got close to getting his own TV show in LA when his unfettered big mouth went just too far and he ended back in Tennessee living with his Saint of a Grandmother, whilst his mother back on meths was living rough on the streets.

I must confess that I went into the movie knowing none of the backstory or even having heard of Chris Crocker, and normally I would have run a mile from anything remotely like tabloid trash. However I must admit though although he did annoy me (more than once) I found the movie totally fascinating.  The fact that we are living in a culture where someone can make so much out of essentially very little real talent intrigues me.  And knowing for a fact that in the end they will just fizzle out and need something else to do when their five minutes under the spotlight is over appeals to my inquisitive nature (nosey even).  In this particular case it would appear that Mr Crocker is now trying for a career in porn for which judging from the photos you can see on the internet (but God Forbid NOT in this Blog) is something he is well qualified for. 

Poor Miss Spears.  Evidently no-one, especially the paparazzi,  ever left her alone ( I really must read the National Enquirer to keep abreast of such weighty matters).  I did at least respect her privacy when I snapped this photo of her from the bus this afternoon.

From bizarre to absurd as my next movie of the day was that and more. If you read my regular movie blog then you will know what I really love are movies that are really out there, and that my creed is actually the weirder the  better. And this delightful ridiculous surreal comedy called 'WRONG' was a perfect example.   Written, directed, photographed and edited by Quentin Dupieux (who also did the music too!) the story essentially was about a loner called Dolph who wakes up one morning and discovers that Paul his dog has disappeared. Starting with his very odd next door neighbor who's in denial that he's a jogger(!),  everybody Dolph encounters in his search for the dog has a twisted story of their own.  Not only has Dolph lost his only friend but the palm tree in the yard has mysterious turned into a pine tree and so he tries to distract himself from his distress by phoning a new pizza company who have just mailed him a flyer to have an in-depth discussion of  whether their logo of a rabbit on a motorbike makes any sense.   He seeks solace by going into his office to work, even though he had been fired three months earlier.  The office incidentally has a constant indoor rain shower that does not deter his co-workers getting on with their soggy work.


The dog's disappearance is not an accident at all but he has been kidnapped by a guru named Master Chang as part of his master plan to spread the gospel about his theories of the powers of psychic energy between dogs and their owners. Still with me? There is  very stiff competition as to who is the most bonkers of them all .... Master Chang is up there, but so too is the Pizza Company Receptionist who leaves her husband to move in with Dolph after sleeping with him just one night (although actually the man in her bed was Viktor the gardener who looked nothing like Dolph).  Confused?  Don't be.  It does all make sense (albeit a very weird one) in the end.


I unhesitating loved it all 100%.  It was also the first time this week that the hard-bitten Industry audience broke out into applause as  the end credits rolled.  I've read since then that there is the possibility of a subtext to the whole thing i.e. reverse the word dog, and maybe Dolph's search is something more spiritual.  I'm not sure at all if I buy that theory, but regardless of that this wonderful wacky real treat of a movie will definitely be one of my top favorites from this Festival.

From such a high its inevitable there will be a low to follow.  And there was in the shape of 'FOR ELLEN' a movie with a small story that was dragged out far too long.  A rock musician was returning to his small home town to agree the final Divorce terms with his wife.  They included giving him half the value of the house, money he much needed to fund his next album, but also entailing him giving up his custody rights to Ellen their small child.  He could take the money and run, or fight the case in court and lose it all.  He so lost all my sympathy when he put the onus on the kid herself in a scene no doubt intended to have us reaching for our kleenex, but I would have made better use of a sick bowl.

We are here mainly to watch independently produced movies but occasionally, time allowing, will break out a see a big budget star-studded film.  This time I chose to see the new one from Academy Award Nominee Stephen Frears ('The Queen' & 'The Grifters') who like Spike Lee, was back showing in Sundance after many years absence.  There are usually two reasons why big-named directors return with new work, a) to garner more press coverage or b) excuse despite the star wattage of their product they still haven't managed to sell the movie.  'LAY THE FAVOURITE' was evidently based on a true story of Beth an ex-stripper who moved to Las Vegas with the lofty ambition of being a Cocktail Waitress but instead fell in with Dink a professional gambler who gave her a job running numbers instead. The gambler had a hard-bitten wife called Tulip who had Beth fired when she could see Beth trying to steal Dink (inexplicable when you see the movie), but later when Beth is working for a NY Bookie and gets in trouble , its Tulip that pushes Dink to come to her rescue.

Like the last two Frears movies ('Tamara Drew'  & 'Cheri') this was really lame and very flat.  Rebecca Hall played bubbly Beth to the hilt but after a time what I initially thought was a wonderful portrayal, really started to irritate me.  Bruce Willis was an uninspiring Dink and had zero chemistry with with either Ms Hall or my beta noir (a really skinny) Catherine Zeta Jones playing Tulip.  Without a doubt, Mr Frears was there to get a Distribution Deal on this one which now I have sat through it I know will be no easy task, and its not surprising to me that this has not shown up in the slew of daily announcements of movies that have been 'picked up' here.

That's one my and only foray to anything that's a product of Hollywood this week, but it hasn't stopped me keeping my eyes peeled when we are dashing in between venues to see any of it's peeps instead. Sometimes stars can be really unfriendly like Bob Hoskins who turned his back on me just because I stuck my camera right in his face.

I didnt do much better when I shouted out 'Oy Marcia' to Ms Gay Harden who just blanked me.

And I would have given my personal congratulations to Jonah Hill if I had known he was going to be on the Oscar Nomination List this morning for his performance in 'Moneyball'

And then I ran into one of my Blog's new readers and he asked me to print a retraction of my insinuation that his wonderful movie THE AMBASSADOR was actually a mocumentary, and this I am happy to do for my NBF filmmaker Mads Brugger.

Tomorrow is another day!