Storytelling (Solondz)

Quatre Mains

Hi
I just got this on DVD and it is class IMO (not as good as Happiness mind you). I'm not a real deep thinker when it comes to films, but I love Solondz's black humour and the way he puts taboo stuff from real life in his films. His characters often have something about them which is "ugly" in the Hollywood sense - people with Cerebral Palsy in bed with a lover, a paedophile's struggle with and eventual submission to his cravings etc. But the films always end with a laugh which is great too _if you haven;t seem Happiness I won't spoil it but if you're not prudish you'll near break your hole laughing.

has anyone else seen these films(I haven't seen Welcome to the Dollhouse yet myself)? Do you like them or do you reckon they're crap?

Also, for anyone who's seen Storytelling- remember at the end when everyone is laughing at the documentary? I read this in a review and found it interesting, do you reckon its accurate or was the reviewer reading too far into it all?

" Perhaps Solondz, in this fictional story about nonfiction, is pointedly alligning himself with the clumsy but real documentarian and mocking us moviegoers for having the nerve to laugh at real people's real woes."

cheers
Neil

Obscure

I read somewhere that the documentarian is a doppelganger of the director. So in some ways he's mocking himself even more than the audience as he's the one who is consciencely exploiting the characters.

Great films! Havent seen 'Welcome to Dollhouse' either. 'Happiness' is the only film where the video shop assistant warned me that the film was 'sick' and that there had been complaints. Supposedly one of the other assistants had been recommending the film to house wives.

Ob.


"doppelganger" what a great word!!!

lodgepole

Originally posted by Obscure
Supposedly one of the other assistants had been recommending the film to house wives.

That wasn't in Xtravision Nutgrove or Xtravision Ranelagh was it? Because if it was that was my mate who was recomending it to housewives. He got daily complaints, even people who wanted any record of the film to be taken off their accounts.

Obscure

no, xtra-vision Portmarnock.

Everyone video assistant in the country must have been up to it!!!

The arkward part of renting the video was that after being warned that the film contained stuff about phidofillia (?), i went "ehhh.... i know, ive seen it before". I then had to made the long walk past the queue which had been listening to the conversation!!! I couldnt make eye-contact with any of them!

Ob.

ixoy

Heh, I'd have recommended it too given the chance. It's a neat movie and a great title that could fool them

How about getting them "Requiem for a Dream" for a family movie about "dreaming"? Or, if it ever gets here, "Ken Park" for an uplifting story about teenagers (it's so explicit, it's barely got a release anywhere...).

beardedchicken

Originally posted by Lodgepole
That wasn't in Xtravision Nutgrove or Xtravision Ranelagh was it? Because if it was that was my mate who was recomending it to housewives. He got daily complaints, even people who wanted any record of the film to be taken off their accounts.

who's your mate? i used to work there!!

lodgepole

Originally posted by beardedchicken
who's your mate? i used to work there!!

Which one? He was mostly in the Nutgrove one...

Just so I don't have to write his name, he's a horror film loving animation student with longish black hair and glasses...

That description is plenty...

beardedchicken

Oh, yeah, that sounds about right!!!! heh heh
In hindsight, i dunno why i even needed to ask!!!!

it wouldn't surprise me at all if he told little grannies that the exorcist was a family comedy!
(although i'm pretty sure all of us recommended something utterly unsuitable for the target audience. -i once convinced a group of 15 year old-ish guys to rent the legend of bagger vance "yeah, this is really cool, and it's got sport in it!!!!" hee hee.)

lodgepole

Originally posted by beardedchicken
Oh, yeah, that sounds about right!!!! heh heh
In hindsight, i dunno why i even needed to ask!!!!

it wouldn't surprise me at all if he told little grannies that the exorcist was a family comedy!
(although i'm pretty sure all of us recommended something utterly unsuitable for the target audience. -i once convinced a group of 15 year old-ish guys to rent the legend of bagger vance "yeah, this is really cool, and it's got sport in it!!!!" hee hee.)

Were you in Nutgrove then? I know a rake of lads who were in there, Tom, Col, Al...

If you were in that shop, i'm sure you'll remember the yellow jaundice lad who used to come in and out? Good times... Up to Molloys for some cans and a quick stop into Xtravision...

ObeyGiant

Hey funboys, get a room.

beardedchicken

Originally posted by Lodgepole
If you were in that shop, i'm sure you'll remember the yellow jaundice lad who used to come in and out?

yeah, tommy! one of the lads used to refer to him as "bart" cos he was little and yellow!! heehee! he's about 21 by the way!!

anyway, this is woefully off topic.

happiness is on channel four on monday night, for those of you who haven't yet had that pleasure!

(p.s. funboys?????)

Tyrrial

The sound track was done by Belle and Sebastian. i haven't seen the movie yet but i hear it's quite good.

Chad ghostal

yeah solondz is pretty different. .from hollywOo anyway..
welcome to the dollhouse is Good. .probably not as good as happiness, but the girl in it is class..
definetly worth watching if you can get your hands on it..