Anyone see that film, American Beauty? Anyone remember the moral of that film: consumerism and twisted dreams? Well I saw the movie Horrible Bosses recently and thought to myself, wow that Kevin Spacey sure sold out. Right after that I thought that there was a weird moment where I sort of just laughed at the ALL the irony. What the hell am I talking about, well you may be asking yourself that, three simple concepts:
Message, storyline and appearance. Very broad and very important concepts in their own right. With all three you sell a very complete package, an aesthetically pleasing, feel good/sentimental piece that has a very ephemeral 'profound' impact. I'm sure many of us watching films like Apocalypse Now, or Milk or even Titanic have felt that spike, that heady wave of emotion that makes us believe something. Something grandiose like the futility of life, the beauty of everyday, the value of integrity, brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Brilliant film making that is, it is every artists intentions to write a story, and then have the audience see the message underneath. No story is free context, and as much as everyone would like to think that a comedy or action or horror is free of personal context, everything we write, say or think is influenced by our pasts and our desires of the future. Which is why good film making and good writing makes us ignore our personal contexts, it's very enveloping. Ever sit in a shitty film like Scary Movie and think, man wish I was doing something fun, shitty film making. A good is a lucid dream, you know your world, you know its not real, but you feel everything around you like a second skin.
Which brings me back to the Kevin Spacey, having watched American Beauty, it was impossible not to get enthralled with the self deprecating and surprisingly layered character that was Burnham. The everyman in every respect serving as a figurehead for crushed dreams and sombre reality. Watching American Beauty you could easily perceive that the storyline was present, the message was very clear and the appearance was well executed. A simple premise and an entrancing execution, made the entire film very easily to swallow, made you feel bad about giving back your dreams of becoming an astronaut. Made you feel guilty about sitting in front of a screen watching the ASX200 move up or down, made you feel guilty about not having an idealistic world. Compared to Horrible Bosses, I would've said that Horrible Bosses was a very sedate and done formula. 3 white males, middle class blue-ish/white collar existence with their own quirky problems. Likeable leads, confusing storyline and very polished, a satire of a satire of the target audience. Undoubtedly the people who view the film think of themselves and how much they hate their jobs or bosses and in a way serves a feel good experience, a band-aid to remedy boredom and a twinge of annoyance. My problem initially viewing was that Kevin Spacey had become a sellout douche bag boss archetype, my first thought was the irony the situation. Kevin Spacey however is not most ironic part, no. Casting him I found was ironic, but the most ironic part I found was that in viewing Horrible Bosses that I thought about what I was doing.
What I, as an audience was, after experiencing so many different emotions and phases, and ritualized "I will become who I want to be" mantras, they all wear off like a faded scar. The most ironic thing was that I hadn't given a shit about all those supposed messages I had gained from movies, instead I had bottled my fantasies in cliched lucid dreams hiding in a nook within my head. I might explore my guilt ridden dreams which I base off movies, movies that each follow the same 3 concept style, funded by the same few big studios, selling one message. Sell out.
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